All That Shimmers

by N. J. Nielsen

  Today appeared to be no different. Tagh sat at the bar drinking coffee while Eric sat in on a meeting with Orion and Remi. They were discussing whether or not the demons should get involved with the kidnapped-warrior mess. Everyone already knew neither of the clans would want to stay at home—apparently, demons liked a good fight. In this case, Remi voted for and Orion against. Right now, they were trying to see how Eric would deal with something more than a minor squabble and Tagh was there to make sure no harm came to Eric.

  “Eric is a lot stronger than people gave him credit for.”

  Tagh turned and stared at Gabriel, who stood on the opposite side of the bar making coffee. “Yes, he is.”

  “He has a very good head on his shoulders, with a high moral standard. He leads with his head, not his heart,” Gabriel mused out loud.

  “Yes, he does.” Tagh wondered what, if anything, Gabriel planned to do. The man had come back to them a completely changed person. One second, he’d been all hate-filled and wanting everyone dead and now he seemed like he only wanted to belong. “How are things going with Daven?”

  Gabriel sighed. “He’s a stubborn ass who doesn’t like change, or so it seems. Maybe he doesn’t like me. Whatever his problem is, he’s fighting me the whole way. Keeps going on about how Eric would have done or handled something. Until I end up screaming I’m not bloody Eric, and do it my way.”

  “Have you ever thought he might be testing you? To see if you’re going to stick around and do what’s required?” Tagh asked. He didn’t add that he thought Daven kept trying to see how far he could push his new warden before he completely snapped. There was something going on there that Tagh was still trying to figure out.

  Gabriel glared at his cup of coffee. “I’m not leaving. I need to rebuild some of the bridges I destroyed in life. Make amends to those people I let down.”

  “The boys will forgive you for what you did to them. It’s what you tried to do to Mitch that has them pissed off and out of sorts,” Tagh said. He didn’t see the sense in pussyfooting around when everyone knew the reason why Claude, and especially Isiah, had a hard time re-bonding with Gabriel.

  “I just wanted it to end. To be over. I hated always being alone. Being on the outside and looking in. It took me a long time to figure out what happened wasn’t either of their faults, but by that time it would be too late. I kind of snapped when Mitch came into their lives because they got to be happy while I’m no longer capable of happiness,” Gabriel admitted. He took a sip of his coffee before adding, “It wasn’t my finest hour in life.”

  What an understatement. “No, it wasn’t, but it was needed. If you hadn’t tried to kill the boys by changing Mitch, we’d more than likely still be none the wiser to what’s been going on. I think you were intended to be the catalyst to bring us all together,” Tagh said. He wanted to be as honest as he could, because secrets had a way of coming out and biting them all in the ass.

  Gabriel seemed to think about that for a while. “Do you think maybe my actions weren’t my own? In the beginning, I loved being their warden. Then one day I woke up and I couldn’t wait to be rid of them. I know my change hurt them badly and, even though I didn’t want to do the things I did, I couldn’t seem to stop myself. It’s like I needed to blame someone for what had happened.”

  “Maybe. I guess we’ll never really know for sure. All you can do is be a better person from here on out.”

  “If I’m going to be a better person, I suppose I should go and disassemble the prank I set up for Dav. Let everyone see I’m at least trying to fit in.”

  Mirth bubbled up inside Tagh and his curiosity got the better of him. “What kind of practical joke?”

  “I rigged it so when Dav wakes up, he’s going to get doused in a very thick bubble mixture.” Gabriel shrugged, “What can I say? He pissed me off before he fell asleep.” He added with a smirk, “I mean really pissed me off, and at the time, I felt more than a little vindictive.”

  A chuckle slipped from Tagh. “No, I think that surprise should be left in place. After all, Daven has been acting so bloody uppity where you’re concerned. Besides, he should be waking up any minute now.”

  Seeing Daven angry and covered in suds might be hilarious and would probably break the tension in the household. Everyone seemed to be on edge of late. What better way to break the ice—so to speak?

  “He’s going to need roping when he wakes up,” Gabriel warned.

  A deep roar echoing through the house had everyone stopping in place so they resembled living, breathing statues.

  “What the hell?” Eric turned and glared at Gabriel. “What did you do?”

  Gabriel didn’t have time to answer as a sopping-wet Daven stood in the doorway. The man locked his gaze onto Gabriel before he stomped across the room until they were toe to toe. Tagh wasn’t the only one present to laugh at the sight the pair made. Daven stood there all furious, while Gabriel acted like he didn’t know how the hell Daven had gotten that way.

  “Don’t, love,” Tagh whispered. He stopped Eric from interfering. He knew his mate wanted to help his friend, but Daven had to work through this on his own. Tagh pulled Eric into his arms. “They need to sort this out for themselves, or it’ll never work for Gabe to be Daven’s warden.”

  Eric growled. “Why does Gabe always have to push Dav’s buttons? Why can’t he learn to play nice?”

  “Because he’s not you and Daven is very put out about that fact. I think Gabe is doing a great job at restraining himself. You’re still slightly blinded by your loyalty to Daven to see how he’s been acting. Some days, he’s made poor Gabe’s life a living hell.”

  “That’s the way Dav is. He doesn’t mean anything by it,” Eric defended.

  Tagh sighed. “Frankly, Daven has been an asshole and needs to be put in his place. Even Lara has wanted to smack him a few times. He needs to grow up and accept the changes in life. Gabriel is his day warden and no amount of bitching the guy out is going to change that fact and bring you back. And you need to stop jumping in to save Daven. He has to learn the world does not revolve around Daven Banks.”

  Even though their conversation had been quietly spoken, Tagh knew both Daven and Gabriel heard every single word. Part of him hoped that Daven realized how much of a petty ass he’d been of late. The man didn’t like change—so what? He needed to figure out that Eric wasn’t going to be around forever, picking up after him and catering to his every need. Mitch didn’t run around after the boys. Hell, no day warden did that.

  Daven turned baleful eyes on him. “You stole what belonged to me.”

  “You’re wrong. Eric had only been on loan to you until he came into my life. He’s always been predestined to be mine from birth. It was only ever a matter of time before we met,” Tagh answered. There was no way he’d give up his mate just to make one vampire happy. “Eric is mine—just as I am, and always will be, his.”

  “Dav…” Eric began.

  He didn’t get to say more as Daven turned and stormed from the room. Gabriel followed more sedately after his charge, and Tagh knew without a doubt the argument continued behind closed doors. At least it’d be away from the rest of the people who resided with them.

  “Do you think Daven will ever get it?” Remi asked.

  “Get what?” Eric asked in return.

  “That the way he’s been treating Gabriel isn’t acceptable. Lara told me Simon planned on stepping in and taking Gabriel from Daven. Vampires have day wardens for a reason. They’re to be treated with respect and not be lectured every day about how much of a screw-up they are because they aren’t someone else.” Remi pointed straight at Eric. “I’m almost afraid to say this, but you spoiled Daven. Made his home life too easy. He’s now measuring Gabriel up against you and finding faults that aren’t even there. You broke him, and I think you need to be the one to fix him before he finds himself without a day warden at all.”

  By the strained look on his mate’s face, Eric didn’t like hearing he’d had a
hand in turning Daven into an overbearing dick. Hugging Eric closer, he said, “What Remi not so delicately put—Daven needs to start taking care of himself, and not leaving everything up to Gabe.”

  “So because, as you say, Dav is acting like a dickhead, you think it’s okay for Gabriel to be pulling idiotic pranks on the man?” Eric didn’t seem to be getting it.

  Remi snorted. “If it were me, I would have beaten the crap out of Daven by now. I think Gabriel is showing great restraint.”

  “Talk to Daven and try to get him to see he needs to dial his criticism of Gabriel down a notch or two,” Tagh said. He raised his hands and massaged Eric’s shoulders. “With as much as we have going on around here, we need everybody to be working together as a coherent unit and have no in-house bickering.”

  Eric nodded. “I know. It’s hard not being able to make sure Dav is doing okay. I hated having to give up his care.”

  “Dav is doing just fine,” Remi stated.

  Orion joined them. “We going to have to forget about Daven’s petty complaints for a moment. Word has come in—they’ve discovered the location of one of the zoos. I don’t think it’s the one where Malaya came from, but we need to go in and rescue whoever’s there. If the source of the information is to be believed, we may have found Jory. They deserve to be free to live their lives. Cheyenne thinks we may need to set up some kind of rehabilitation place so these beings can be integrated back into society with minimal stress.”

  “Talk to Lara and Simon about it. I’m sure they’re already thinking along the same lines.” Tagh was glad someone had planned ahead. He knew the captives were more than likely going to have a hard time trusting anyone once they were set free.

  Tagh could somewhat understand if they came out being standoffish, not knowing who would help or who would cause them more harm. He’d kind of felt the same way after his warrior secret had become public knowledge. He also assumed some of the captives might become very clingy to whoever freed them. Tagh hoped everyone prepared for either situation to happen.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The way shit had happened so fast, Eric hadn’t had time to deal with the whole get Daven to stop being a dick to Gabriel thing and, as much as he wanted to deny everyone’s belief that it had to be him, he’d started taking notice of what happened around him. Daven really had been acting like a spoiled brat. Enough that even Eric wanted to slap him into next week. If Tagh didn’t know any better, he’d say the boy needed to get laid. The only thing stopping him from telling Daven that was the fact he knew Daven already had a very vigorous sex life. With the man’s stunning looks, he could have any girl he laid his eyes on and probably most of the men, if he was ever that way inclined.

  “What has you thinking so hard?” Mitch asked before he threw his arm across Eric’s shoulder.

  Eric leaned into his friend. “I’m worrying about Dav and also about what’s going to happen when we go close down this zoo. Tagh doesn’t want me to go, but if he’s going, so am I. I need to know if Jory is there. To see if he’s real.”

  “How’s things going between you and Tagh?” Mitch asked.

  “Okay. He’s a lot different than what I thought. He’s kinda sweet, and very attentive. He’s very smart and…” Eric glared when Mitch smirked at him.

  Mitch waggled a finger at Eric. “I always said you two would make a great couple and you were so adamant that you wouldn’t. I’m so happy to see that I’m right and you were wrong.”

  “I wasn’t wrong. Tagh really did come across as an ass back then in his creepy-stalker mode. How could I possibly know fate had other plans for us?”

  “Don’t go trying to make out like it’s only fate’s choice. That is only part of it and you know it. You wouldn’t have readily agreed to mate if you hadn’t found Tagh at least a little bit attractive,” Mitch argued right back at him.

  Mitch was telling the truth and Eric no longer wanted to deny it. “You’re right. I found Tagh very attractive, but I also found him to be an obnoxious ass.”

  “Why, because he asked you out?” Mitch shook his head. “Pull the other one—it plays Jingle Bells. You only avoided Tagh because you didn’t want your precious bloody Daven to realize you were gay.”

  “Did I just hear my name mentioned?” They both turned as Daven spoke from the doorway.

  Mitch had a wicked gleam in his eye and Eric realized Daven would be about to learn a few things he probably didn’t want to know about himself.

  “Yes. We were talking about you and your prima-donna ways. Remi told me Simon is thinking about relocating Gabe’s services because you two don’t get along.”

  Well, that’s one way to address the elephant in the room. Luckily, they were the only people there at the moment. Eric had never wanted to confront Daven in front of an audience. Mitch obviously had no such qualms. Funny thing—Eric could have sworn Daven had paled at the remark. What’s going on with that?

  Mitch appeared to be in fine form. “Take a seat, big guy, and let’s hash this shit out. No matter what you think, I’ve started to like Gabriel and I don’t want him being sent away. So. spill. Tell us what your hang-ups are where Gabe is concerned.”

  “The man doesn’t take anything seriously. He doesn’t even try and do things the way I like—the way I’m accustomed to them being done. He never listens to a word I say,” Daven ranted as he came and took a seat near them.

  A frown formed across Mitch’s forehead. “You do realize the world doesn’t revolve around you, right? And that Gabe isn’t Eric? He’s going to want to do things his way and the two of you need to learn to compromise, or you’re going to have to learn to do shit for yourself.”

  “Eric always—”

  Eric shut his friend and former charge down. “Don’t compare Gabe to me, Dav. I’ve been told I spoiled you. I never wanted to believe it until listening to you just now. I know you understand that every day warden is different. None of us follow along the same guidelines. If I could have continued to be your day warden, I would have. You need to really think about what you want. A day warden who isn’t me, or to be left to your own devices. As much as I love you, Dav, you need a warden and with a new warden comes change.”

  “But I don’t like change,” Daven grumbled.

  Mitch leaned across and slapped Daven on the knee. “Take a teaspoon of cement and harden the fuck up, sweetheart. Like I said before, the world does not revolve around your need to be pampered by your warden. I think Gabe is the best choice for you and you need to relax and go with the flow.”

  “I think I really screwed up in my taking care of you. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every second of being your warden, but maybe I did a little too much of the caring and not enough of helping you adjust to the great big world.”

  “I’m not that bad.” Daven sulked and Eric tried hard not to laugh.

  Mitch grinned at Daven and slapped his knee again. “I beg to differ. Look at all the grief you gave me and the boys in the beginning. I believe you thought we were all lying and you were determined to catch us out. And, now that the prophecy seems to be coming true, you along with everyone else, sees them the same way I do and can tell them apart. You were so single-minded in your need to prove me wrong. Have you ever thought you were the one who might have been wrong?”

  “I only tried to protect Claudius and Isiah,” Daven defended.

  “And I appreciate that you did. But, Dav, you need to let go of the need to control every situation. You need to try being less rigid. Haven’t you ever heard the saying—you catch more flies with honey? Maybe if you stopped getting pissed off at Gabe over every nit-picking thing, he might actually listen to you. Remember, compromising is good,” Mitch spoke the last as if he were speaking to a small child.

  Eric blurted out a laugh, which garnered a scowl from Daven and a grin from Mitch. “Oh, come on, Dav. Even you have to admit you’ve been acting like a bit of an ass toward Gabe. At first, I thought it had something to do with the way he treated the boys
, but now I’m not so sure. There seems to be something else behind your attitude.”

  “I already told you. He doesn’t listen to a word I say.”

  “Hmmm.” Mitch snapped his fingers. “Have you ever thought about talking nicely instead of taking the poor guy’s head off at every available chance? I know, how about you also talk to him in private instead of making a big song and dance about it in front of everyone else? How would you feel if someone constantly did that to you? You’re lucky all you got were a few pranks pulled on you. If I were Gabe, I’d have decked you by now.”

  Mitch didn’t wait for Daven to reply. Instead, he abruptly stood and left the room. Eric knew how pissed-off his best friend had gotten.

  “Do you think he’s right?” Daven asked

  As he came back to the here and now, Eric inwardly sighed. “Dav, everyone thinks he’s right. Even Isiah and Claude think you are taking this a tad too far.” Eric reached over and clutched his friend’s hands within his own. “What’s going on? You know you can talk to me. I’ll always be here for you. I know you’re better than this, so I need to figure out why you’re acting the way you are.”

  Daven stayed silent for so long that Eric didn’t think he’d answer, and when he did, Eric was taken aback. “I don’t know how to relate to him. Gabriel, I mean. You already know all of my secrets and habits. He doesn’t. I don’t know how to trust him enough so I can open up and let him in. He’s not like you.”

  “Nobody’s like me. We didn’t get on in the beginning. Look at how we first came together. We were in the middle of a fist fight, for crying out loud. You found a way to trust me. You have to do the same with Gabe, just as he needs to not always be on the defensive. He did some really screwed-up shit in his past. Remi thinks maybe somehow Gabe’s fate led him to be that way. Perhaps like a catalyst that started everything to bring us all together.”

  “What are you talking about?” Daven asked.