by Brenda Trim
“No, Dalton didn’t have any enemies. He was a stickler for the rules, but he was fun and easygoing as well. He had an open heart and mind that the children in the home responded to and respected. This was the work of evil.”
“There isna doubt that this act was evil. This should no’ have happened,” Zander said. The vehemence in his tone had her head swiveling in his direction. She met his eyes and for several long seconds, she was trapped. It felt as if he were looking through her to her soul.
Orlando’s voice broke the connection and she took a deep breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Had he behaved any differently in the days leading up to his death?”
“No, there was nothing different in his behavior. He went to work that morning like usual.” If she had known he was never returning to her, she would have kept him home. At least made love to him again.
“This question is difficult and I don’t ask it to be insensitive, but I have to ask,” Santiago qualified. “Is it possible he was having an affair? Or you? A jealous spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend would have the motive to harm him.”
Red dotted her vision as her anger quickly boiled out of control. She stood up and balled up her fists. “How dare you come into my house and accuse my husband of having an affair,” she yelled. “You know nothing about us. Neither of us had an affair. You are no friends of mine. Get out of my house,” she spat itching to pull her knife from the sheath in her boot. They might not turn to ash but she could do some damage.
Santiago stood and placed his hands up, palms out in a gesture of peace. While Zander closed the distance between them and took her shoulders in his big warm hands. “Elsie, Santiago while only doing his job, spoke out of turn. He knows, as do Orlando and I, that there wasna any cheating. Please understand that asking is part of leaving no stone unturned.”
Cailyn sidled up to her side and wrapped her arm around her waist. “El, honey, take a deep breath. These nice gentlemen have no idea how much you and Dalton loved each other. You accused them of not doing their job so don’t get angry when they do it.”
She had her head down, not wanting to meet anyone’s stare as silent minutes passed. Cailyn and Zander were both right. The question touched a nerve that set her off like a firework. Finally she saw reason and lifted her head. “I’m sorry. You’re right, of course. That is a sensitive subject for me. I hate that people always assume there had to be something like that when there is no other explanation. There are things in this world that defy explanation and are capable of evil for no reason.” She wanted to confide in these men about vampires. SOVA needed strength like theirs.
Zander’s hands tightened almost painfully. “Not everything is at it seems. Doona risk yourself. You are now part of us.”
Orlando peered over Zander’s shoulder smiling broadly. “Yeah, for better or worse you’re part of the family now. We’re a motley crew, but any of us would do anything for you.”
She was helpless but to return his smile as the sense that her life had changed irrevocably settled in her gut. It was unnerving, and had her clenching in response until she realized the sense of tragedy that usually accompanied her predictive episodes was absent. It was a nice change to the usual doom and gloom.
*****
Hours later, Zander’s steps never faltered as he hit the landing of the grand staircase of Zeum as he searched for his siblings and Dark Warriors. Thanks to modern technology, automatic shutters had descended minutes ago, prior to dawn, covering the large picture-windows, protecting the vampires from the sun. No longer were they relegated to the rooms in the basement during the daylight hours.
He spotted Rhys crossing the grand foyer, heading into the war room with a bottle of wine. He must’ve stopped by their massive wine-cellar in the basement.
“Where are the others?” he barked, causing the warrior to jump.
Rhys twisted toward the staircase in a graceful move. Ready to fight any threat. The bottle of wine was a deadly weapon in his capable hands. His stance relaxed once he caught sight of Zander. “Goddess, Liege, you need to make some fucking noise. I think Kyran, Breslin and Bhric are in the media room and I’m joining Gerrick in the war room now. What’s up?”
“Is that wine for you and Gerrick? A nice, cozy, little interlude?” Orlando teased, as he walked up behind Zander. He growled at the warrior. Normally, he enjoyed Orlando’s humor, but he was wound tight from the unspent lust being around Elsie for hours had caused. Not to mention, there was a new threat to them and the female he lusted after was involved with the vigilante group. He was able to glean pieces from her mind about SOVA. He was still shocked that the little fireball was part of such a group.
“Awww, O, jealous we didn’t include you? You’re welcome to join us, but get your own bottle.”
“Dickhead. There has been a major occurrence that holds implications for the entire realm.” Orlando retorted all semblance of his good nature had vanished.
“Grab Gerrick and join us in the media room, now!” Zander’s pulse leapt and his tension increased. His muscles were wound so tight they may snap.
“Yes, Liege.” Rhys nodded his acknowledgment and disappeared into the war room.
Zander headed down the hall beneath the twin staircases and entered the kitchen, which was empty at that time of day. He was thankful for that because he didn’t want to share this information with anyone outside his inner circle. Yes, the alliance council needed to be told, as did the realm. This news affected them all, but right now he had too much he needed to sort through.
Past the kitchen was the enclosed patio, but he saw no one lingering there, either. His gaze slid over the lime-green cushions on the wicker sofa and landed on the tiled floor. He recalled the blood, sweat and tears that went into the hand-cutting of each tile that now formed the intricate design of the Triskele Amulet in the center of the floor.
He heard his siblings talking down the hall in the media room. He entered the room and rolled his eyes at the sight of Breslin and Kyran sitting on one of the black, leather sofas, arguing about their card game. Bhric sat in an overstuffed chair next to them. The scotch was sitting out on top of the well-equipped bar in the corner. Which one of them was hitting the bottle this early in the morning? His money was on Bhric. It seemed his brother had been using alcohol, and other substances, with increasing frequency over the past few decades. One glance at the end table next to Bhric confirmed his suspicions. The ice hadn’t had time to melt in the tall glass.
An enormous flat-screen television took up one entire wall and was tuned into ESPN. He picked up the remote off a Louis XVI cabinet and muted the volume. That grabbed his siblings’ attention. Only then did they realize he had entered the room followed by Orlando, Santiago, Rhys and Gerrick.
Bhric took in the scene quickly and grabbed his titanium sgian dubh from his ankle holster. “What’s up, brathair? Are we under attack?”
“Nay, we are no’ under attack. We have a situation.” He stopped and gathered his thoughts. “Orlando and Santiago took a case at my behest and we have discovered there is some threat. We need to determine how much and what we do aboot it, if anything.”
Gerrick pulled his lips into a thin line, making the scar that stretched over the left side of his face stand out. “What kind of a threat? Any threat is easily dealt with. You tell me who it is and I kill them.”
Zander rebelled at the thought of Elsie being harmed. “That approach willna work. The case is the one involving the young, beautiful co-ed whose husband was murdered eighteen months ago. The case is too high profile to deal with in that manner. Her disappearance would be noticed, not to mention that I canna tolerate her being harmed.”
Orlando chimed in, “No, Elsie doesn’t pose a threat. She may know about vampires, or what she thinks are vampires, but she would not disclose that to anyone or she would have told us. The bigger threat comes from SOVA. Having a bunch of humans trying to kill supernatural creatures is a disaster waiting to happen.”
&nb
sp; “Okay. Back up and explain more,” Breslin said.
Zander sat down on one of the sofas and leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “Orlando is right. Elsie doesn’t pose a direct threat. That much was clear from her thoughts. She willna tell anyone aboot us for fear of being seen as insane. She blames her husband’s death on vampires, but what she doesna know is that it was skirm. She has become involved in a vigilante group called SOVA or Survivors of Vampire Attacks and they hunt at night. From what I was able to glean, they’ve been fairly successful in their mission to eliminate ‘vampires’. The humans involved in this group are all victims that have survived encounters with skirm.”
“Och. I assume the risk is in them killing a real vampire and thus exposing the existence of the realm,” Kyran threw out as he tossed his cards on the table.
“Aye, that would be the concern. This situation must be handled carefully. I willna tolerate Elsie being harmed in anyway and we canna eliminate humans for being rash. They seek justice for a wrong done them. How many of us wouldna do the same thing? We need to learn who is involved and include their territories on our nightly patrols. I willna have more innocent humans killed on my watch.” Zander needed a reprieve from his ruminations about Elsie. He wasn’t thinking straight and developing a more effective plan at the moment seemed like an impossible task.
Thankfully, his sister began plotting for him. “Why don’t we erase their memories of their encounters with skirm? That would take care of it.”
“That isn’t going to work, Bre. We have no idea how widespread this group is. We can’t assume the group is restricted to this area. If this is global there would be no way to get to every member. It would be easier to put an ad in the paper,” Santiago replied sardonically.
Breslin’s face fell. “Oh, I hadna considered that. What can we do then?”
Kyran had been eyeing him intently. “I say we follow this group. They may have uncovered the skirm lair. Skirm canna sense humans like they do us, and won’t take as many precautions around them. I volunteer to follow Elsie,” his brother said with a sly smile.
Zander’s objection was immediate and vehement. “Nay, you willna follow her. I will be the one to do it.”
Kyran’s smile spread. “This is the female you got sprung for the other day, is it no’?”
Zander scowled. He fell into his brother’s trap. All he thought about was Kyran seducing her and introducing her to his dark desires. That thought made him so angry he reacted without pause. “I did not get sprung over her,” he gritted out.
“Aye, brathair, you did. Everyone in the restaurant heard you groan.”
Everyone laughed which did nothing to diminish Zander’s desire to punch his brother.
“Our Liege attracted to a human?” Orlando teased. “No wonder you wanted Santi and I to take her case. You wanted an excuse to see her again—” Orlando’s reply was cut off as he ducked out of the reach of Zander’s punch.
“Enough,” Zander barked. He wanted to deny their claims, but the words would be a lie and he refused to lie to his warriors. “The only information I was able to learn from Elsie is that she works with someone named Mack.” He had no idea if it was a male or female. He didn’t care for how much she seemed to rely on this Mack. “I will ask Killian to do his magic on the computer and see if he can discover who this Mack is as well as anyone else involved with SOVA. I suspect it may take some time. In the meantime, no one will follow Elsie without my direct order. Now, get some rest.”
He stalked from the room, ignoring their ribbing. He was more unnerved than they could ever make him by his undeniable desire for the female. The Vampire King should never consort with humans.
CHAPTER FIVE
Elsie finished texting Mack and placed her cheap cell phone on the table. She hated canceling another patrol, but her sister was still visiting and there was no way Cailyn would understand or allow her to do something so dangerous. She loved her sister, but part of her was itching to be out there with Mack. Her phone chirped indicating she had a message. She picked it up expecting to see a reply from Mack and was shocked to see it was Orlando.
It had been a few days since they had taken her case and she had yet to calm down. It wasn’t Orlando or even his partner that had her on edge, but their friend Zander. She cursed and sent a reply.
“What it is?” Cailyn asked from where she stood gazing into the empty fridge.
“It was Orlando. He said they have some news and will be here in a couple minutes.” She wrung her hands as a thousand different things ran through her head at once. At the top was that there was no way they found the vampire responsible. They didn’t know they existed.
“I’m sure it’s good news,” her sister reassured.
“That would be nice. I have wanted the one responsible to pay for so long.”
The doorbell interrupted. She opened to emerald-green eyes full of mirth and Orlando’s two sidekicks. She wondered at her easy friendship with these men and was forced to acknowledge that some people clicked with you the moment you met. She definitely clicked with these men. Her heart kicked at the sight of Zander. He was even more gorgeous than she remembered.
She stepped back and invited them in. They each carried bags. She tilted her head curiously. “I thought you said you had news? Looks like you guys are going to a birthday party.”
They all laughed. “Good one, Chiquita,” Santiago murmured as he hugged her close. It was nice to be so readily accepted, but she had to wonder if they’d do so if they really knew her. If they knew she was a freak who had premonitions of death.
Zander pulling her into his arms stopped all coherent thought. He smelled utterly male and magnificent. “‘Tis wonderful to see you again, Elsie.” She flushed as he kissed her cheek. His formality struck her as old school. She imagined he was better suited for chain mail and knighthood. The intimate note to his kiss however, had her stepping back out of his reach. She was a married woman and no such intimacy was appropriate.
Orlando claimed her attention before she gained footing. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders holding out one of the bags in his hand. “Because we know you have no food, El, we brought some grub. We also brought tequila and chick-flicks. We’re going to have a girls’ night.” He air quoted the last, causing laughter to bubble up her throat. It may have still felt odd to be so chummy with them, but they knew how to put her at ease. “I may even let you paint my nails,” Orlando teased.
Zander shifted a sparkly, silver, gift bag to his other hand, catching her attention. She paused. What girl wasn’t tempted by a shiny gift bag? No, she was more curious about what they had to share. “Start with the news, please.” She braced her nerves with her hands on the back of a kitchen chair. Had they already discovered who or what had killed Dalton? That would be impossible she reminded herself.
She busied herself with emptying the contents of the bags Orlando and Santiago had brought in while she listened to them update her on the investigation. After reviewing all the evidence, they had found some blood on a pen they believed belonged to the perpetrator. It had useful DNA on it that they compared to a corpse they had found in a dumpster. She sat in stunned silence as she digested the information.
She hadn’t believed the kid they had found was responsible until they told her about his fake fangs and missing heart. She wondered if vampires didn’t turn to ash when their heart was removed and if the fangs were real. If that was the case, then she had a name for who destroyed her life. Jag. And she couldn’t take any of her anger out on him now. He was dead.
She grabbed plates and silverware from her kitchen cabinets and set them next to the food. She expected to feel better with the news, but she was left with the same pain and heartache as before. Nothing of her torment had changed. For all these long months she told herself that she would feel better and begin to heal when the culprit was identified and killed. It was devastating to learn that it made no difference and her suffering was never going to end.
In fact, it was so much worse because she was now left without the ability to exact vengeance of her own.
Regardless, she was so thankful they had been assigned to the case. She gained not only answers, but what she suspected were lifelong friends. Life moved on no matter what, so she would too.
She glanced around and realized that no one was eating and the lighter mood was gone. She wanted it back. She was tired of being sad. “Eat you guys. Put in one of your movies, Orlando. You know, I never would have pegged you for a chick-flick-kinda-guy.” She smirked at the blonde haired hottie. “I’m going with the drink-‘til-you-drop plan, anyone with me?”
She turned from the table and headed back to the refrigerator where she pulled out the Limeade and other key ingredients for her passion-inspired margaritas. Her neck tingled with awareness. Someone was watching her. She cocked her head to the side and noticed not only her sister watching her intently, but Zander’s eyes had yet to leave her. She felt the censure in her sister’s glare and the erotic heat from his.
“Stop,” she hissed at Cailyn.
Cailyn placed her hands on her hips, “Then eat before you drink. You haven’t had much food since yesterday.”
“You know I try to eat, Cai. If you thought getting that information from Orlando and Santiago was going to magically make me eat, sleep, and be fucking merry, you were wrong,” she snapped. No one understood what she went through and she was tired of trying to make it okay for others.
“It’s been well over a year since he died. You don’t sleep and you’ve lost a ton of weight. You need closure, you can’t survive like this,” her sister replied as she rounded the counter and grabbed her shoulders.
“You know Cai, closure is a myth. The most insidious myth ever created. I haven’t forgotten about him, or stopped loving him. Nothing can make his murder any less traumatic or tragic. There is no magical cure to erase the memories or the blood. My emotions aren’t a dry-erase board that can be wiped clean. It wasn’t your husband and best friend that was ripped from your life, so get off your fucking high-horse!” she sobbed and fell into her sister’s arms.