The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy

by Charissa Dufour

  “So. Do we think all this is Sedgrave?” asked Samuel after a lengthy pause.

  “Let’s hope not!” I said when it was clear no one else was going to respond.

  “Why do you say that?” asked Josh.

  “Well, look how you all responded to him. You were… entranced.”

  I instantly regretted my choice of words. The men bristled, each showing their distaste in a different way. Travis bared his teeth, almost as though he were in wolf form. I suspected it was a subconscious response. Samuel and Nik glared at me with nearly matching expressions. Josh squeezed my hand tighter than was strictly comfortable.

  Once again, Mikhail hid his feelings behind a carefully controlled mask.

  “You have to admit something strange was going on,” I said, trying to make them aware that I didn’t think this was their fault. Everyone was quiet again as they considered the implications of our recent discovery.

  “On the plus side, we’re not likely to come in direct contact with Sedgrave,” said Josh.

  We all frowned at him.

  “Think about it,” Josh went on. “So far, assuming it is Sedgrave, he’s only sent minions at her. Not to mention all these minions have been fae. I’m not sold on it being Sedgrave. He’s awake. He’s gotten what he wants. Why would he come after Ashley now?”

  “But he did come after me right after the ritual, when you and I were escaping,” I said, nodding at Josh.

  “That might have been simply an attempt to keep anyone from escaping. Might have nothing to do with you being… you.” Josh grinned at me.

  The others nodded at this. I wasn’t so sure, but I had no hard evidence to offer. The only thing concrete that we knew was that only fae had attacked me. I frowned, an elusive thought taking shape.

  “Have all the fae been Summer Fae?” I asked, the thought almost forming as I spoke the words.

  The men frowned too, considering.

  “We weren’t with you with the Cyclops or the Typhoon. Were they at all like Periphetes or the ice troll?” asked Nik.

  I shook my head. “No. There was no ice or anything like it. The Typhoon was cold, but that’s ‘cause it was made up of the Sound.”

  Nik nodded, agreeing with my assessment.

  “I think you’re right, then. I think our real enemy is the Summer court.”

  “Then the real question is, what we do about it?” asked Samuel in a droll voice, as though he thought us all extremely dense.

  “For now we keep Ashley here, safe, while I try to contact Hemera,” said Mikhail.

  “Might be better to talk to Aeson,” suggested Nik. “If Hemera is against us, she’s not likely to tell us. But Aeson just might share, if he thinks it will undermine his sister.”

  “Aeson still at it?” asked Samuel.

  Nik and Mikhail nodded in unison.

  “Good idea. I’ll see if I can get ahold of Aeson. Ashley, you’re under house arrest. You understand?”

  I made a show of grounding my teeth together, looking as though I was ready to argue with him. I had no intention of obeying this command, but I wasn’t about to let him figure that out. I let out a gusty sigh of frustration before nodding with poor grace.

  “Fine.”

  Mikhail stared at me for a long moment, until I was ready to squirm. I’m not sure he really bought it, but finally he nodded once.

  “Travis, Ashley is in your care. Keep her here.”

  The werewolf nodded once.

  With the injunction made, Mikhail rose and left the room, taking Samuel with him. Josh released my fingers and gave my hand a pat, before climbing to his feet, and going to speak with the Jim. I bet he got more than he had expected!

  “Nik,” I said, calling to him before he could leave. “Did Chloe come back?”

  He didn’t need to speak. I could see the truth in his eyes. “We’re working on it. I promise. Stay with the wolves and, please, leave this to us.” He gripped my shoulder, as though he could urge me to obey through the contact, and left the room.

  “Guess you’re my new babysitter,” I said, turning towards Travis.

  I followed Travis back to the room where the rest of the pack still lingered. Travis filled them in on what had been discussed in a way Mikhail never would have done. He was open and frank about the situation and their new mission.

  It was an uncomfortable few minutes, me standing by the door and trying not to fidget while six werewolves stared at me. Finally, Kathy motioned for me to return to my place on the foot of the bed. Her gesture seemed to bring a release of the tension building in the room. Granted, the tension could have been a figment of my overactive imagination.

  There was an awkward moment of silence before Murry, the oldest member of the pack spoke up. “What was it you were asking us before the interruption?”

  “I, uh, I was asking if you could help me find a missing person. I wasn’t sure what exactly the skills are of a…a werewolf.”

  “Who’s missing?”

  “Chloe Lee. She’s a good friend of mine and one of Nikolai’s… uh…”

  “Sheep?” asked Shawn, his voice dripping with disdain.

  I nodded hesitantly.

  “Why isn’t he looking for her?”

  “He’s kinda focused on this recent shit-fest.”

  “He doesn’t care that one of his humans is missing?” asked Shawn.

  I didn’t know what to say; I was torn between similar feelings and a sense of loyalty to Nik. Despite the fact I wanted him to look for Chloe, he did have a bigger problem at hand, and I already knew that he would always put the safety of his seethe before the safety of an individual. Still, what if her disappearance was related to the current crisis?

  Thankfully, Murry came to my rescue. “I’m sure he’s feeling overwhelmed as it is with this situation. If he could look for her, he would. Perhaps this is a small way we could help the seethe out.”

  “We’re already taking care of their woman,” said Shawn, his steely gaze directed at me.

  “Besides, I thought you said Ashley was under house arrest,” said Kathy, the older of the two women in the pack.

  “We’d have to leave her here,” said Travis, chiming in for the first time.

  Travis seemed content to let his pack talk it out while he listened to their different opinions. I knew he was in charge of this rag-tag group, but I couldn’t figure out where exactly his authority came from. Was it purely supernatural? His style of leadership was so relaxed I assumed the only reason the others obeyed him was due to some sort of werewolf magic.

  “Oh no! You’re not leaving me behind! You leave me behind and I’ll just sneak out.”

  “We’d leave Johnny behind to keep you here,” said Travis, gesturing toward the quiet teenager. He looked no more than fifteen years old.

  “I may be a young vampire, but I guarantee I can take your boy! The sun is still up, right?”

  Travis glanced at his watch and nodded. I yawned, as if my body was suddenly aware that it should be unconscious.

  “I’m sure you guys need more supplies for a longer stay here. Put me in that big suitcase.” I pointed at the enormous thing on wheels sitting in the corner. “They’d never suspect that I’d be sneaking out in broad daylight. Even if you just left Johnny here to hold the fort down, they wouldn’t suspect because I can’t leave during the day. And when the sun goes down, we go hunting.”

  The werewolves were silent as they considered my plan.

  “I can even make a big show of being pissed at the others so that they’re not surprised that I ‘hideout’ in here.” I jabbed my finger at the floor.

  “I could use some more clothing,” said Travis, looking around at the members of his pack.

  “Wait! We’re actually considering this?” demanded Shawn.

  “Either we go hunting with her or we tie her to the bed,” said Murry in a voice that rang with humor.

  I glanced around at the pack, trying to gauge their opinions. Murry looked determined; I was
starting to realize the old man was a gentleman and wouldn’t leave a damsel in distress. Kathy and Megan, the younger of the two women, looked worried, as though they were thoroughly torn. To no surprise, Shawn looked pissed. Johnny’s eyes flicked back and forth between the speakers. I didn’t worry too much about his opinion.

  “Then tie her to the bed,” snapped Shawn as he swung his legs off the cot, careful not to tweak his healing limb.

  “This isn’t about me! It’s about a human woman, who can’t defend herself, being missing, possibly hurt!”

  That silenced him. I tried not to smile. It wasn’t that I was pleased to find myself winning; I was pleased that these people had enough of a conscience to be conflicted. Unlike Mikhail, Nik, and maybe even Josh, they valued human life.

  “Please,” I begged, trying to dump some burning coals of guilt on their heads.

  “Megan, Johnny, and Kathy, you’re to stay here. Ashley, go get your stuff from your room and be sure to bump into Nikolai or Mikhail. I’ll go talk to them about needing to get some stuff. Kathy, go with Ashley.

  I nodded and headed toward the door, Kathy in tow. We ignored Shawn as he started to argue with Travis. I didn’t know how it all worked, but I knew Shawn would bow to Travis’ will in the end.

  Kathy and I walked to my room without seeing a soul. Most of the vampires were still sleeping. In my room, we left the door open and made a noisy project out of the task of gathering up some clothing and my bedding. Kathy tried to say a few calming phrases and I snapped at her.

  Mostly it was a useless show. No one of any power or authority had rooms down in the bowels of the seethe where my closet of a room was. We did see a few heads poke out of the other rooms, blinking sleep from their eyes and glaring at us. I glared right back, happy that at least someone was seeing my angry show. Rumor was a powerful weapon in the seethe if used right.

  On the next level we did run into Josh, just heading toward his own room to grab a few hours of sleep before the sun set. “What’s all this?” he asked, waving his hand toward the comforter and pillow I held tucked under my arms.

  “Travis wants her sleeping with us, just to…”

  “Shut up! I can speak for myself, even if I’m not old enough to have my own room,” I snapped. “That bastard doesn’t trust me.”

  “Do you blame him?”

  I rolled my eyes at Josh and stomped around him. Kathy followed meekly. Once our backs were to Josh I mouthed “sorry” and she winked at me before schooling her features into a look that said “you’re getting your mouth washed out with soap, young lady.” I felt glad that we weren’t actually on opposite sides.

  On the main level we ran into Nikolai and Mikhail chatting with Travis. They spotted me and I gave them my best “you’re gonna get it” glare. Mikhail chuckled good-humoredly.

  “She doesn’t seem too happy with the precautions,” said Nikolai, his own voice colored with humor.

  “Mind your own business,” I said, slamming the door open hard enough for the doorknob to leave a hole in the wall. I marched in, listening to the sound of their laughter. Kathy ushered me in, her hand resting on my back. I swatted irritably at it. I waited until the door shut before smiling. Kathy smiled too. We both enjoyed my dissembling.

  “Can I borrow a phone,” I whispered, after Travis returned and I heard the other men walk away.

  He handed me his cell phone and I typed a quick text to Periphetes and Jordan. “Meet @ kissing statue @ dark.”

  “Let’s get going. Johnny and Kathy, you know what you need to do,” said Travis when I tossed his phone back.

  “You got to be kidding! You’re gonna leave me here, stuck in this room? With the kid?”

  The werewolves frowned at me until I tapped my ear and nodded toward the door. I didn’t know who would be listening, and it seemed best to keep up the act. All but Johnny seemed to get my hint, and, thankfully Johnny was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

  Shawn brought the suitcase over to where I stood, having to lift it over the scattered cots. It wasn’t easy getting into the suitcase, especially when I couldn’t swear at it, but after a few grunts, and a nerve-wracking moment when I accidently kicked a cot over, I made it into the small space. Shawn zipped it up, his dark eyes still harsh as they stared at me until I disappeared behind the flap. To add extra protection they had supplied me with a blanket to put between me and the zipper. It was even more difficult to get the blanket into position within my cramped quarters and if it hadn’t been for some fast reflexes on the outside, I would have knocked myself over.

  Once I stopped moving around inside the suitcase, I felt them tip it onto its wheels and roll it toward the door.

  We were off, for better or for worse. I sure hoped this trick would work.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A few hours later, just as the sun was dropping behind the horizon, we parked downtown. I was finally able to ride in the back seat with Murry. We had spent the afternoon going around to the homes of the werewolves to put some truth to our lie. The suitcase had been a new form of hell for me, each bump or hill causing me a special type of discomfort. The shift of the car often times sent me into a position where my weight was supported by my knees or my head. I never thought the back seat of a Toyota Camry would feel like a day at the spa.

  We parked a block or two away and walked to the boardwalk. At the very tip of the boardwalk was a statue of a tall woman kissing a shorter man. It wasn’t exactly a figure I understood, but I was never good with art. It did make you look twice, which I suppose is something.

  We didn’t have to wait long for Jordan and Periphetes to appear. During our drive I explained why I had summoned them. The werewolves weren’t thrilled with me involving another human, despite me explaining that he had a right to be involved.

  “What’s going on? Who’re these guys? Where’s Nikolai?”

  I forestalled further questions from Periphetes with an upheld hand.

  “Chloe is missing. We have to find her. Nikolai won’t. I need your help. These are the werewolves who showed up at my joining.” I proceeded to make the necessary introductions.

  “And a human?” demanded Periphetes, waving at Jordan.

  “He deserves to be here. Chloe is his girlfriend. Besides, he knows more about her habits than anyone. We need him.” When the others nodded, I turned to Jordan. “All right, where should we look?”

  “I’ve already talked to her coworkers. They say an old man with a limp met her and took her somewhere.”

  “A limp?” asked Periphetes, his voice going cold.

  “What? What is it?” I asked.

  Periphetes started looking around into the evening gloom. The others did too. No one was about, and I wasn’t sure what Periphetes expected to see. Suddenly, I felt the temperature drop.

  “Time to suit up, wolves,” said Periphetes without stopping his search of the growing darkness.

  Travis tossed me the keys to his car before complying. This time I felt the tug of magic in the air as the wolves stripped in record time and dropped to the ground to shift into their furry selves.

  They had barely finished, and were still lying on the damp boardwalk, panting and whimpering, when a man with a horrible limp came into view. He crossed the deserted street, stopping at the very edge of the boardwalk.

  “Son,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice.

  I’m pretty sure my eyes were the size of beach balls.

  “Father,” growled Periphetes.

  “Are you prepared to comply?”

  “I don’t know what you want, but when have I ever been willing to comply with you?”

  The other man nodded. “I suppose not. I need the girl,” he said, nodding toward me.

  Suddenly my eyes grew to the size of trampolines.

  Not again!

  “She has the information my queen needs.” continued Periphetes’ father. “Give her over and I might be able to convince Orythyia to accept you back.”

  For a spli
t second, I thought Periphetes was going to comply; I felt extremely guilty for those thoughts when the fae quickly shook his head.

  “She is my friend, a concept you could never understand. Go back to your queen and tell her I will fight to my dying breath to defend her from both courts.”

  Yikes, dramatic much?

  “Wait!” I called out when I thought the other fae was going to turn away.

  “Do you have Chloe?”

  A telling smile crept to his old, wrinkled face.

  “Please let her go.” I don’t know what prompted me to say this. Of course, he wasn’t just going to release his captive.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that. But maybe we could strike a trade. I’m sure if you come with me peacefully, my queen can get her released.”

  Before I could respond, a cold arm grasped my arm, and I heard the wolves begin to growl, deep in their chest.

  “I said,” snapped Periphetes. “She’s not going with you.”

  “What information do you need?” I asked.

  He smiled again. “That is for my queen to know. I am but a lowly servant.”

  I didn’t trust his statement. Periphetes was extremely powerful, and it seemed logical that Periphetes’ father would be even more powerful. I glared at him, giving him my answer with my silence.

  “No? Oh well.” With that the man turned away.

  I looked up at Periphetes, who was intently watching his father’s departure. A second later, he returned to his search of the darkness. Evidently the danger wasn’t over. Sure enough, three enormous figures, and one smaller one, emerged from the darkness, billows of frigid fog rolling before their feet.

  “Run!” yelled Periphetes in a voice higher pitched than usual.

  I glanced in his direction, surprised to see his glamor dripping from his figure. If we hadn’t been in the middle of a very dangerous and scary situation, I would have dropped to the ground laughing. His true form looked like a teddy bear had mated with an icicle. His tiny face was dominated by two enormous, blue eyes, their color exploding out from their pupils. His mouth and nose were so tiny I could barely see them. Two long, pointed ears paralleled a tall forehead that shimmered in the street lights. Though he had two hands with three sharp claws on them and matching feet, the rest of his body was covered in the cutest, fluffiest white fur I’d ever seen. Despite the claws, I wanted to take him up and snuggle him.