I grunted and turned away.
Without bothering to say goodbye to anyone, I stepped out of the Dueling Grounds into an empty field. I took a deep breath and gagged at the smell of fresh manure. Too fresh.
I looked down to see I was standing in a fresh pile, steam curling up around my boots.
I yelled at the top of my lungs, unable to maintain control of my temper this time. I stepped out of the manure, untied my boots and then opened a Gateway back to Chateau Falco. I tossed the boots upright into the cow shit and stepped through the hole in the air.
The last thing I saw of the field was my pair of four-hundred-dollar boots sitting in a pile of cow-shit and the introspective part of me determined it was the perfect representation of my life.
I strangled my introspective self and stomped up to my mansion in my socks.
It was officially this wizard’s bedtime.
Chapter 25
It had been a long morning, the various women of the house demanding that I make Carl stop his research into the D. Hiding my smirk had been hard, but the ridiculousness of it all had helped curb the last of my bad attitude.
Tory had swung by, demanding to know where Alucard was. In careful terms, I told her I didn’t want to get slapped again and that was that. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell her the truth, but that I didn’t want to bring back my dark mood. Also, I wasn’t sure where she fit into White Fang’s big plan. I didn’t want to tell her anything that would make her stick her nose into something that could get her killed. Or anything that would make her demand answers from the dragons – which might put her and the Reds in danger.
On that note, she had followed up with, “Where are the Reds? Or Yahn? I keep missing them…” her motherly glare was in constant motion, as if searching the room behind me to discover them hiding. When I didn’t immediately answer, she looked back up at me.
I smiled as I said, “Welcome to being a mother to teenaged girls.”
She didn’t find it as humorous as I did, judging by the slap to my cheek. I was only thankful she hadn’t used her full strength. Luckily, my wounds from the previous night hadn’t remained upon leaving or she might have accidentally killed me.
Before she could leave, I grabbed her arm. She spun, slapping my hand away. “I have to find them, Nate. I don’t have time for you to pester me.”
I almost lost my temper at that. “Are you kidding me?” I whispered.
That caught her attention. She seemed to deflate, taking a deep breath. “Sorry.”
I nodded slowly, glad that I didn’t have to point out her double standard. “I saw them hanging out on their sunning rock in the Solarium. In plain sight. They’re just being teenagers. Taking advantage of your… work for Raego.”
Her face clouded over. “I am not working for Raego.”
I waved a hand. “Whatever. The Council, then.” She huffed, folding her arms beneath her breasts. When it was obvious she wasn’t going to offer anything up, I pressed her. “Find what you were looking for? This thief?”
She just folded her arms, looking tired and frustrated, but not willing to answer me.
I sighed. Worth a shot. “You’ll figure it out. Just a reminder, but I’m leaving tonight and might be gone for a few days.”
Her eyes took on a hungry shine. “Fae. That sounds so much easier than St. Louis.”
I grunted, arching a brow. “Right.” Fae would be easier than St. Louis. And Hell.
She smiled at my look. “I know. I’m being irrational.”
I nodded carefully, placing an arm over her shoulders as I led her down the hallway, sensing that she needed to burn off some energy. “Let’s go find the teens.” Tory began to talk conversationally. Hearing nothing of value, I listened absently as I let my eyes trail over the halls, smiling in memory at some, cringing in horror at others. Memories of breaking something or getting into trouble about some prank Gunnar and I had thought we could get away with. Some of these spots in the hallways were where Dean or my parents had finally pinned us down to chastise us for our recklessness. And little things like that stuck in a kid’s mind. Now, it was funny, but that instinctive clench was still there. Kind of like parents could still say your name in that tone and you might flinch, even though you were a grown adult now.
My smile withered away as I remembered that if all went well, I would be seeing my parents soon. Not in the best of locales, but that I would get to see their faces again. Or souls.
I sensed Tory staring at me. “Sorry. Thinking about Fae. What were you saying?”
She studied me critically for a few seconds before repeating herself. “The Council and Raego disappear often. When I ask them about it later, they shrug it off and tell me to stop worrying about their daily planners and find the thief. But if I can’t ever question the suspects, how do they expect me to find the thief? Last night, for example? I couldn’t find any of them. Then Alucard mentioned that he was going to the Fight Club, so I figured I would at least accompany him. But he was as closed off as I’ve ever seen. And who do I find? The fucking dragons. All hanging out like a family dinner, but no one had informed me about it!”
I nodded, not giving any advice.
We walked in silence. “I know what you’re doing. I appreciate it, but it also pisses me off.”
I smiled, not turning to face her. “Oh?”
She shoved me with her hip. “Thanks for not letting me lean on you. Even when it bugs you as much as it does me.” She let out a sigh, shaking her head. Then she stopped in the hall. I turned to look at her and she had her hands on her hips. “I completely forgot with all the stupid dragon stuff. Why the hell did you fight Alucard and Raego last night? And that part at the end?”
I considered telling her the truth, but saw way too many problems with that. She was working with the dragons, and I wanted as few as possible knowing about the Candy Skulls. But she needed to know not to talk about it, too. “Remember those things we saw on our way to visit Raego after the wedding?”
She noted my vague description and nodded. Then she froze, her eyes shooting wide. “Oh, shit! You tried Shadow Walk—”
I held up a hand, cutting her off. “Yeah. Instinctive. I forgot about the dangers. They almost got to me. I felt like I was there for a minute or more, but Achilles said it was like any other time I Shadow Walked – a fraction of a second. I was dazed and my opponents pounced.” I tried to let her know with my eyes that the fight wasn’t important. “We mustn’t talk about those things we saw. Not to anyone. I’m actually on my way to find Callie to tell her the same. There are some… dangers in sharing the information, apparently. So just keep your trap shut. You women and your gossip—”
She began tapping her feet, giving me the mom look and I grinned. “Just kidding. But I am serious about speaking of… them. Don’t. I’ll take care of it. I’m on it.” I wasn’t on it. Not at all. But she had plenty on her plate at the moment.
“Fine. I won’t tell. To be honest, with the dragon stuff, and the Reds hiding from me, what… we saw completely slipped my mind.”
I held up my hands in a there you go gesture. “Keep it that way.” I held out my arm for her to rejoin me and she finally did. We made our way to the front of the house. A thought hit me and I stumbled. Tory frowned at me, a concerned look on her face.
What if… I didn’t make it back from Hell? What if White Fang did something to put Tory and the Reds in danger. Her students…
I checked that we were alone before continuing on, speaking quietly. “Keep an eye on everything while I’m gone. There are… things going on in town, and I think the dragons are just the tip of it. I don’t want to scare you, but someone is stirring up trouble. Chateau Falco will always be a safe place for you guys if things go badly while I’m gone.”
To emphasize this, the house rumbled all around us – but much stronger than normal. It cut off abruptly as if interrupted. Tory glanced up at the ceiling warily. “What’s up with her lately? She’s more… vocal.
But less vocal at times, too.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t about to tell her. Oh, yeah. My house is just pregnant.
“Maybe she caught a bug or something.”
Tory gave me a look, but I didn’t let her break my resolve. “If you need anything from me, ask fast. I’ll be leaving tonight.”
She thought about that. “I better not. It’s not just that I don’t want to, but that I want to abide by the terms the dragons gave me. A verbal contract. Even though they read the fine print much more closely than I did.”
I chuckled. “They wrote the fine print.”
She grunted. “What’s so important about going to Fae again? If it’s just another recharge, you might not be gone that long. But if it was something big, you would have asked us for backup.”
I was silent for a time. “Maybe you’re wrong about both points…” I felt her watching me and felt bad for lying. But I did it anyway. “I never know how much time will pass while I’m over there. So a recharge could take days. I’d rather you be warned ahead of time than be wondering what happened to me if I was gone longer than anticipated.”
She sighed. “Otherwise we’d be checking up on you every hour.”
I gave her a very serious look. “No. You promised.”
She swore under her breath. “I know. We won’t ever go there without you. Just a figure of speech. But… what about the other thing? You said I might be wrong on both points.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I don’t want to always ask for your help.” I felt her shoulders tensing, ready to berate me for being so stubbornly stupid, but she saw me smiling at her with a raised eyebrow. She blinked. Once. Twice. Then it hit her.
“Just like we’ve been doing to you…”
I snapped my fingers. “Bingo. My problems are not always your problems.”
We walked on in silence, nearing the front door. She squeezed my side in a brief hug before detaching and turning to look up at me. She looked… scared. “I know things are crazy right now, Nate, but don’t do anything stupid. Even if your friends are doing exactly what I’m warning you not to do right now.” She smiled guiltily as she said that. “But… I think it’s just growing pains. We’ve been through hell lately, and I think everyone is just trying to tighten up their boots, take a breath, and check their foundations. See who they are without you. So that they have a better sense of self-understanding the next time something goes down. To understand what they can handle on their own, and what might require… assistance.”
I smiled, nodding. “I know. It sucks, but I get it.”
“Right. Well, stop being so emotional about it. It’s disgusting.”
I rolled my eyes and turned as if to walk away. “Take care, Tory. You’ll do well.”
“Damn right.”
When I glanced back, she was gone.
Likely to burn down my Solarium when she caught them cuddling with Yahn.
Chapter 26
I glanced at the small study off the main entrance, saw the crackling fire, and went to take a seat. I didn’t pour a drink from the nearby bar. I didn’t read any of the books beside me. I just stared at the flames, focusing on my breathing. We were going to Fae soon. To get a recharge before we went to Hell tomorrow. Since I hadn’t told anyone about that part, they all thought we were leaving for Fae tonight and that we wouldn’t be back for a few days.
With luck, we would get back from Fae and off to the St. Louis Arch to meet Death before anyone noticed we’d returned. I hadn’t told any of them about our planned trip to Hell, because, come on. It was Hell. They would have spent a year calling me nine kinds of idiot and then demanding that they should come with me.
Not this time.
Just me. And the two wildest bastards I had ever met. Talon and Carl.
Talon was my first best friend. But he was also my Shadow – a self-appointed bodyguard. Fearless, ruthless, and savage.
And Carl was an Elder – one of those mysterious creatures who had been banished from our realm a long, long time ago for being very, very naughty. But he was my stiletto heel-wearing buddy. And if he was that feared, maybe he had a few tricks up his sleeves. I also knew nothing scary fazed him. Only the normal, human things rattled him. Going to Hell would likely be an adventure for him. And the women of the house would finally stop hearing about the D.
“Here he is,” a deep voice called out from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Roland standing in the entryway with an umbrella. His crimson eyes gleamed, reflecting the firelight. Callie stepped into view behind him, wearing a hoodie. The tips of her now short white hair poked out to kiss her jaw.
I patted the couch invitingly. “Here I am. But I’m leaving soon. What’s up?” I felt two other shapes lurking behind them but not stepping into the light. I rolled my eyes. “They can come in, too. If they wipe their paws. Dean isn’t fond of messes.” I heard a responding pair of growls.
Roland grunted. “It’s not that they don’t want to come in. It’s that they think they need to guard me from… well, everyone.”
“Paradise and Lost are high-maintenance, and their relationship with Roland is… unusual,” Callie added, smirking from beneath her hood.
“Whatever. You’re just jealous we took him from you,” one of them argued.
Callie slowly turned, but Roland gripped her arm warningly. Not threatening her, but as if begging her not to kill his puppies. Callie jerked her arm clear. “If you took him from me, I don’t remember it. We can do a reenactment if you want. Like, now.”
They mumbled something unintelligible, and Callie turned back to us with an amused smile, arching a brow at Roland as if to say See?
He let out a sigh and plopped down into one of the chairs. The one furthest away from the sunlight shining through a window. Callie sat beside me, crossing her legs as she propped up her fancy, calf-high leather boots on the table. Her Darling and Dear boots. As if to emphasize this, she glanced at them for a second and she was suddenly wearing leather moccasins – like house slippers. I rolled my eyes.
“Wish my satchel did cool things like that. You must have been shopping on the clearance rack when you picked it out.”
She slapped a palm down on my thigh, laughing. “I think your purse has plenty of neat features. Stop bitching.” She studied the room for a second before turning back to me. “Where’s Alex? I haven’t seen him lately, and that kid is usually stuck to your hip.”
I sucked in a breath. “He was at the wedding.” She frowned, trying to remember.
“The tall dark and handsome guy?” Paradise called out helpfully. I winced, but nodded.
Callie’s eyes looked confused. Then they widened. “Wait… That guy was… little Alex?” she asked me slowly, enunciating the words as if making sure I understood.
“They grow up so fast, don’t they?” I said uneasily. Roland was watching us with a frown.
She was staring at me. Hard. “We should talk. Later,” she said very intently.
“Yeah, you should. I think we can all agree on that!” Paradise hooted from the hall. Roland’s cheeks blushed at their not-so-subtle meaning.
Callie and I continued to stare at each other, her hand gripping my thigh. “Later,” we both said at the exact same time. I wasn’t sure which question she was answering, and from her thoughtful frown, I could tell she suddenly wondered which question I was answering.
The story of our lives.
Roland cleared his throat loudly. We turned to see him staring at her hand on my thigh, and she quickly yanked it away. I kept my face innocent. “What can I help you with?” I asked.
“You’ve spoken with Alucard?” he asked me guardedly. I nodded, my humor fading. He sighed, sensing my reaction. “I’m surprised he’s still among the living,” he said with faint cheer.
I grunted. “I didn’t kill him. He’s heading to the Sanguine Council. And we’re not friends.”
Roland hesitated uncertainly, and I felt Callie turning to look at both of us individually, obvi
ously not having known about any of this. But she didn’t interrupt.
“With things between you suddenly… complicated, I thought I might join him,” he said casually. I felt a smile tugging at my cheeks so tried to mask it as I nodded. He wasn’t just doing this for me. He had as much reason to meet with the Sanguines as Alucard did. Those ancient vampires. They were the Masters of the Master Vampires. Like the U.N. of fangers.
“For me? How altruistic…” I said, deadpan.
He glared at me, actually looking embarrassed, and I burst out laughing. “You need to work on your deviance. The Sanguines will eat you alive, otherwise. Take that soul of yours and lock it in a locket. Heh. That wasn’t even intentional!” I said, nudging Callie with my elbow.
“Good, because then it was only unintentionally lame,” she said, rolling her eyes. I bumped her with my hip in retaliation. It felt nice to just sit down and relax for a minute. With her.
Roland was nodding. “I’ll try to hide my feelings better. No soul. Check. But you’re right, of course. I think the Sanguines are very eager to speak with me regarding my past, if the vampires in St. Louis are any indicator. I thought joining Alucard would at least make me only half as notorious. Better than being the center of attention if I went by myself later.”
He was fingering a chain around his neck, not even aware he was doing it. I leaned forward, wiping the humor from my face. “I appreciate it. Keep him whole for me, will you? I’m not… happy with him, but I understand his decision.” He nodded stiffly.
Then a ghost of a smile crossed his face. “I’ve got experience with… handling vampires.”
I snorted. “Yeah, maybe find a middle ground. I don’t think they value a Shepherd’s social skills as much as you think. But… now that you’re one of them, I can see them trying to corner you into giving up secrets, intelligence, or maybe even wanting to lock you up in a coffin forever. I can give you something to help with an easy exit…” I said, reaching into my pocket.
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