by Julie Wetzel
***
As the door clicked shut behind Darien, he drew in a deep breath and let the tension relax from his shoulders. Walking across the room, he dropped Mano’s keys on the table. He really shouldn’t have taken the man’s car like that, but he’d needed time to himself. This whole trip was turning into a huge mistake.
Grabbing up the open bottle of mead, Darien yanked the cork out and dumped what was left in the glass still on the table from last night. About an inch worth of mead splashed down into the cup. Raising an eyebrow, he studied the bottle. He hadn’t realized that he’d gone through the entire bottle in one night. But that did make sense. He had been using its magic to fortify himself all night. Picking the glass up, an amused smile came to his face as he swirled the drink around and threw it back pretending it was something harder. It was a silly act, but the thought of unwinding with a glass of scotch or whisky was very appealing at the moment. If only alcohol affected vampire the way it did humans. He felt the familiar bite of the alcohol, but it was stronger than he remembered it being last night. Swallowing the drink, he eyed the glass warily, wondering what had changed. As the liquid slid down his esophagus, it heated his chest before bottoming out in his stomach. It was an odd sensation that he wasn’t sure he liked. Suddenly, a wave of magic washed over him, lightening his head. The glass slipped from his fingers as he swayed. Clutching the table, he held on for dear life as his world wavered in and out of focus. He chuckled to himself as he tried not to fall over. He should have known better than to make a halfhearted wish while consuming anything filled with fay magic.
“Darien?” Vicky’s sweet voice wafted in from the other room.
He glanced up just in time to see her step through the doorway. Dressed in a brightly colored shirt and denim shorts, she looked amazing to him. “Hello,” he said with a smile. Holding on to the table, he staggered round the end towards her.
“Are you all right?” Vicky asked as she rushed to catch him before he fell.
Darien giggled and leaned into her. “I just need to rest for a moment.” He was sure the rush he’d gotten from the mead would pass in a few minutes.
With concern on her face, Vicky practically carried Darien over to the couch so they could both sit down. “Are you sure?” she asked as he leaned against her.
Closing his eyes, he laid his head over on her shoulder. “Yeah,” he said without elaborating. The drunken feeling was already starting to fade. Letting out a content sigh, he opened himself up and reached out to check on how Vicky was doing. For some reason, the energy slid around her in a wonky way. Opening his eyes, he sat up, concentrated on her, and tried to focus his energy better, but he still couldn’t get a proper reading on her.
“How’d it go?” Vicky asked breaking into his concentration.
Darien gasped as his energy snapped back to him. It was a disturbing feeling. He chalked it up to a side effect of the mead and shook it off. Slouching down on the couch, he rubbed his forehead thinking about the day he’d had. “Not good.” He sat up and looked at Vicky. “Kusanagi has given us two days to get off the island before he declares war on me.”
“What?” Vicky asked shocked. “Can he do that?”
Darien nodded. “It’s frowned upon to declare war on an Ancient, but he’s well within his rights to do so. We did enter his territory without permission.”
Anger made Vicky’s brow furrow. “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
Shrugging, Darien stood up. Since the world was no longer waving around in odd directions, he made his way back over to the table and the box of mead. He was still feeling drained and needed a pick me up. What he really needed was a good feeding of fresh blood, but the mead would work instead. “I might have yelled at him a bit.”
“Darien,” Vicky said in a disappointed tone. She gave him a pointed look to match it.
“What can I say? He pissed me off,” Darien said as he took out a bottle and worked the corkscrew into it. “I was too late to stop him from killing your attacker.” The cork popped loudly from the bottle as he pulled on it.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
Darien gave her a confused look. There was something in her tone that rubbed Darien wrong. Like she was blaming him for getting her into trouble and she expected him to get her out. Never in any of their misadventures had she held him responsible for their situation. “There’s not much I can do unless I want to challenge him. And doing that while I’m weakened and without back up would be suicide for both of us,” he explained. “Of course, I’ll call the Great Council and request an investigation, but that could take weeks to be arranged. In the meantime, I’ll call and arrange our flight out of here.”
“You haven’t called the Council yet?”
“No,” Darien said shaking his head more confused by her question. “I don’t have any of that information here. It’s back home in my study.” Looking down at the glass on the table, he poured himself a reasonable serving of wine and thought about things. “Actually, I’ll probably use your bag to get the information. I don’t want to bother Elliot with this yet.” Darien was pretty sure that Elliot was still dealing with his own issues and didn’t need the added stress of what was going on here. He’d find out when Vicky and Darien came back much earlier than planned.
“So you’re just going to leave?”
This question shocked Darien. Vicky may give him directions when he was lost or forgot something, but she rarely questioned his judgment, especially when it came to the paranormal side of the world. Something wasn’t right here. “Yes,” he said trying to think of some way to cover his confusion. He glanced down at the bottle in his hand. “Would you like some of this?” he asked, holding the bottle up.
“Please,” Vicky said.
Setting the bottle down, he picked up the glass he’d poured for himself and walked it over to Vicky. He watched as she took the drink, thanked him, and lifted it to her lips without questioning the beverage. He studied her, but couldn’t find anything wrong. He brushed her lightly with his power, but it skittered off her again. He did notice one thing missing. “What happened to your cross?”
A surprised look came over Vicky’s face and she pressed her hand over her chest where the necklace was missing. “I took it off.” She gave him a sweet smile. “So you’d be more comfortable.”
“I see,” Darien said. There was something not quite right, but he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was. “Thank you.”
Rolling the glass between her hands, Vicky held it in her lap as she turned her attention to Darien. “So what would you like to do now?” she asked, changing the subject.
Darien blinked, lost by the sudden change in subject. “Well…” he paused, thinking. “I suppose we should probably head out and enjoy the island while we can. Have you eaten?”
Vicky shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “I was waiting for you to get back.”
“Good,” Darien said “Then why don’t we check out what the town has to offer. I hear there are some really good clubs not far from here.”
“Excellent,” Vicky said as she stood up. She drained the rest of the drink before handing the glass back to Darien. “Give me a minute to get changed.” She pecked a kiss to Darien’s cheek before disappearing back into the bedroom.
Darien watched her go before looking down at the empty glass. That little voice telling him something was wrong with Vicky screamed at him. Walking back over to the desk, he set the glass down, picked up the bottle, and started chugging from it. He hated to drink the honey wine in such an uncouth fashion, but he needed to get as much of the magic-filled liquid down as he could manage before Vicky came back. Something was wrong and he had a feeling he was going to need the extra magic in his system so he could deal with it.
***
The moonlight glittered off the soft sand as Darien and Vicky strolled along the edge of the water hand in hand. It had been an excellent evening. After Vicky had gotten dressed, they had gone down just
in time to catch one of the shuttles leaving for a local luau. A quick word from Darien had them on it and off to a proper luau. There was hula dancing, fire juggling, an amazing buffet, and a full bar. Darien had pressed Vicky to eat and drink as much as she wanted while he nibbled at things, tasting them. It had been a wonderful time, but as the night grew older and the crowd thinned, Darien had suggested that they take the scenic route back to their hotel by walking along the beach.
As they meandered along the edge of the surf, Darien pulled Vicky into his side and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Thank you for a very entertaining evening,” he said softly, nuzzling his face into the side of her hair.
She moaned and tilted her head away from him, giving him better access. “You’re welcome,” she said, almost purring in desire. “But the night is still young.”
“Very true,” Darien said as he stopped and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly against his body and leaned towards her lips. Vicky moved to meet his kiss, but Darien turned at the last moment so he could whisper in her ear. “Where is she?”
Vicky froze in Darien’s arms.
Holding her tight, Darien leaned back to look at the trapped woman. Surprise showed on her face.
“What do you mean?”
Darien gave her a knowing smile. “You had me fooled at first, but you made a few fatal errors. First, you asked what I was going to do about Kusanagi and the Hawaiian Council as if it was my problem to deal with. Vicky would have used ‘we’ to include herself in the decision-making process, a slight slip that I nearly missed. Second, although you put it back on when you changed, Vicky would never have taken her cross off for my comfort.” He nodded down at the cross on her chest. “She knows I can handle much more than what that little thing can put out. And I don’t know where you got that replacement, but it isn’t nearly as strong as the original. And finally, Vicky would never have indulged in alcohol like you did tonight. She’s carrying our children.”
Shock and fear widened the woman’s eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, darling.”
“Don’t lie to me, kitsune,” Darien said as his eyes narrowed at the Japanese fox spirit trapped in his arms. “I can see your tail.”
The long, bushy tail of a fox swished back and forth as the woman gasped. She struggled to get free, but she could not break his hold.
“That will do you no good, yōkai,” he said, holding her firmly against him. “I’m not completely unfamiliar with your kind. I’ve been spellbinding you for most of the night.”
She drew in a deep breath as if she was going to speak, but let it out without saying what she wanted to. Her shoulders sagged as the fight went out of her. “How?”
Darien shook his head and smiled at her. “If I told you that, you could remove it, and you’re not going anywhere until you tell me who you are and where Vicky is.”
Letting out a sigh, the woman raised her hand and pulled something from the top of her head. The illusion melted away, leaving Shuri wrapped in Darien’s arms.
Darien chuckled in amusement. “I should have known.” Reaching up, he took the small skull from Shuri before releasing his hold on her. “A thin face, a fine bone structure, and close set eyes. All traits of a fox daemon. Then there was that power at the Council’s luau. Only a creature with strong magic could pull that off. I feel foolish for not picking up on it earlier.” Releasing her, he took a step back so she stood on her own.
She recoiled from him as if she were going to bolt.
“I wouldn’t run if I were you,” Darien said in a light tone as he turned and started down the beach. “You might be able to get about twenty feet before the pain starts.” He paused and tucked his hand in his pocket as he spoke. “Why do you think I hung so close to you all night long?”
Shuri stood there staring at him with an open mouth.
He turned and started walking again.
As the gap between them grew, a tickling sensation raced over Shuri’s skin, like the feeling of hundreds of spiders crawling all over her. She brushed at her arms, but there was nothing there. The sensation grew until it was an itch.
Darien stopped and turned back to her. “Come on.” He used his head to urge her to join him. “The night is more than half over and we have much to discuss.”
Shuri held her ground for another minute as Darien continued on his way. When the itch intensified to a bite, she blew out a heavy breath and gave in. Loping to catch up, she fell into step beside him. “How?”
Giving her a sidelong glance, he smiled. “I’ve learned a few tricks in my time. It’s amazing what you can do with a few simple things found just about anywhere. I was honestly afraid that you would notice, so I started small. Once the spell had settled in place, I was able to strengthen it a little at a time.”
“That’s why I kept feeling your power brush over me,” Shuri said, thinking back over the evening. “After seeing you save your human, I thought you were checking to see if I was okay.”
“Her name is Victoria and she isn’t my human. She’s my wife,” Darien said crossly.
Shuri bowed her head. “Forgive me, my lord.”
Letting out a long breath, he continued on in silence. His thumb rubbed across the forehead of the small skull as he recalled his lore on kitsune. As master tricksters and shapeshifters, they were known to use small objects, like leaves and bones to help with their illusions. He lifted the skull up to look at it. The moonlight shimmered on the bleached bone of some small rodent. He lowered the skull and recalled another illusion he’d been subjected to recently. He’d seen the leaves Vicky had shaken from her wrap, but he hadn’t connected them to the hallucination.
Darien glanced at Shuri and broke the silence that had fallen between them. “The incident by the pool. That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Shuri said.
Another moment of silence hung between them as Darien pondered her actions. “Why?”
“I was testing you,” she answered. “I wanted to know if my illusions would work on you.” She paused. “I was glad to see they did.”
Darien let the night fill the space between them as he thought. “What happened to Victoria?” he finally asked. “I know she was in the hotel when I left for the Council.”
Shuri looked down and watched the surf lap at the sand as they walked. “I switched places with her when you went back to get your keys.”
“So I took her to the Council?” Darien asked, giving her a sidelong glance.
“No,” Shuri answered him. “That was Nalani. She took my place to lead you to Kusanagi.”
Darien considered this for a moment. If Shuri took Vicky’s place and Nalani took Shuri’s place, then that meant he’d put Vicky up in the spare room at the hotel. “So Victoria is in the hotel?”
“Not anymore,” Shuri said with a shake of the head
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Darien turned his head to look at his companion fully. “Then where is she?”
“She’s safe,” Shuri said, kicking at the sand.
A tense silence fell between them as they strolled along. The only sounds were the roar of the rolling waves, the whisper of the night wind, and the soft laughter of couples off in the distance.
“What’s the goal of this?” Darien finally asked.
“Kusanagi wants you dead.”
Darien looked at her surprised. “What did I ever do to him?”
Shuri looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “He thinks you’re here to murder him.”
Darien let out a huff of air. “That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard.” He growled indignantly. “Victoria and I came to celebrate our honeymoon. I wanted nothing to do with Kusanagi or the Council. I told him that. Several times.”
“He doesn’t believe you.”
“Obviously not,” Darien snapped, angry that Kusanagi was being so obtuse about the whole affair.
“He thinks you’re lying to him because the hunters who came for his master showed up una
nnounced, claiming they were simply there to see Kyoto. After a few days, they made their first attempt on her life.” She paused giving Darien time to absorb that fact. “Kusanagi expects you to make such an attempt at any time.”
Darien continued in silence, considering her words. “I didn’t know,” he said in a solemn but thoughtful tone. “The hunt was well underway when I was asked to join.” He turned his head to look at Shuri. “And how do you fit into this?”
“I’m supposed to kill you,” she said softly.
Darien raised an eyebrow, evaluating the smaller woman. “And you think you can?”
She shook her head. “No, you’re much too strong for me to seduce and draw the life from,” she said and turned to meet his eyes. There was a spark of defiance there. “But I never planned on killing you anyway.”
“Then why are you here?” Darien asked as he cocked a curious eyebrow at her.
“I desire something and I think you can help me get it.”
Darien drew in a defeated breath and let it rush out. “What do you need from me?”
Shuri licked her lips nervously before she answered. “I want you to kill Kusanagi.”
“What?” he nearly yelled, shocked by her answer.
Shuri’s face grew hard and she stared off into the night with narrowed eyes. “For two hundred years he’s held me hostage, forcing me to do his bidding.” There was hate in her voice as she spoke. “I want my freedom, but to get that I need to reclaim my jewels from Kusanagi.”
Darien paused as he thought about the type of creature standing next to him. It had been a while since he’d studied any lore on Japanese daemons, but one of his books had held a passage on the kitsune. They were believed to be the spirits of foxes that had learned to shapeshift into women. He remembered some mention of jewels, but he couldn’t recall their purpose or why they were important to the daemons. He did remember that the kitsune possessed many of the traits of their mundane counterparts. They were crafty tricksters and excellent thieves. “And you can’t just steal them back?” Such a small task shouldn’t be that hard.