Black To Dust: A Quentin Black Paranormal Mystery (Quentin Black Mystery Book 7)

by JC Andrijeski

  “You’re happy,” he murmured, kissing my temple, then my cheek. “Gaos, Miri. You feel happy. Are you happy right now?”

  My cheeks and neck flushed hotter at his question.

  I thought about it, though.

  I even tried to answer it.

  Feeling over my light, I frowned as I thought, cushioning my head with my arm as I looked up at the ceiling. After another few seconds, I nodded, once.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Yes, you’re happy?”

  I turned my head, looking up at him.

  I couldn’t help but smile at his incredulous look.

  “Yes,” I said.

  Pain coiled off him in another soft cloud.

  His fingers wound into my hair, pulling my mouth to his. He kissed me for a long-feeling few seconds, tugging on my light, coaxing it open. After another few seconds where he lost himself in that, he pulled away, reluctance bleeding off his fingers.

  “Fuck,” he said, leaning his forehead on mine. “We have to go out there. Manny’s pacing.”

  “He’s pacing?”

  “Yes.” Black frowned, his irises going out of focus as he gazed off to the side. “Something about the Colonel. The Colonel must have called.” He looked back at me, his eyes clicking back into sharper relief. “Maybe they’re going to come up here after all. Now that we’ve narrowed down the area of Wolf’s camp, maybe he wants to move on them.”

  I frowned. “I thought you said Red and his people didn’t find anything up there?”

  Black nodded slowly, but his eyes showed him to be elsewhere again.

  “I know what I felt,” he said only.

  He was still staring off to the side, his gold irises out of focus, his sculpted mouth frowning now, when I pushed at his chest.

  “Go take a shower,” I scolded. “See if you can scrounge me up a towel.”

  He exhaled, looking down at me. “Come with me.”

  “Naked?”

  “You can wear my shirt. It’s only to the bathroom.”

  I felt another pulse of pain off him, and it occurred to me he wasn’t going to leave unless I went with him.

  That, or it would take a lot longer to shove him out the door.

  Writhing free of him on the bed, I climbed to my feet––too fast, as it turned out. I held out my hands for balance when a strong head-rush hit, nearly making me lose my balance altogether. I bit my lip, waiting for it pass, holding perfectly still.

  When my vision righted itself, Black was watching me carefully.

  “You okay?” he said.

  Lowering my hands slowly, I nodded.

  “You said you had a shirt I could wear? Where?”

  He crawled up to his feet as well, more cautiously than I had done.

  Once vertical, he looked around until he found me a long T-shirt of his and the towel he’d been using.

  Handing me the T-shirt, he waited for me to put it on, then wrapped the towel around his waist, tucking it in to keep it in place. Still watching me, he headed for the door; he only looked away from me long enough to open it a crack and scan the hall.

  Seconds later, he opened the door the rest of the way, motioning with a few fingers for me to come join him. Once I had, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder to point down the hall, towards the master bedroom.

  “Bathroom’s that way,” he murmured, kissing my cheek and nodding at an open door. “There’s only the one. I’ll be there in a minute. With a towel.”

  I followed his eyes, realizing I’d missed the narrower door just outside and to the right of the master bedroom while I’d been looking for Black the night before.

  Turning my face, I kissed his jaw, and his light softened, just before he grabbed my ass, kissing me on the neck and biting me lightly before he let go. Then he walked the other direction, into the living room, wearing only the towel.

  I couldn’t help watching him go.

  When he disappeared through the more brightly-lit opening, I sighed, then retreated into the bedroom to gather up my clothes, which were somehow spread across four different parts of the room.

  Seconds later, I was padding down the hall towards the one and only bathroom, wearing Black’s T-shirt, the rest of my clothes bundled up to my chest.

  Once again, the vacation was over.

  WE SHARED A chair for breakfast.

  It wasn’t wholly necessary to do that, but I couldn’t make myself care enough to do anything about it, or to take Manny up on his offer to grab a folding chair out of his storage pantry.

  He seemed to understand that well enough not to press the point.

  He also brought us a lot of food.

  Huevos rancheros with green chili and pork sausage, fried eggs and black beans, steamed greens, homemade bread. Really, everything on my plate tasted homemade, even the spiced beans, the salsa and the tortillas.

  Everything also tasted incredibly good.

  Black spent most of the meal with his jaw resting on my shoulder, talking to Manny.

  He didn’t seem to remember to eat unless I fed him, so I ended up feeding him as much or more than I fed myself. I noticed he was extremely conscious of me eating though, to the point where it was difficult to concentrate on the food as much as him.

  “And they didn’t say when they were coming?” Black said, frowning. “Or who they were bringing?”

  Manny threw up his hands, clearly trying not to watch as I fed Black some of the sausage and egg mixed with beans. He chewed vigorously, and I felt a pulse of hunger leave his light, which told me the food itself definitely wasn’t the problem with him forgetting to eat.

  “You talked to him, didn’t you?” the older man snorted. “Didn’t he tell you anything? Or do you need to hear it all from me a second time to believe it?”

  Black frowned, nudging me that he wanted more food.

  I obliged with another forkful of tortilla, egg and cheese, and he chewed, wrapping his arm tighter around my waist.

  “Do you really trust him?” Manny said, frowning. “This is Lucky Lucifer we’re talking about. Guy’s a fucking butcher. And a fanatic. He’s also a goddamned mercenary.”

  “I’m a mercenary,” Black said mildly.

  “You don’t cut children open from groin to throat,” Manny said, blunt. “Or sell them and their mothers to the highest bidder in the name of fighting a war.”

  I winced, looking up from my plate, and saw Manny notice.

  Before he could ask, I swallowed my own mouthful of egg and cheese, scooping up another forkful for Black and glancing at Manny as I fed it to him.

  “He’s my uncle,” I said. “My blood uncle.”

  At Manny’s disbelieving look, I smiled grimly.

  “He’s trustworthy to a point,” I added. “With us, I mean. But only because of that. And only really in relation to us. And only really for now.”

  Glancing at Black, I fed him another forkful of eggs, cheese and beans. Turning back towards Manny, I added,

  “Personally, I think Black trusts him too much.”

  I ignored the sound of protest from Black’s full mouth, still looking at Manny.

  “…Seers are pretty intense about family,” I explained. “Black tells me that back on Old Earth, family meant a lot to seers. There were strict protocols around relationships between family members, and a strict hierarchy and code of behavior. I think Black is assuming Charles adheres to the old ways.”

  I shrugged, glancing at Black, whose gold eyes were trained on my face, his scrutiny on the surface. Still chewing, he didn’t interrupt, so I looked back at Manny.

  “Not having been raised in that culture, maybe I just don’t get it,” I admitted. “Or maybe I’m just less trusting in general… or more skeptical from my own past with Charles… but I’m less sure the family code is as rock solid with Uncle Charles as Black seems to think.”

  Swallowing his mouthful, Black remained silent.

  Manny’s dark eyes appraised mine. I didn’t reach out with my min
d or light specifically, but I couldn’t help feeling him agree with my take on Charles over what he perceived as Black’s.

  We’d been talking openly with Manny since he served us brunch.

  That was right around the time Black got off the phone with the Colonel.

  Black had already informed me he told Manny everything.

  While we were in the shower together, he said he’d even given Manny a half-assed but mostly true explanation of why we might be acting weird around him, too. He said he’d told him everything else already––that they’d talked for hours about Old Earth and Black answered every question Manny asked him, again mostly truthfully.

  I found myself thinking Manny might know more about Old Earth than I did, given that.

  He likely knew different things, at least.

  Now Black’s friend looked between the two of us, frowning.

  “This whole thing stinks, Black,” he said finally. “Starting with the fact that your wife just happens to be the niece of Lucky Lucifer in the first place.”

  Black nodded, once. “I can see why you’d say that. The connection to Lucky is more or less how we met, but the fact that I lived in San Francisco, where Lucky’s niece lived… and that we happened to connect the way we did… it’s odd. There’s more to that story, but yes, it’s odd.”

  Manny grunted. “Ain’t there always. More to the story.”

  Looking between the two of us, he leaned back in his chair. He watched me feed Black another forkful of his breakfast before he asked, “So what’s Charles’ stake in this? What’s his interest in that door in the desert? Same as your husband’s?”

  He jerked his chin towards Black as he said the last.

  I realized he was talking to me.

  “I don’t know.” I looked at Black, frowning. “Charles is pretty religious, but he doesn’t share any of that with me, and never has. Everything I know about him in that regard, I know through Black. That being said, he wouldn’t have come out here personally without a reason. That reason could be me… or Black… but I suspect that’s only part of it.”

  I continued to look at Black, even though I’d been speaking to Manny.

  It crossed my mind to wonder again how much Black knew about this, about Charles’ religion and the real meaning of that cult-like group my uncle ran out of Europe. Black stayed with Charles and his people in Paris for months. He attended their ceremonies and rituals. He listened to them give talks and speeches. He went to their churches.

  I knew almost nothing about any of that.

  Black frowned, glancing at me before he gave a longer look to Manny.

  From his expression, I could tell he was thinking.

  From sitting in his lap, I felt what some of those thoughts were.

  He was thinking about what Manny said about Charles. He was thinking about what I said about Charles, and how I believed he trusted Charles too much. He was thinking about everything he’d seen in Paris.

  I didn’t get a lot of detail about what those specific thoughts were, though, or any of the conclusions he drew, or even his specific worries.

  Is there any reason he wouldn’t want to close the door, Black? I sent, soft. Some religious reason he’d want to keep it open?

  Flinching, Black looked at me, a caught expression flashing across his face. It was gone in an instant, but I knew I hadn’t imagined it.

  He tightened his arm, pulling me deeper into his light, and his lap.

  Can I have some more, doc?

  He nudged his chin towards the food.

  Looking at it, then at him, I snorted in disbelief.

  Are you distracting me from the question I just asked? Really?

  Only partly. He glanced at me, then at Manny across the table. It’s complicated. But the short answer is yes. There’s a reason. Not only religious, but that too. For one, Charles might be hoping to bring more seers through the door to help him fight vampires.

  I frowned, glancing at Manny, then back at Black.

  But vampires are coming through the door, I sent. Now. Right now. Wouldn’t that be more of a concern for Charles than any potential seers who might come through?

  Black shrugged.

  People can be funny. Especially where religion is involved.

  He met my gaze, his gold eyes serious.

  …Or even just run of the mill homesickness, Miri. Or hope. We don’t really know what Charles left behind on Old Earth. I’m also not sure he’s let himself really think about the potential numbers of vampires involved… or the implications of what that might mean. I plan to talk to him about all that the first chance I get. I suspect it will change his view on things somewhat, but with your uncle, it might be complicated by those other factors.

  You mean religion? I frowned. You haven’t really said what that means, Black.

  Black gave me a grim look, almost a reluctant one.

  They referenced doors in the rituals I attended in Paris, he sent after a pause. I remember pieces of this from Old Earth, too. They talked about doors a lot in their “end of days” sermons. I don’t want to freak Manny out, talking about that stuff in front of him. He’s already afraid of Lucky, and frankly, he’s got good reason to be.

  He glanced at Manny again before adding,

  Anyway, I’m trying to ease him into the whole “I’m a whole other species, and so is my wife… oh, and by the way, my wife’s uncle believes what’s happening out in the desert right now might mean the end of the human race and possibly the Earth.”

  When I stared at him in disbelief, he only shrugged.

  I told you, doc… it’s complicated. I’m oversimplifying a lot. And I’m more familiar with the human form of this religion, since I was owned by a Myther human once.

  When I flinched at that, staring at him, he brushed off my emotional reaction with his light.

  Myther? I said.

  Shorthand, he explained. That’s what most of us called them.

  Sighing, he combed a hand through his black hair, adding,

  A lot of humans followed the same religion as Charles on Old Earth. More humans than seers, really. They might have had a different take on the doors than your uncle, but they believed in some kind of end of days scenario, too. I’m not exactly an expert though, and I have no one to ask but your uncle. He’s not exactly the most reliable source.

  Exhaling, he added,

  In any case, I might have to work a bit to get your uncle to view those doors objectively. He might not want to interfere, thinking they opened for some religious reason. He might be here to kill Wolf and any vampires Wolf has with him… along with any vampires that walk through that door. But he still might not want to close the door itself. He might want to guard it, instead. Keep any humans or vampires from tampering with it while he sees what walks through.

  Thinking about his words, I nodded slowly.

  I was still frowning, gazing blindly out the window, when he cleared his throat.

  I looked back at him.

  He nudged me with his chin, indicating the plates of food on the table in front of me. We’d made it through about one and a quarter of those plates already. Sighing a little, I snorted a laugh in spite of myself, even as I scooped up more with my fork, feeding it to him obligingly.

  “Spoiled,” I said affectionately, after he’d nodded a thanks.

  “My hands are full,” he explained.

  I grunted another laugh. Both of his arms were wrapped around me.

  “Don’t get any ideas about this being a regular thing,” I said, taking a quick bite of my own before loading up another forkful for him. “I have some pride.”

  Seeing a more serious flicker of something cross his eyes, I hesitated. I was still watching him cautiously when I offered him another bite.

  You have plenty of pride, doc, he told me. More than me.

  I grunted at that, not exactly agreeing, but he tightened his hold on me.

  I won’t forget that, doc. Ever again. In addition to the other thin
g.

  I bit my lip.

  A harder pain rose in my chest as his words sank in.

  The other thing? For the first time, my thoughts grew an edge. You mean the you having sex with other people thing?

  That pain in my chest worsened at my own words.

  Thinking about the night before, about how he’d been with me, I imagined him with those vampires again and I could barely breathe.

  Honestly, our having sex didn’t help at all with smoothing some of that over. It made it worse. It also reminded me of all the people who came before me, which I’d struggled with even before he became a celebrity and had women flashing their breasts at him on the street, along with throwing their phone numbers at him right in front of me.

  I was still sitting there, unmoving, when I realized his mind had gone totally silent.

  I could feel him wanting to argue with me.

  I could feel the part of him that still didn’t see what he’d done with the vampires as cheating. I could feel the part of him that balked at even calling it sex.

  In the end, he only exhaled, right before his thoughts grew a touch harder.

  I have a request too, Miri, he sent.

  I turned, frowning at him.

  You have a request? Really? After what I just said?

  Yes, he sent, giving me a grim look. Now that we’ve agreed on this, now that I’ve agreed to everything you asked, I don’t want to hear about it again. Not like that.

  Flinching at the anger I felt there, I bit my lip.

  You don’t want to hear about it again? I sent. Really? That’s convenient.

  You need to listen to me, Miri, he sent, giving me a sharp look. You need to hear my actual words. I don’t want to hear about it like that. Not as a passive aggressive crack. Not as a snipe at me that’s just going to make us fight. I don’t want us to talk about it like that.

  Sitting there, I forced myself to do as he’d said.

  I forced myself to hear his words, to not answer right away.

  I thought about every word he spoke.

  After a few more breaths, I realized I agreed with him.