by Kasi Blake
Appetite returned, Trick dug into his meatloaf. Sean and Laura Donovan had finally met their match in a petite girl with fangs. Laura reached for her glass of water and knocked it over instead. The water splashed Summer’s hand. Laura’s quick apology mingled with giggles from the young couple. Summer helped Laura mop up the mess with extra napkins. It wasn’t like their mother to be so clumsy. She and Sean exchanged an odd look that Trick didn’t have time to define.
Summer regained control of the conversation. “To be honest with you, I have been giving my future a lot of thought since meeting Matt. I would love to return to school, but I want to see where our relationship goes before making a final decision. If we decide we want to be together, I may join him at his school. If we decide to split, I don’t want to be in the same zip code. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on my studies if I had a broken heart and had to watch him with other girls. I would want to move far, far away.”
Trick mumbled, “Good idea.”
“Besides.” She made a face at him. “I’m still not sure what I want to major in because I have so many interests. I want to do something that helps people. I’d like to be a nurse or a teacher or maybe even a lawyer.”
Laura beamed at her. “All great choices.”
Sean offered, “If you choose law, I can help you get into a good pre-law program.”
“What about you, Trick?” Summer asked with feigned innocence. “What do you want to do with your life?”
All eyes turned to him, and he froze with the fork halfway to his mouth. The little vampire was trying to trap him. She knew about his desire to be a great hunter. He glared at her before answering the provocative question to the best of his ability.
“I’m going to take a year off from school and track down some of my biological father’s friends. I want to know more about him.” Sitting up straight he added, “In case Matt didn’t tell you, I’m adopted. My father died, but I’m still sketchy on the details.”
Bringing up Ian Carver had the desired effect on his adoptive parents. Their gazes simultaneously dropped to their plates, giving him the freedom to send Summer another scathing glare. He had promised he wouldn’t stake her, but she was pushing it.
“Why didn’t you ask your girlfriend to join us for dinner?” Summer grinned when all eyes popped up to look at him.
“He isn’t dating anyone,” Sean said.
“Really?” Summer feigned confusion. “I thought you were seeing Dani Foster? Did you two break up?”
Laura blinked. “Dani? Dr. Baxter’s stepdaughter?”
Trick kicked Summer beneath the table. She didn’t even flinch. Instead, she wore a smug grin that made him want to kick her a second time. Wasn’t it bad enough that he had to worry she might do something odd or say something that fueled curiosity at the table? Now she had to bring Dani into it when she knew they were keeping their relationship a secret.
“You’re dating Dani Foster?” Sean scowled at him. “And when were you going to tell us that?”
“We’re not dating.” With a vicious scowl, Trick dared Summer to disagree. “Summer is confused. Dani has been helping me with schoolwork. History and biology. She tutors students sometimes after school.”
“That explains it,” Laura said. “I didn’t think she was your type.”
Something deep inside him lurched violently, and he wanted to argue the point. His mother sounded like Scarlet. He and Dani fit well together. She was beautiful, compassionate, and she kept him on his toes. For a girl with a specific daily routine, she was unpredictable in interesting ways. He never knew what to expect from her.
The discussion turned to small talk, and Trick tuned them out. After a while, an odd odor caught his attention. It was coming from upstairs. He tried to pinpoint what was making that awful stench. Deep down he knew he should know this one. He had smelled it when talking to... Jersey Clifford.
Werewolf!
There was a werewolf in the house.
Snarling, he jumped to his feet. Reflex.
Laura dropped her water glass again, startled by his sudden movement. The glass hit the side of her plate and broke. Sean ran to the kitchen for a towel. Matt and Summer leaped to their feet. Laura cut herself on a piece of glass while trying to collect them and talk to Trick at the same time.
“What is wrong with you?” Laura asked.
The smell of blood and werewolf mixed and pushed Trick over the edge. His fangs slid out of his gums unbidden. He snarled again. Laura began to turn her head in his direction. Stunned, he froze. She would see his fangs and know he was a vampire.
Summer screamed, a short burst of sound. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she pretend-fainted. Matt caught her. The act was enough to capture Laura’s attention and Sean’s as he rushed back into the room. All eyes were on Summer. Matt set her back in her chair; Laura fanned her with a folded napkin; Sean asked if he should call 9-1-1.
Trick used supernatural speed to leave the dining room before anyone could look at him. He paused on the staircase. That was close. On his way upstairs he heard Summer explain the fainting. “The sight of blood always...”
“That’s okay, honey,” Laura said. “We understand. Take slow breaths. Get her a damp towel, Sean. Drink some water, sweetie. Here you go.”
Matt tried to lighten the mood. “Maybe you should rethink the idea of becoming a nurse.”
They chuckled as Summer agreed. “I hadn’t even thought of that,” Summer said. “You’re right. I should stick to teaching or law. Probably less blood.”
Summer and Matt had the parents under control. They would keep Sean and Laura downstairs while Trick dealt with the intruding werewolf. He had to get rid of it without a noisy fight. The sound of violence upstairs might be hard to explain.
♫
Trick ran upstairs and shoved his bedroom door open. It hit the interior wall hard enough to rattle miscellaneous items on his dresser. The sight of a strange girl climbing out his window shocked him into immobility. It was the second time in less than a year he’d caught a girl in his bedroom. The first had been Summer, a petite blonde. The second girl was a tall brunette in a leather jacket.
Perched on his open window sill like a cat ready to pounce, she smirked at him. No need to ask why she was in his room. His top dresser drawer stuck out at an awkward angle, and she had the Sugar Bomb in her hand. She had come to steal a piece of his power.
“That’s not yours to take,” he said.
She grinned. “It is now.”
Without another word, she jumped as he used supernatural speed to reach the window. Too late. His hand tried to grab her, but his fingers closed on empty air. He leaned out the window and looked down.
The brunette girl smiled up at him.
He jumped out and landed beside her with the intense hope no one would see them. By the time his feet hit the cement path, she was already around the corner. He chased her into the front yard. He expected her to keep running, but she spun to face him.
Had she placed them directly in front of the dining room window on purpose?
He checked the house and saw Matt watching. Matt lifted his hands as if to ask what Trick was doing. Trick gestured to the werewolf girl. Then he made a violent gesture in Matt’s direction. His brother needed to keep their parents from seeing. Sean and Laura leaned over Summer, still concerned about her fainting spell.
Matt nodded and retreated.
“Give it back,” Trick told the werewolf girl.
She slowly shook her head. Her long fingers wrapped around the Sugar Bomb; he knew what she was thinking. Holding the Bomb filled a person with incredible power. Basically, it enhanced whatever magical ability you already had. The werewolf girl wanted to try it in a fight against him. She was probably wondering if she could win in five minutes or less.
He took a moment to study her.
To him, she wasn’t exactly pretty. Her best feature was brown hair that fell halfway down her back. But her nose, jaw, and che
ekbones were too sharp, too angular. She had almond-shaped eyes a shade darker than Dani’s. Some might think they were pretty; he thought they were spread too wide apart.
As if she could hear his unflattering thoughts, she spun around and kicked him in the gut. The hard hit knocked him back a few steps. He almost lost his balance. He’d been searching for a worthy opponent, someone who could keep up with him, but he couldn’t enjoy the fight when it was taking place so close to home. What if Matt couldn’t keep his parents busy and they saw him?
A glance over his shoulder told him Sean and Laura were still in the dining room. If one of them should happen to look in his direction, they would catch the fight through the huge window. Even if they didn’t see something supernatural, he would have a hard time explaining why he was hitting a girl.
Stalling, he asked, “Are you Isobel? Cowboy told me about you. Poor guy denies it, but he’s in pain. You ripped his heart out.”
That brought a smile to her face. “Believe it or not, I miss him too.”
“Want me to tell him that?”
“Let’s see if you have any teeth left when we’re done.” She jumped into the air and aimed a foot at his face.
He ducked.
She landed in a crouching position with one hand on the ground. A grin slowly stretched her lips. She rolled the Sugar Bomb around in her hand as she attacked again. The Bomb gave her added strength, agility, and speed.
He took a step back and then another as she came at him. If she realized he was moving her away from the window, she didn’t seem to care. They went at it, trading blows for at least five minutes straight. She blocked everything he threw at her, but a few of her strikes hit their target. Why did he have the feeling she was playing with him? Testing him?
“Jack was immune,” Isobel said. “Let’s see if you are.”
She swiped at him with metallic claws that appeared as silver streaks slicing in his direction. He tried to move out of the way. The claws cut through his shirt. He lost his balance and tumbled backward. The ground rushed up to meet him. When he looked around, she was gone. He unbuttoned his torn dress shirt and checked for blood. A werewolf could kill a vampire with a single scratch. Isn’t that what Cowboy had told him over and over?
His skin was smooth, unblemished. Luck was with him yet again. Or was it? It was possible she hadn’t been trying to kill him, but had tried to scare him so she could get away with the Sugar Bomb. He’d lost his best advantage.
Trick looked up to find Matt watching him from the living room window. His brother had witnessed the battle, had seen him lose. Whether Matt would admit it or not, he’d lost some respect for Trick. How could he not? Trick had just lost a fight to a girl.
Now he felt even worse.
His confidence took a nosedive.
If he couldn’t take care of a simple werewolf, how would he defeat the king of faeries?
♫
CHAPTER SIX
Don’t Stand So Close to Me
After the incident with Isobel and the risky dinner with Summer he didn’t get much sleep. His bed became a device of torture. Tossing and turning kept him up half the night, while nightmares disturbed the sleep he managed to get the other half. Isobel had stolen the Sugar Bomb, taking away his most powerful advantage. Cowboy had told him the girl worked for Jersey Clifford. Trick wanted to confront Jersey and demand his property back, but he had to wait for Monday. It was going to be a long weekend.
Once daylight arrived he wanted to run to the neighbor’s house, talk to Baxter. Ironic, since he had done everything he could over the years to get his parents to cancel his therapy sessions. He had to wait for Dani to leave with her friends for a trip to the mall. She’d been planning it for over a month. The girls wanted to exchange a few Christmas presents for stuff they actually wanted.
Also gone, John Foster had left after midnight. Trick watched the taillights fade into the darkness. He had felt relieved because he wanted to talk to John’s wife without fear of being overheard.
As soon as Baxter was home alone, he ran from his front door to hers, vaulting over a bush to reach the cement path. He hurried up the porch steps. Impatient, he knocked until Baxter threw the door open. Her expression grew grimmer as she saw his face. A tall, rail-thin woman, she wore her hair extremely short and had glasses similar to Matt’s. When she looked down her nose at him, they slid half an inch. “Dani isn’t here,” she said in a flat monotone.
“I need to talk to you.”
A weary sigh parted her dry lips as she backed up to allow him entrance with obvious reluctance. “And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” she asked with sarcasm.
Instead of answering, he went straight to her office and took his usual seat on the couch. She followed. Arms folded across her chest, she stood just inside the threshold. “If you want to restart our sessions, you’ll have to talk to your parents. I’ll need a check and permission to resume therapy.”
It would surprise her to know he could afford to pay for his own sessions now. Thanks to his wealthy grandfather, the Dark Wizard, he had more money than her, his parents, and everyone else on the block put together. Somehow Cowboy had managed to get his hands on the estate after the wizard’s death. Whenever Trick needed anything, Cowboy gave him money. That’s how he’d bought Dani the guard dog, paid for weapons, and kept his motorcycle running. As soon as he turned eighteen, Cowboy promised to move half the money into an account under Trick’s name.
“I’m curious about the man that was here yesterday.” Trick took a moment to swallow while hoping he wasn’t making a big mistake confiding in this woman. “Bash?”
Baxter’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You know Sebastian?”
“He used to hunt with my dad.” He shifted his weight and rubbed his hands together as if cold. “Is he part of your husband’s hunting group?”
She hesitated. Her lips compressed, forming a tight line, and her arms remained folded over her chest in a defensive manner. “Why the interest in Sebastian?”
“He worked with my father,” Trick repeated. Didn’t she get it? Baxter was supposed to be near the top of her field, and they had spent years delving into his psyche. Didn’t she understand he felt disconnected with most people because his father had dumped him on Sean and Laura? “Bash can tell me stories, things I don’t know about my father.”
“Friendly warning. Stay clear of Sebastian.”
“Why?”
Baxter sank into her favorite chair, the one so close to him that she could reach out to grab his arm if she wanted. She looked tired as if it was late evening instead of morning. She said, “He is a thrice-divorced borderline alcoholic with psychotic tendencies, and that’s being kind. He is not a man you want to emulate, Patrick. Trust me. You should steer clear of Sebastian Marx. He is lucky there are monsters in the world. Otherwise, I honestly think he would be a serial killer.”
Shocked by the doctor’s harsh view of his father’s friend, Trick defended the man. “Bash is a great hunter. Hasn’t he killed more vampires and werewolves than anyone else on this planet?”
“I haven’t kept score,” she said in a voice dripping with sarcasm. Her tone turned serious, and her eyes narrowed on him. “Of course he’s good at what he does. Sebastian is obsessed with hunting. That’s all he thinks about, and living that sort of lifestyle takes a toll on a person’s mental health. I am thankful John knows when to leave the job and come home. He knows how to compartmentalize. Sebastian, on the other hand, only has the one thing in his life that truly matters to him, tracking and killing monsters. Hunting. That isn’t healthy.”
“But that’s what he is, a hunter. He’s a great hunter, and I want him to train me.”
She gaped at him, eyes wide and jaw slack. “I hope you aren’t serious.”
“If you want to be the best at something, you need to work with the best. Tell me I’m wrong.”
Baxter tapped a pencil against the chair’s cushioned arm. “I am not giving you an
introduction to him if that’s what you’re here for.”
He bit the inside of his lower lip. How could he convince her to arrange a meeting between him and his father’s old friend? He had a long list of questions he wanted to ask the man about Ian Carver. Desperation drove Trick to use flattery as manipulation.
“If I could talk to him just once... it might help me get over my abandonment issues. You did a good job, but I need more. Someone as wise as you should understand that I need to know why my father abandoned me. Then I can move on.” He steeled his facial features not to give his true feelings away. Using the label Baxter had pinned on him might be considered playing dirty, but he was determined to get his way. She sucked at her job. The woman was a quack. He didn’t have abandonment issues. He added, “I promise not to ask him to train me.”
Her eyes narrowed on his forehead as if trying to drill straight into his mind. She slowly nodded. “Perhaps. We’ll see. I’ll need to think it over.”
And with that, he was dismissed.
Baxter got up and walked to the entryway without looking over her shoulder to make sure he was following. She opened the front door. With a wave of her arm, she ushered him out. He left without another word. Hopefully, she would contact Bash on his behalf and convince the surly hunter to meet with him.
After she closed the door he raced around the corner to keep neighbors from seeing. Once he was hidden from the street he teleported to the mansion.
♫
“Summer isn’t here, is she?”
Trick asked the question the second he teleported into the mansion’s large living area. He didn’t like the vampire girl; he didn’t trust her, and he didn’t want her in the upcoming conversation. At best, she would be a distraction. He needed to talk to Cowboy in private. The guy had been a vampire for decades. Surely, he could give Trick the information he sought.
When he appeared in the living room, Cowboy was hunched down in front of the fireplace, stirring the dying embers with an iron poker. The vampire didn’t look up, didn’t even glance over his shoulder. Somehow he knew Trick had popped into the room before Trick spoke. So the question didn’t startle the other vampire.