“Ashley! Darling,” he said as he walked out onto the sidewalk, his bare feet pattering against the cement. “You’ve returned.”
“Here’s your damn broach,” I said, the memory of the dragon attack associated with it making my voice sour.
“What’s got your nickers in a twist?” he asked, his eyes literally twinkling at me.
The first time I had met Drake his allure had nearly pulled me in. Maybe it was the constant attention I was receiving from men, but his appeal was suddenly lost on me.
“I don’t believe my nickers are any of your business,” I said, keeping my voice rough on purpose.
“Well then, what is wrong?”
“That little lump of metal nearly got us killed.”
“Ahh, well, yes, I imagine it was guarded.”
“Thanks for the warning,” I sneered.
Drake shrugged, his eyes going to the car parked behind me. For a second he watched the interlocked couple before a grin pulled at the corner of his shapely mouth. He raised one eyebrow at me before turning away and disappearing back into his shop.
I rolled my eyes, uninterested in whatever had amused him so thoroughly. I yanked the back door open, climbed in, and slammed it shut. The sudden thump caused the two lovebirds to jump apart in surprise. I tried not to laugh at them. Had it been anyone else I wouldn’t have wasted the energy, but Mikhail being my primus called for a little more self-restraint.
“Finished?” he asked, only minimally embarrassed.
“Yep,” I said, turning my gaze out the window and ignoring their discomfort. If they wanted to be comfortable they should have saved it for the bedroom.
“On to Faunus then.”
The drive to the wet forest preserve was a quiet affair, though out of the corner of my eye I saw Sahara’s hand reach over to Mikhail’s lap. I forced my attention onto the world outside the car, unwilling to see just how high the woman’s hand creeped. The whole thing was too unusual.
“Would you like to come with us, Sahara?” asked Mikhail.
She glanced outside before blushing faintly. “I think I’ll stay inside, where it’s dry,” she said, somehow looking even more fragile.
I rolled my eyes and climbed out into the drizzling rain. May I never get that wimpy, I thought as I adjusted my jacket to protect my neck from the water. My sneakers squished into the continually-wet ground as I trudged forward, leaving Mikhail to catch up with me.
We slid down the steep incline of the path that lead down into the valley and slogged our way deeper into the man-made forest. I didn’t make any effort to talk. I was too tired and too annoyed at being used for my borrowed charisma.
“May I suggest,” said Mikhail out of nowhere, “that you try to be a little happier when we talk with Faunus. I have a feeling your mood effects your borrowed powers.”
“Fine,” I growled, purposefully sounding angrier than I was.
Mikhail laughed at my efforts, the sound bringing a smile to my own face.
“So what’s with you and the new girl?” I asked, nodding back toward the car.
“Is that any of your business?”
“No. But you telling me will distract me from how tired I am, and therefore might help me not be so crotchety.”
Mikhail laughed again. “I’m not sure what there is to say. I like her. I haven’t liked a woman for a very long time.”
“Why’s that?”
Mikhail cleared his throat, causing me to look up at his face. It was shut down; a mask of control clouding his normally mobile face. Whatever his reason, he wasn’t going to share it with me. I had a feeling it wasn’t a happy story.
To my surprise, Mikhail cleared his throat again and began to speak.
“When I was human, I was engaged to a young woman.” He paused, and I could hear the pain in his silence. “She was beautiful. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my long, long existence.”
“What happened?” I asked when it seemed as though he’d forgotten he was telling a story.
Mikhail looked down at me. “She died of old age.”
I frowned up at him, confusion pulling my eyebrows together.
“I was turned into a vampire just a few weeks before our wedding.”
“Oh,” I murmured eloquently. It seemed obvious, now that he had spelled it out for me.
“I watched her grow old and die, living her life never knowing why I had disappeared.”
“I’m so sorry, Mikhail,” I said uselessly. “But you like Sahara?”
Mikhail pushed his lips up into an almost-believable smile. “Yes, I like Sahara.”
At that moment we reached the little out building Faunus used as a home. She was just stepping through the door, as though she had heard us coming.
“Mikhail, my dear,” she said, still guised in her glamor. “I didn’t expect you. Where is Nikolai?”
“I’m afraid Nikolai was in no condition to come visit you after his journeys.”
“Where is my man?” she asked, glancing around as though we had hidden him in the forest.
“I’m afraid there was a little complication.”
Faunus’ glamor had always looked like a kind, old lady. With Mikhail’s statement, the kindness on her wrinkled face disappeared and I saw the faintest glimmer of the power that lay behind the mask. It made my stomach tighten in nervousness.
“What complication?”
“It turns out the man you wanted them to…um… acquire is, in a sense, a member of my seethe.”
Faunus glared at my primus. “That’s a rather loose definition of ‘member’.”
Evidently Faunus knew exactly who Thomas was, and how he was associated with our seethe. I had to admit, she was correct. Thomas really wasn’t a member of our seethe. He was sired by Emma, who wasn’t even officially part of the seethe. I had a feeling she would be joining us in an official capacity before too long. Still, from a technical stand point, Faunus was right.
“That may be, but I still feel responsible for the man. Can you tell me why you want him?”
“Thomas? He’s an old friend of mine. I have been wanting to track him down for ages now,” she said with a misplaced smile.
I forced a smile to my face before speaking. “We just need some time with him is all,” I began. “He’s not exactly… um… mentally well. We just want to make sure he’s settled down a bit from the move before we bring him to you.”
Rather than worrying about my voice sounding pleasing, I focused on thinking of Josh and all the things that made me feel safe and content. I wasn’t really sure how my new powers worked, but I had a feeling I had to be happy for me to extend the feeling to someone else.
To my astonishment, Faunus smiled at me. “Of course. Bring him to me in a few days.”
Mikhail, who usually could out poker-face James Bond, glanced down at me in surprise.
“Thank you for understanding, Faunus. Mikhail, we should get back to Sahara.”
Faunus’ smile widened before she made a shooing gesture. I took Mikhail’s arm and guided him back to the path. We walked in silence for a while.
“I can’t believe that worked so well,” said Mikhail.
“That makes two of us.”
Chapter Seventeen
We reached the car and found it empty. Mikhail immediately began scanning the forest for any sign of Sahara. I focused on the ground, looking for footprints in the spongy earth. The tiny parking space in front of the path was covered in gravel, hiding any footprints from my view. I jogged to the edge and began scanning the gravel there, looking for where Sahara had stepped into the forest.
“We have to call the seethe and get a search party started,” Mikhail said from the other side of the parking space as he turned away from me to look out over the curving road.
“Mikhail, Sahara isn’t helpless. Do you really think someone…”
Before I could finish, a wet hand clamped over my mouth and yanked me off my feet. I fell back into the ferns. The hands dra
gged me away from the car at such speed that I knew I was dealing with another vampire. I glanced up, blinking the water from my eyes, and spotted the black hair of Sahara.
That bitch! my mind screamed. I wasn’t as much upset that she had taken me, but that she would be breaking Mikhail’s heart in doing so. Her treachery would cut him deeply.
I twisted, trying to wrench myself free from her grasp, but quickly realized she was much, much older than she had claimed to be. The traitor had said she was a new vampire to Richard’s seethe, but it was clear she was at least as old as Josh. There was no way I was going to be able to over-power her.
Panic that had nothing to do with Mikhail’s broken heart surged up and constricted my throat. Before I could think of something to do, I heard the distant crashing of someone pursuing us. I just hoped Mikhail could do what was necessary, despite his feelings for her.
Within seconds, Mikhail caught up with us. Though I knew he recognized Sahara, he didn’t hesitate a moment as he raced after her, slamming into her back and knocking her to the ground. The sudden impact caused her to lose her grip on me. I rolled to my feet, ready to do battle, but Mikhail had already lifted her over his head and tossed her against a nearby tree.
“What are you doing?” he asked as Sahara stumbled to her feet.
“My job!” she snarled, suddenly looking nothing like the helpless damsel we had believed her to be.
“Give her over, Mikhail,” she said, her voice taking on an accent with his name.
“Fat chance,” growled the primus, sounding just as young as he looked.
Foolishly, Sahara charged him. Mikhail was ready for the attack, and grabbed her by the shoulders, slamming her down into the brambles. At that same moment, I grabbed up a fallen stick and drove it into her chest, nearly missing her heart. Mikhail stumbled forward as her body turned to dust and mixed with the ground.
Fear suddenly gripped me. Would Mikhail understand that I had to kill her?
“Good shot,” he said before my panic could build anymore.
“Mikhail, are you…”
“I’m fine, kid. Let’s get out of here,” he said as he took my arm and dragged me back to the car.
I knew he wasn’t being fully truthful, but I also knew he was a tough SOB.
We returned to the seethe to find everyone but Nik waiting for us in the common room.
“Well?” asked Emma.
“She has agreed to give us a couple days,” I said when Mikhail didn’t respond.
“Where’s Sahara?” Josh asked.
I glanced at Mikhail, unsure if he wanted her treachery known by the others.
“It turns out she wasn’t entirely truthful with us,” he began. “She tried to kidnap Ashley.”
“That’s why you’re so dirty?” Josh asked with a smirk.
I tried to wipe at the grime, knowing the forest floor had left its mark all over me.
“Ashley is no longer safe,” said Mikhail, pulling us back to the serious topic.
“I think it’s safe to say, someone isn’t cool with our plan to eliminate Sedgrave,” I said.
“Or they want to speed up the process,” said Nik from the doorway.
I wondered how long he had been standing there.
“Meaning?” asked Mikhail.
“The fastest way to kill Sedgave is to eliminate Ashley. We’ve told them that’s not an option, but if someone disagrees with that choice, they might try to do it outside of this little peace treaty.”
“So the question is: Who do we trust?”
“Not a damn person,” I said, annoyed at the situation.
Everyone laughed, even Mikhail. I took that to be a good sign.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do tonight. The sun is almost up. All of you go get some rest.”
I lead the pack out of the main room. I had a feeling Josh would be coming to talk now that we had been dismissed. Somehow I had to make sure we were on the same page before we faced down the bad guys. Whatever we were to each other, he had to continue to allow me to fight my own battles. I wasn’t going to become the damn damsel in distress.
Josh and I had just turned the corner to head down to Josh’s level when I spotted Tereus making his way to us. Somehow, in the mess of our journeys, I had completely forgotten about my cat.
I’m a horrible person.
I rushed to him and scooped him up into my arms. The purring rumble of his chest told me he was happy to see me, even if his greeting was nothing more than: “Oh, you.”
I buried my face in his fur and gave him a little squeeze. “I missed you, too.”
“I’ll come find you in a bit,” said Josh, giving my arm a squeeze.
I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat and nodded.
Josh disappeared into his room. A second later I heard his shower turn on.
“So,” rumbled Tereus. “Choice made?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Even with the curse still in effect?” he asked.
For a second I wasn’t sure if he meant the curse that kept him stuck in a cat’s body or if he meant the affects of Sedgrave’s charisma.
“Is Josh not affected by Sedgrave’s curse?” Tereus asked, clarifying his question.
“Josh says he liked me before Sedgrave was raised. Plus multiple times during the trip he said things that certainly didn’t sound like he was affected.”
“Like what?”
“Well, he yelled at me at one point.”
I felt Tereus’ purrs turn into a guttural chuckle. “I can’t see besotted Nikolai yelling at you.”
“Exactly.”
“Well. If that’s your choice, I’ll support you; but remember, when I’m free of my own curse, you’re all mine, baby!”
“I’ll warn Josh,” I said with a laugh.
“Now get going. I’ll leave you be tonight.”
I set him back on the ground, keeping my nerves to myself, and turned to continue on to my lower level.
I opened the door to my room, expecting to find some blessed isolation. Instead, I found Nik standing in the center of my tiny room, made smaller by my two duffel bags laying on the floor. One look at Nik’s face and I knew I was in for a doozy of a conversation.
“Hello,” I said eloquently.
Nik nodded, his eyes quickly flicking away from my face. He was uncomfortable, and for some reason that made me feel better. It helped knowing I wasn’t the only one dreading this exchange.
I waited, trying to be patient and allow him to get to the point in his own time. After all, he was the one hurting right now. Even if it was the result of mystical powers, it still felt like a broken heart to him. I would need to remember that in the minutes to come.
“So… you’ve decided,” he finally said, sounding as though the words were torn from his lips.
I felt my gut twist in pain. Nik and I hadn’t always gotten along, but he always had my back. I didn’t enjoy hurting him. Despite what some people might think, I considered Nik a friend. My resolve to end this once and for all wavered.
“You’re making a mistake,” he added when I didn’t respond.
The surety in his voice stiffened my spine.
“Nik,” I sighed. “It’s just the spell affecting you.”
“And it doesn’t affect Josh?”
“It might,” I admitted. “But he has shown signs that suggest, to me, that his feelings are more than just the result of a spell.”
“What? ‘Cause he yelled at you?” snapped Nik, sounding more like himself.
“Yes,” I barked back, rising to the bait of his attitude. “I was being a total B.I.T.C.H, and he called me on it.”
“I think we’re all adults here, Ash. We don’t need to be spelling out words.”
I glared up at him. “Nik, you acted like I was doing something cute, when in fact I was being a total ass. I know you, and that wasn’t you.”
I watched as Nik ground his teeth together.
“You’re making a mistake,�
�� he finally growled before storming out of my room.
I watched him leave, noting Josh standing in the hallway. He caught the door before it could shut and stepped into my room.
“How much of that did you hear?” I asked, rubbing the side of my neck in nervousness.
Josh smiled. “It doesn’t matter,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me in a strong embrace.
I nestled my head against his shoulder, feeling safe for the first time. I don’t know how long we stood there, but long before I was ready to relinquish my hold on him, Josh pulled back. He kissed me gently on the cheek and took a step away. The loss of his touch was almost painful.
“Where are you going?” I asked when he reached for the door knob.
“I just came to say goodnight.”
I pouted, perfectly willing to look ridiculous if that meant he stayed. I knew I was being a hypocrite but I couldn’t help it. I had wanted to make sure he understood things couldn’t be resolved between us until Sedgrave was dead, and now all I cared about was touching him. No wonder people say women are confusing.
I took his free hand and drew him away from the door, perfectly willing to be the aggressive one. Before he knew to be suspicious, I had an arm around his neck and my lips pressed to his. He let me kiss him for a second before pulling his head back.
“Ashley. You’re making me break my promise.”
“Nope,” I whispered. “I’m kissing you. There’s a difference.”
“Semantics.”
“I love semantics.”
I kissed him again, and this time he reciprocated. He quickly pulled his hands around me, searching for skin under the hem of my shirt. I pressed myself against him, letting my tongue caress his lips. As his hands began to work their way up my back, I bit his lip, just hard enough for him to feel it.
Evidently that move was his kryptonite. With lightning speed that left me breathless, Josh lifted me off my feet. I wrapped my legs around his waist and let him take me to my narrow bed. Josh half fell, half lowered me to the bed.
My hands released his neck and began to pull on his shirt. I wanted to feel his skin against mine.
The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy Page 63