by E. Blix
Analie and Freddy, as their pack was wont to do, had gravitated together and were squished next to each other, sitting with their backs to the wall, knees drawn up. Freddy was telling her about running around at night in Pennsylvania when John and Jessica came down the stairs.
Freddy jerked his head in indication. Analie turned and felt a horrible, crawling sensation slither up her spine. There was a shadow and a human, the woman who had checked on Ashi.
Analie remembered walking to a pack gathering with Gavin and passing a shadow with a pretty lady on his arm. Once they had passed them and gone down a few blocks, Gavin had growled, “How foul a monster is that which makes its prey fall in love with it?”
Analie tried to keep her expression blank. She hadn’t seen Jessica so cozy with one of the vampires until now. Analie didn’t rise—she didn’t trust herself with moving. When she saw a human hanging off a leech like an adoring lapdog, she felt like shifting right then and there and tearing—
Whoa. Where the hell did that come from?
John hesitated at the end of the hall. Why was there another kid now? A Were, from the scent. Worrisome. No wonder Royce was pissed.
Jessica, oblivious, gave the vampire’s hand another encouraging squeeze before breaking away and approaching the kids, sliding her hands into the pockets of her jeans. She gave a bright, encouraging smile to the two, particularly Freddy, whose stricken expression tugged her heartstrings.
“Hi, I’m Jessica. That big pansy by the stairs is John.” The vampire made a faint choking sound, wondering if she had any clue what Analie was and what kind of image she was giving this young predator of him. “Sorry, but I’m a bit worried about Alec. He mentioned your name, but didn’t say what happened. Do you know why he’s in such a huff right now?”
Tall, slender, with thick auburn hair brushing her shoulders and wide hazel eyes, the donor waited patiently for Analie’s response. Jessica’s skin was lightly tanned, and showed only a couple very tiny, barely noticeable scars at her neck where she’d been bitten. One would have to look very closely to spot them; otherwise, her skin was flawless, and she did not seem to be particularly unhappy or unhealthy. Truthfully, she seemed downright cheerful, if concerned for her master’s wellbeing.
Analie couldn’t shake the feeling that she was looking at the equivalent of a snack bag of Cool Ranch Doritos.
On the other hand, Jessica didn’t look crazy or like a lap-dog. She looked happy, nice. She was pretty, too. Someone Analie would have hung out with had she been Goliath.
Analie hunched down slightly. “I kind of pissed Royce off. I was sort of an idiot.” That sounded lame. “Okay, I was an idiot. And ungrateful. A combination of the two.”
“But vampires are essentially evil incarnate,” Freddy put in.
“That’s what I’ve been hearing since, like, forever,” Analie quickly clarified, elbowing Freddy. “And instead he’s... he’s...” God, this was hard to say. “He’s nice. And I keep waiting for him to be not nice and so far he hasn’t been not nice and now I’ve totally screwed up.”
Freddy rubbed his ribs, but nodded hesitantly along with Analie.
Jessica blinked those large eyes of hers at that. Particularly Freddy’s little crack.
“For fuck’s sake,” John snarled, clenching his fists at his sides as he glared at the girl. “He’s given you food, shelter, clothes, and arranged for your tutoring and acceptance by one of the most powerful Were packs on the continent. Don’t you know who Rohrik Donovan is? He’s the guy who made it so all of us—you, me, every Other in the United States—can walk freely down the street without hiding what we are. Why can’t you accept the fact that he felt sorry for you and was trying to do what he could to make up for the fact that one of your pack members was too cowardly to take the fall for his own actions?”
Jessica paled, whirling on the vampire. “John!”
He narrowed his eyes and shook his head, folding his arms. “It’s true. I’ve seen how she watches him. Like she thinks he’s going to go for her throat the minute she lets her guard down. It’s unaccountably rude, and I can’t believe it took him this long to finally snap.”
Jessica put her hands on her hips, shaking a finger at him. “That doesn’t mean you need to be cruel, either. She’s away from all her family and friends, and I’m sure it must be hard to adjust. Right?” She glanced at the two, but didn’t wait for an answer, rounding on John again. “Alec is a scary son of a bitch when he wants to be, and I’m sure he hasn’t done anything to make himself approachable since she got here.” Frowning, she turned back to the teens, focusing on Freddy this time. “Not all vampires are like Vlad the Impaler, you know. Come on, Analie, you’ve been here for how long now? Three weeks? A month? Have any of them done anything to hurt you since you got here?”
Analie shook her head. “No one has done anything to hurt me.” She ran both hands through her hair, shivering. “It’s just—it’s kind of like being a fly in a web full of really nice spiders.” Only vampires are creepier. “I want to apologize, but my pack’s method of apologizing doesn’t really work in this situation.”
Freddy nodded vigorously.
Analie stood up and looked at Jessica. “Can you help me with that?”
She pursed her lips, disliking the vampire/spider comparison. “You don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary. Just go to him and tell him you’re sorry. Maybe you should ask what he expects of you if you feel like you’re having trouble fitting in. He’s an easy guy to talk to, if you just talk to him like a person instead of a… a…”
She looked to John for help.
“An ancient, elder vampire,” he said dryly.
“No, that’s not what I mean,” she said, exasperated. “Like he’s out of the ordinary. Different. Just treat him like a professional businessman, and he’ll give you the same courtesy.”
Analie couldn’t help but imagine herself shoulder-bumping Royce and tousling his hair before initiating conversation. That thought almost made her choke trying to hold in a laugh. Or a shudder of horror.
Freddy evidently had the same thought, covering his mouth with his hand and trying to look composed.
Analie looked at the stairwell. I get to walk right into a vampire pit. Oh, man.
“Am I allowed to go up there?” Analie asked.
“Probably not,” John muttered, earning another dirty look from Jessica.
“I’m sure he won’t have an issue with you paying a visit to apologize. I’ll go with you, if you want,” she offered, daring John with a look to gainsay her. He just threw his hands in the air and stalked down the hall to his room, skirting the group as best he could without looking like he was flinching from a couple of kids.
Jessica held out both hands in offering to the pair to help them up. “Come on, the longer you wait, the more time Alec has to get himself worked into a mood.”
Analie didn’t want to go into Royce’s room. On the other hand, she didn’t want him to get into a “mood.”
It was not a common gesture in the pack, but Analie thought it might be rude to leave Jessica hanging, so she took the woman’s hand. Freddy did the same.
Analie couldn’t help but think that Jessica was severely misinformed about Royce’s temperament.
“Thanks,” Analie said.
Her legs felt like lead as they took the stairs. She glanced at Freddy to see how he was doing. There was a strange fluidity to his movements. His tiger side becoming more prominent.
She nudged him and murmured, “Eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of th—ow!”
Freddy punched her arm, a lopsided smile on his face. “’Cause I’m hungry like the wo—ow!”
Analie blew on her knuckles. “Watch it, buster.”
It was like they were walking down the liquor mart for dreamcicles rather than he
ading into a vampire pit.
Jessica was a bit perplexed, but nonetheless amused with their antics. She didn’t say anything else as she led the way, taking the lead. Once they reached the third floor, she rapped on the single closed door across the landing on the top of the stairs.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Jessica. Can I come in?”
A long, drawn-out pause.
“Alec?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. Come in.”
Jessica opened the door, heading inside first, but gesturing for Analie and Freddy to follow her.
The door opened into a room that ran the length of the building, open and spacious. There were two doors at the far end leading to a bedroom and office. The rest was just a spare, open space with a number of large pillows and throw-rugs here and there for people to sit upon and mingle, and a few pedestals with carefully spot-lighted statuary placed throughout. Every one of the many terraced windows had been thrown open, letting in fresh air and giving a view of Central Park up the block. The scent of vampire was still strong, but not as bad as it was downstairs.
Royce was leaning against one of the window sills, staring out into the night. He didn’t turn around until Jessica placed a hand lightly on his arm, shifting so he could give her his attention.
His expression instantly shifted to a blank, emotionless wall when he saw Freddy and Analie were with her.
“Someone wants to apologize,” Jessica said, poking him lightly in the side. Obviously a familiar gesture, since the intimidating expression cracked as a smile threatened at her antics, one arm sliding around her waist to hug her close.
Freddy hadn’t expected anything so open. He had been expecting something tomb-like, dark and musty and frightening. Hell, he was even starting to relax. The last time Analie had been up here—when Christoph and Ashi had broken through the wall—all the windows had been closed, and plaster dust had been heavy in the air. For the first time, Analie felt like she could breathe in this house.
The familiarity, the friendliness between Royce and Jessica—that was unexpected. Analie began to realize if she didn’t stop looking at Royce like a predator, she was never going to set things right.
She took a second to figure out a non-Goliath way of apologizing, flinching under the heat of those black eyes staring her down from across the room.
“I’m sorry for how I’ve been. You’ve been really nice and I haven’t been appreciative of that at all, and that’s really not cool. So I’d like to let you know that I do appreciate what you’ve done for me, especially considering the circumstances. And I’m sorry that I broke the rules and went out alone. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m really sorry.”
She glanced over at Freddy and was surprised when he stepped forward on slightly wobbly legs.
“I encouraged Analie to meet me knowing it was against your rules. I guess what I did was out of line. I’m really sorry, too.”
Holy crap, his voice wasn’t even its usual reedy pitch. Analie felt warm fuzzies, and not from an imminent shift. She smiled at him, though her expression froze when she spotted the faint outline of stripes on the back of his neck. So, he’d gotten a little courage from his fuzzy side.
Royce’s expression didn’t relax in the slightest. At least, not until Jessica poked him again. He sighed, closing his eyes and tilting his head to rest his cheek against Jessica’s hair.
“All right. Thank you for apologizing. I’m not trying to be the bad guy, but I am responsible for your safety, and if you don’t follow the rules I laid down, I can’t promise you won’t get hurt.”
Jessica seemed pleased enough with his answer, reaching up to ruffle his hair. “There, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?”
He smiled despite himself and leaned down to press a kiss to her temple. “No, it wasn’t. Stop being so damned cheerful, it’s ruining my image.”
“Oh, please. You’re lucky to have me around to lighten things up around here.”
He chuckled, giving her an affectionate squeeze. “Yeah, yeah. Will you tell John I’m sorry I snapped at him?”
“Nope. Do it yourself.”
Royce gave a dramatic, long-suffering sigh, turning to rest his butt against the windowsill and pulling Jessica back to lean comfortably up against his chest as he regarded Analie and Freddy. He seemed to have completely forgotten his irritation with the two.
“What’s your name, kid?” Directed at Freddy, obviously. He’d never bothered to ask.
Analie felt her knees turn to mush, but managed to stand straight. Freddy’s stripes faded, and he had to take a step back and lean against the wall. Not a very dignified gesture, but it was that or sit down hard on his rear.
Lucky, lucky, lucky. If they had been dealing with Ashi, well, it would have gone differently to say the least. Even with a more good-humored were like Barry, it could never have gone this well.
“Frederick,” Freddy said. “Everyone calls me Freddy.”
Analie cough-muttered, “Mercury.”
Freddy kicked the back of her right knee and she stumbled. She reached back to smack him upside the head, but he side-stepped. Analie regained what dignity she had left and stood still. Freddy seemed to remember where they were and stuck his hands in his pockets, ducking his head.
Jessica snickered at the crack. The faintest smile curved Royce’s lips. “Very well, Freddy. As I’m sure you’ve already gathered, I’m Alec Royce.” He gave a polite nod, and then turned a sharp look on Analie. “I trust we won’t be going through this again, yes?”
Meaning, if she defied him so blatantly again, she could expect more than a verbal reprimand.
Analie nodded. “I swear on Seeker.”
It would be a hard promise to keep. Part of growing up in Goliath was challenging others, especially superiors, to wind up on top. Obviously there was a different system in place here, one she was not yet used to.
Royce closed his eyes and relaxed, breathing in Jessica’s scent, though he knew it was coaxing his hunger out by doing so. It was a bittersweet temptation, no more.
Freddy was wondering what the hell was going to happen to them now. He doubted he’d be sent back to Pennsylvania without so much as a mention of this. But a mention of this to his current guardians was going to cause, as Analie would say, “a kerfluffle”. Not so much on his behalf—he was a shifter. But meeting with another cub in cub-hide? Ouch.
Plus, getting home wouldn’t be easy. If he was brave enough to go out on his own, he would have to contend with White Hats. The girl had to have seen them in the coffee shop, and no doubt she’d used that laptop to send out a call for backup to come as quickly as possible. It had been a fluke that she’d happened to be there at the very same time Royce went in, but no less dangerous for all of that.
Analie was bound and determined that Freddy was not going to stay here. He was not brave, and this house could cause his already frayed nerves to snap. Stripes were creeping around the sides of his neck, though he’d tugged his hoodie up to hide them. Some shifters turned when stressed. There was a video floating around online of a politician answering questions when he suddenly imploded into a sparrow.
She’d given it five stars.
Now it didn’t seem that funny at all. She turned to Royce, hoping he wasn’t too peeved with her to deny her request.
“I know it’s lame of me to ask, but Freddy needs to get back. Can you help him with that?” She glanced at Freddy. He was standing still, stiff as a board. Yes, he was stressed. She turned back to Royce. “Hopefully sort of soonish?”
“Of course,” Royce replied, a touch of cat-that-got-the-canary edging into his expression. He nudged Jessica a bit to one side so he could get to his phone, tugging it out of his pocket and texting John to either call a cab or get someone who could drive to Pennsylvania on short notice.
> Now Analie and Freddy both were indebted to him. Things had turned in his favor, and had gone better than expected. He’d be sure to use it—all of it—to his advantage. The thought was endlessly pleasing, since it meant that he was once again in charge of the situation and had leverage over all around him.
Life was good.
Chapter Thirteen
A few days later, Analie was bouncing off the walls in Mouse’s living room. Literally, she was running in circles and doing handsprings that she only landed half the time. Every five minutes or so, she’d run to her bedroom and text Freddy.
WHERE R U?!
To which Freddy would reply with a street name that meant nothing to Analie, who only knew the area by its landmarks.
So she’d run back out to the living room and dash around again. At one point she did settle down enough to make sandwiches and some instant lemonade, but that calm lasted less than ten minutes. She was the epitome of a Goliath not idling well.
While Analie rushed around, Mouse was attempting to show Sebastian some of the finer points of using a curved blade like a scimitar over the various types of schlager blades he was used to. It was slow going because they had to be careful of Analie, and Mouse could not verbally explain her points, having to write everything down or get reference books to answer Sebastian’s finer questions. That didn’t temper his enthusiasm, particularly as he was getting to learn real instead of simulated combat.
He’d left Ashi and Christoph to their own devices upstairs. Thad had left for work a couple hours ago, and Sebastian was bored out of his mind without his brother around. He’d been grateful when Mouse had offered to teach him swordplay and took advantage every opportunity he had—basically, whenever Thad was out of the house and Mouse was home.
Ashi felt a vein throbbing on his forehead as he went through his martial arts forms. Normally his daily ritual channeled his energy toward a Zen-like focus.