by Susan Illene
They moved toward the fresh produce area. There was a woman there studying the selection of apples who looked up when they got near. Her expression turned stricken when she caught Bartol’s burn scars, and then she saw Tormod, whose eyes were once again glowing. He’d known this was going to be difficult, but it was even more so when their very appearance attracted attention. The woman looked ready to scream.
“Stop it,” Bartol said in a hushed voice.
Tormod threw his hands up. “I can’t help it!”
Giving his student a warning look, he moved to the woman and compelled her to ignore them. Her expression was happy and peaceful after that. Bartol turned back to the nerou and pointed a finger at him. “I can’t keep compelling every human who gets close to us. It’s a waste of energy and proves you’re not ready to go out into the world if you keep this up.”
He was supposed to report back to Jeriel after the trip was over to let him know how it went. Tormod had no idea he was being tested. It was a requirement that Bartol keep that part secret so they could see how the nerou behaved naturally in public. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t warn the young man to behave properly.
“Concentrate on the food and less on the people,” he instructed.
Tormod took a deep breath. The glow left his eyes, and his face relaxed several degrees. Now he appeared like the young man he should have been. “I’ll try.”
After grabbing potatoes and a few other vegetables, Bartol led the way to the meat section. He started studying the selection and noted Tormod doing the same. “You can’t cook any of this in your trailer at the compound.”
“Wanna bet?” The nerou lifted his hand and fire danced across his fingertips.
Bartol snuffed it out. They shared the ability to create and extinguish fire, but the nerou was still at the age where he liked to play with his gift more. “Don’t ever do that in public again.”
“It made her happy,” Tormod said, pointing at a smiling toddler riding in his mother’s shopping cart. Thankfully, the mother had been too busy studying the selection of pot roasts to notice the fire trick. “At least I don’t scare all kids.”
Bartol glared at his student. “One more stunt and we’re leaving. Do you understand?”
“Promise?”
Sometimes he felt like a father already. Would his child be this difficult while in a grocery store, especially if he or she inherited his fire ability? He couldn’t imagine, though he did look forward to finding out what sort of offspring he might produce.
He nudged the nerou forward. “The snack aisle is up ahead. Take what you want and try not to scare anyone or catch anything on fire.”
“You’re going to send me there alone?” Tormod asked, lifting his brows.
Bartol gripped the handle of his cart. “I need a moment away from you and will have to wish for the best.”
The nerou strutted away, his footsteps light-hearted. One could only hope that the lack of supervision would make him happier and better behaved. Sometimes with Tormod, it was his need to be defiant with his instructors that got him into trouble.
Bartol grabbed packages of hamburger meat and steak, then moved on to the dry goods. All the while, he kept his ears and eyes open for any trouble. No one screamed during that time, which was promising, and no fires broke out. Once he reached the dairy section, Tormod returned to him with a full basket. There were chips, cookies, and candy loaded inside.
“I had no idea there was so much junk food and sweets available,” he said, grinning. “I’d have asked you to bring me sooner if I’d known.”
Some of the nerou’s youthful appearance had finally returned.
Bartol chuckled. “See, humans have their uses. They’re the ones who invented all of that.”
“I suppose I could grow to like them then,” Tormod conceded.
The nerou were primarily restricted to the food prepared at the dining facility. They were the ones to cook it, but the nephilim did the shopping. Very little treats or snacks were ever brought into the compound, though some of the students got a taste if they had families who visited. Tormod had tried a few things while at his mother’s house or hanging out with Emily, but he’d never seen the full range of products.
“Do you even know what half of that is?” Bartol asked.
The nerou shrugged. “I’m willing to give it a shot.”
“Then if you want me to pay for it, you’d better be on your best behavior when we go through the checkout,” he warned.
Tormod pulled the handbasket close. “No way am I giving any of this up.”
They went to the checkout and were lucky enough no other customers were in line. The attendant frowned at Bartol’s burn scars for a moment, but then he ducked his head and focused on ringing up their food purchases. Tormod stayed silent. He was a little reluctant to hand over the basket, but his violet eyes never glowed and his expression stayed neutral. The young man must have wanted his snacks badly to behave that well.
Bartol paid for each of their loads, and they headed out of the store. “You did good.”
“So did you.”
Tormod was right. Other than some discomfort when the humans stared at his scars, Bartol had been fine the whole time. He didn’t know if he was improving, or if he’d been too distracted by his student to worry about himself. Either way, it was the most successful shopping trip he’d had in Fairbanks—despite the initial troubles.
“Are you up for another stop or two before we return to the compound?” Bartol asked as they loaded the groceries into the SUV.
Tormod cocked his head. “Where to?”
“I need to get some ideas for a gift for my child, and find something for Cori.”
The nerou grinned widely. “This should be fun.”
Bartol hoped he wouldn’t come to regret taking the nerou with him.
Chapter 20
Cori
Someone was pulling up her driveway. With her enhanced hearing, Cori could detect the sound of wheels crunching on gravel well before a vehicle came into view. She peeked out the window, praying it wasn’t trouble coming her way. So far, no incidents had happened outside of Fairbanks, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t eventually.
She concentrated hard with her senses, trying to determine who was coming. It wasn’t a demon—of that much she felt certain. She still had trouble picking out sups without seeing them, but she usually got a niggling sensation to at least warn her if they were getting close. This time, she didn’t detect anything. They had to be human, but that didn’t mean it was a good sign with all the protests and attacks going on in town. Cori had been keeping her tattoo shop closed for the last week since the riots had broken out. If a business was suspected of being run by supernaturals, it was targeted.
Bambi’s herb shop had its windows broken the day after the protests at the schools. The troll had promptly called Cori and warned her not to open up. The gnarly fae was a testy thing, but if she liked you, she protected you. Cori had gotten Melena and Lucas to board up the windows of her shop to protect it, and they’d gotten a mystic to put a “keep away” spell on it. The trick had worked. No one had bothered her place of business, but it meant she and her employees weren’t earning any money. She hoped the troubles wouldn’t go on too long.
A white Toyota Camry came into view, and Cori cursed loudly. She hurried out of the house and waited in the yard, crossing her arms and tapping a foot.
“Mother, you’re here too early,” she said as her guest got out of the car. Joy was a plump woman in her mid-fifties who stood an inch shorter than Cori at 5’4”. She had shoulder-length, curly, gray hair, a pert nose, and more energy than anyone would expect for her age.
“I had to make sure you took it easy in your final weeks,” her mother replied, pulling a large suitcase from the trunk.
Cori arched a brow. “Do you need help with that?”
It looked like it was filled with bricks the way her mother hauled it across the yard. “No, dear. You shouldn
’t be lifting anything heavy.”
“I’m not exactly human anymore, Mom. I can handle it.” She tried grabbing the suitcase, but her mother yanked it away.
“Don’t even think about it,” Joy said, giving her daughter a reproachful look. “You can get the front door open for me.”
“Fine.” Cori sighed.
She opened the door and then followed her mother up the stairs to the guest bedroom. When her cabin had to be rebuilt after the fire, Cori’s mother and Melena took it upon themselves to decorate it and buy new furniture. There were three rooms upstairs, including the master and nursery. This one had a queen size bed with an oak frame and a large window behind it that overlooked the front yard. There were also two nightstands and an armoire. They’d put a blue and white checkered quilt on the bed and matching curtains over the window. Other than a couple of scenic prints hanging on the wall, there wasn’t much else to the room. It was simple but welcoming.
Her mother stuffed the suitcase in the closet, then turned to study Cori. “You look tired.”
“I’m in the last weeks of pregnancy. Of course, I’m tired, Mom, but I’m fine.” She loved her mother, but the woman worried too much sometimes.
“Did you eat yet?” Joy asked.
“I had a banana an hour ago.”
She wagged a finger at Cori. “Shame on you. You’ve got a growing baby in there that needs you to eat a nutritional diet.” She started marching out of the room. “I’m going to cook you a big pot of beef stew.”
She followed her mother into the hallway. “I was going to make a chicken salad.”
“The stew will be better,” Joy replied, heading down the stairs.
“How long do you plan to stay, Mom?”
“As long as I’m needed,” she shouted from the living room. She could move fast when she set her mind to it, and at this stage, Cori couldn’t keep up.
“I’m not sure I have everything you need for stew,” she said as she made her way down.
Joy waved a hand, already at the front door. “That’s why I picked up a few things before coming here.”
Within the next half hour, they’d put the groceries away and Cori sat at the kitchen table helping her mom cut up vegetables. “So how are Brenda and her family?”
“Your sister is fine.” Joy grabbed another potato to chop. “She wishes you would call more often.”
Cori only contacted her sister maybe once a month. Brenda was too much like their mother and would nag her about anything and everything. “She’s busy with her kids. I hate to bother her.”
“She’s planning to visit after the baby is born.”
“That’s great,” Cori lied. The last thing she needed was two overbearing women in her house telling her what to do. “But could she wait a couple of months until things settle a bit? There’s a lot of trouble in town now, and it’s bad enough you came.”
Joy gave her a reproachful look. “You shouldn’t be here, either. It’s safer in Anchorage.”
For some reason, they didn’t get as much trouble there. Cori didn’t know a lot about the sups in the city, but she’d heard they were governed by a powerful female vampire who didn’t allow any other supernatural races there other than a few select witches to cast spells for her.
“You know I like Fairbanks better.”
Her mother made a clucking noise with her tongue. “You’re hanging on to the past. Surely you and Bartol could move to Anchorage and be more comfortable there. I would get to see my grandbaby more often, too.”
“He’s got a job to do here, and I run a business,” Cori pointed out. “It’s not that easy.”
“What job is he doing now? He wouldn’t say when I talked to him on the phone last.”
She frowned. “When did you talk to Bartol?”
“Oh, it was over a week ago.” Joy set the cut up potatoes aside and moved on to the tomatoes. “It was the oddest thing, but I could have sworn I heard the sounds of fighting in the background.”
Despite being angry with her mate at the moment, she couldn’t help a small grin. “He might have been in the middle of a battle when you called. I’m surprised he answered.”
“I might have kept calling until he did,” Joy admitted.
Her mother could be more than persistent.
Cori threw the cauliflower she had cut up into a bowl. “He’s busy fighting demons at the moment. Only he and his father can kill them, so the two of them have been in high demand.”
“Demons?” Joy’s expression turned stricken. “That’s what is causing all the trouble I’ve seen on the news?”
Cori could have tried hiding that little secret from her mother, but eventually she would have figured it out. Joy could give the best interrogators a run for their money and could make anyone talk with just a look. Cori rarely tried to hide anything from her, except when absolutely necessary. If this topic would keep her mother off of the scent with the situation with Bartol, she’d use it. “Yeah, apparently we didn’t get them all in Europe and more have made it to Earth.”
Joy stood, gripping the bowl of vegetables that would go into the meat already stewing on the stove. “And yet you’re sitting in your home unprotected.”
“I’ll know if they get close.”
“How?” her mother asked.
“As it turns out, that’s one of my new abilities. Bartol’s father helped me strengthen it, so I can be prepared if they get close. If I shoot them with a bit of my blood on the bullet, it will even stun them for a couple of minutes.” Cori smiled. “I’m not totally defenseless.”
Joy dumped the veggies into the stew and turned to face Cori. “You’re pregnant, and you’re talking about spilling your blood and shooting demons. What are you thinking, young lady? Go someplace safe and stay out of it.”
“I don’t think anywhere is truly safe, but I’ve been fine right here. Demons prefer populated areas,” Cori replied. She could see this argument going on for a long time if she didn’t squash it fast.
“You should still have someone protecting you.” Joy stirred the stew. “That idiot mate of yours—who ought to have married you by now—should be here at your side. Your father would roll in his grave if he knew what was going on.”
Cori didn’t want to defend Bartol while she wasn’t even talking to him, but there were some things out of his control. “He’s doing what he has to do to protect our child. Like I said already, only he and his father can kill demons. Is he supposed to let people keep dying when I’m perfectly safe where I am?”
“His father.” Joy started cleaning up the mess on the table. “Wouldn’t he be an angel?”
The last time Raguel had been around, her mother hadn’t gotten the chance to meet him since he was in London. She hadn’t even bothered mentioning him. At the time, the holidays and news of the baby were enough to avoid the subject of the archangel.
Cori nodded. “Yes, he is.”
“I thought angels fall and go to Hell if they get a human pregnant,” her mother said, frowning.
“They do, but Raguel is the only archangel who was made specifically to fight demons. He once led a legion of angels in battles against Hell, so they couldn’t afford to lose him.” Cori went on to explain the stasis they used to keep him down, and what happened after Bartol was born. That he’d been raised by his mother until she died when he was six, never meeting his father until recently. Unless one counted the month Raguel had been able to stay after Bartol’s birth, before the archangel was taken away.
Joy’s eyes grew misty. “That is terrible for him. Punished just because he fell in love with a human woman and then he never got to see her again or spend much time with his son. I can’t believe Bartol didn’t tell me about his father when I talked to him last.”
“He was probably busy fighting demons.” Cori stood and patted her mother’s arm. “It’s not like he can remember to tell you every little thing going on in his life.”
“Where is the archangel now? I want to meet the man who
will be a grandparent to your baby,” Joy said, clasping her hands. There was excitement in her eyes. She had a thing for wanting to meet angels and was no longer satisfied with only nephilim.
Cori shrugged. “He’s staying at Bartol’s cabin, but they could be out right now training the nerou or something.”
“So they both left you alone!”
Cori looked up at the ceiling, praying for deliverance. “Did you miss what I said about them dealing with the demons? Bartol will know through our bond if I’m in danger. And anyway, Melena told me if I just put some salt in the doorways and windows, the demons can’t get inside.”
She would have put the salt down already, but it was easy for a gust of wind or wrong footstep to mess up the line. Using glue to make it stick would alter the properties enough it wouldn’t be effective for long. The sensor had said to wait until demons were close or Cori would just have to keep putting a fresh line down again and again. For now, she had a ring of Mel’s blood around her cabin that would help keep trouble out. Even Bartol wouldn’t be able to flash inside. She explained all that to her mother as well, hoping to alleviate Joy’s fears.
Just as she was finishing, a niggling sensation tickled her senses. A supernatural was getting close. A moment later, she caught the sound of tires crunching on the driveway. “Someone is coming.”
“Any idea who?” Joy asked, stiffening.
Cori hurried for the front window. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
They stood peeking around the curtains as a gray minivan pulled up the drive. Cori sighed in relief. “It’s just Ginny.”
She’d mentioned the pixie to her mother a few times before, so Joy knew who she was talking about. Her mother dropped the curtain. “Did she tell you she was coming?”
“No.” Cori drew her brows together, thinking her mother had a point. No one came this far out without making certain the person was home first. “She usually only comes when I invite her over.”
They hurried out the door. Ginny parked her van next to Joy’s car and hopped out. Her purple hair was a total mess, a long cut ran down her left arm, and blood tinged her pink tank top. “I’m so sorry to show up like this, but those protesters attacked my house! I just had to get my daughters out right away.”