Once Lost Lords (Royal Scales, Book 1)

by Stephan Morse

  “I need a ride too.” Her words were sultry. There was something in her tone that spoke of borderline desperation.

  “In a car.” I tried to steer the conversation back to safe ground. My hand waved out at the parking lot full of vehicles.

  “I can go for a ride in a car,” She responded. Where was that buried girl who was serious when she needed to be? It was hard to tell, normally when I saw her, there was an air of deliberate playfulness.

  “Never mind.”

  “Why not? I liked where this was going.” The elf sat down next to me. There was a hint of ornate wood lacing around one ear from a fancy earring.

  “Where’s the other elf? The one that comes here for that weird drink, counting out all that change every single time like he’s having a fit. The one you’re sleeping with, maybe he can help me.” I was babbling now.

  There was a moment of silence where I looked back up. Her face was stone as she glared at me, through me.

  “What did you say?” She said.

  “Which part?” Desperation had addled my brain. This entire time my gaze was facing towards the place I called home where people stood guard with their explosives.

  “All of it.” Candy asked.

  “You, Umbrella Beer the Quick, going at it.” I waved an arm in the air and ignored all the warning signs once again. Something about women and me communicating always seemed doomed to failure.

  “What?” Her foot stomped and a cloth purse clanked. Hell. Officially I knew nothing about his bedroom prowess.

  “He looks like minuteman.” I lamely tried to cover up my obvious mistake. Her face didn’t change an iota from its steamed look. Another attempt was made to distract her. “Are you good with illusions?”

  It was a rash change of topic, but it got my mind back in the correct direction. Maybe she was like Evan and could get me in my house. If I could get inside then maybe I could get money. If I could get money I’d grab a cab north. Not that I wanted to spend any of it, but there was enough in the downstairs of my apartment for a cab ride.

  “Who exactly have you been talking to, Jeff?” Candy didn’t know my real name.

  “Told you. You’re not the only elf I know.”

  “Are you talking about the conversation we had a few days ago? The one about the elf in supposed withdrawals?”

  “He’s not under anymore. We figured it out. Thanks by the way.” I stood up. Damage from the last few days made everything ache. Maybe it was just from having my rear planted on cold concrete.

  Her eyes were getting wide. “Oh, shit.” Candy uttered. “Please tell me you’re not. Please. Please tell me.”

  “Not what?”

  “I thought it was a joke, I had hoped it was.” What was a joke? “I, I just couldn’t believe that you, you’re cute and all but nothing special.”

  “What are you talking about?” I let the cute commentary slide by and tried to focus.

  “The elf you mentioned, you asked if we’d called anyone Lord, did he call you Lord?” Candy reached out a hand and touched the side of my arm. A moment ago and it might have been taken in a completely different light, but now, now she was worried about something.

  “Why would that matter?” I asked. Maybe information could be pried out of her before talking to Evan. Then he could skip straight to handing out whatever was left of Arnold Regious and everyone could go home happy.

  “It does. It’s very important.” Candy said.

  “What are your Lords? Why does it matter?”

  “Oh no, no, they did. What did you do, Jeff? What did you do?” Her eyes managed to get even wider. Then her eyes started that flickering collision of colors. Like a kaleidoscope going off.

  Her hand didn’t move from my arm. Finally, after her muttering stopped her eyes glazed over a milky white. I stood there waiting for a sign as to what was going on. What was she doing? What was she seeing?

  I saw her throat gulp.

  “No. No.”

  “Answer me, Jeff, answer me. I’ll give you any favor you want. Did the other elf call you Lord?”

  “Two favors, Candy.” For once I had the upper hand with an elf. This day would go down in history as a true feat.

  “Fuck.” She nodded. “I can’t ignore this anymore. I had hoped I could.”

  “Two things, Candy, before I answer.”

  “What?” Her hand was still on my shoulder, and it felt startlingly warm.

  “Silence and a ride.”

  “I’m not one to remain silent while riding.” Her face smiled for the briefest moment. “But that’s not what you mean. Yes, I wouldn’t dare tell anyone else about this conversation. But you need to promise me something as well.”

  “What?” I asked.

  She looked hurt for a moment. “Sorry, you need to agree first.”

  “Agree to pay the unknown price first, right?” I confirmed the deal with her. We had this conversation once before a few days ago. Candy nodded. “Can I at least know how big a price you’ll ask me for?”

  “The price won’t be more than the worth of the request,” She said. Her fingers couldn’t even make it halfway around my upper arm, but still she hung on.

  A three-hour drive, on an hourly rate? That wasn’t bad at all. Silence might be a bit more pricey. My secret was unlikely to be the only one she had gained over time. Another may not mean that much to her. I honestly couldn’t figure out how this Lord thing was such a big deal to anyone but me.

  “Fine. I agree. I’ll answer your question for silence and a lift north to Caesars Junction.” I could find my way from there.

  “Promise?” She asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Done.”

  “Your favor?” I wanted to know what her other request was beside me answering a question.

  “If you’re going to see this other elf, you need to allow me to meet him first.”

  “Alright.” I didn’t see a problem with it. It wasn’t like they’d get into a cat fight. Maybe she was just shopping for a new boyfriend, or trying to see how many people knew about this little Lord thing.

  “Good, and the answer to my question?”

  I took a breath slowly and let it out. “Yes. He called me his Lord.”

  “Anything else?”

  I shook my head back and forth slowly.“I don’t want to dig myself a deeper hole here, Candy.”

  “Did he say anything about you laying claim?”

  No, he hadn’t said it, but that was exactly how I’d tracked him. Evan said I’d called him. My frozen posture must have indicated more than I might like. She didn’t press it, having a clear enough answer on the subject. I wanted to ask her what exactly it meant, why she appeared upset. At least she hadn’t clammed up and walked off.

  “Come on.” She motioned me to the parking lot.

  I eyed the guards standing rather unmistakably outside the building. They stared back with passive faces. From the looks of it, they seemed to have more than enough confidence that I’d stay on my side of the security gate.

  Candy’s car beeped as an alarm disabled, then doors unlocked.

  “I thought elves didn’t like iron.” It was hard not to phrase my statement as a question.

  “You’d be amazed what they can make cars out of nowadays. Enough layers and the best-padded seats money can buy.” She smiled as the playful persona came back into focus. “They’re very comfortable.”

  At least I got to sit in the passenger seat this time. She was right too, the seats were extremely comfortable. Soft leather, carefully maintained. It was beautiful inside, and that wasn’t a phrase I used lightly when talking about cars. I’d ‘recovered’ some fine ones, with help, over the years.

  Candy seemed intent on something else entirely as we headed north. She didn’t even ask where we were headed, Caesars Junction must have been an obvious enough location. I didn’t expect a hotel to be something she just knew about. An hour down the road some thoughts I’d been mulling over made me risk asking a quest
ion.

  “Candy?”

  She gave a happy hum but didn’t look over.

  “I thought elves only had one addiction?” I asked.

  “Are you willing to pay the price for that question?” Her tone was suggestive.

  “That’s exactly what I mean. You seem to be rather…physically oriented.” Even though I was nothing special by her words. “And you have that thing with the questions.”

  “I can answer it, but there’s a price, you’ll have to pay it now, though.” The last two questions didn't have overwhelmingly bad prices, so maybe they weren’t a thing to worry about.

  “Sure, I guess.”

  “Promise?” She said.

  “I promise to pay whatever price you ask.” Since I wasn’t afraid of more questions at this point. She already knew one of the few little secrets I had, and it was only a secret for the last few weeks.

  “Deal then.” She kept driving for a few minutes before speaking again.

  “So?”

  “One is for pleasure, the other is a means to an end, both are misdirection.”

  “What? Which is which?” I know how to sort out the elf's statements.

  “That’s your answer. Now I believe you owe me something in return.” Candy stated.

  “Sure.” I was ready for anything she might ask.

  “Well, Jeff, since I’m giving you a three-hour ride north.” She had a grin on her face that looked beyond pleased with itself. “I believe you owe me a three-hour ride in exchange.” Her voice carried every ounce of huskiness you might expect with that kind of comment.

  I blanched for a moment.

  “I’m kind of seeing an old girlfriend.” I was smart enough to know sleeping with another woman wouldn’t go over well.

  Someone would end up dead. I could hear Candy flicking on the turn signal and pulling off the highway onto a dangerously quiet road.

  “Did I ask if you were otherwise engaged?”

  “No.” The car had stopped and her seat belt came undone.

  “Did you promise to pay my price in return for an answer?”

  “Yes, but…” I didn’t want to have to explain this.

  “A deal is a deal, Jeff, besides, you’ll enjoy paying up.” Then she was too close, and all I could see was the smile on her lips as she leaned into me. What would Kahina think? But it’s not like we were actually together, right? After all, I had promised, and Kahina only thought of me as a glorified blood bank. That much was proven by her actions back at Julianne’s. And our conversation back at Kahina’s mansion? It was hard to say how much I believed that.

  I saw Candy slip her shirt off with an expert pull. Then a moment later she’d unbuckled her pants and started in on mine. She wasted no time on foreplay, and it had been quite awhile that my body didn’t mind skipping it either. The most she stopped to do was pull out a thin blanket of some sort from behind one of the seats. She positioned it under my hips and took the moment to pull my pants the rest of the way down.

  My brain didn’t have extra room for following that line of thinking. The press of her skin and the little moans coming out were very demanding. My last coherent thought, before a year or so of celibacy caught up with me, was how bad this would get if Kahina ever found out.

  Chapter 16 – Play in the Woods

  I was in good shape, but it would be a medical nightmare if I lasted in fine form that entire time. Doctors frequently gave warnings about ‘seeking help for erections lasting more than whatever hours’. Never mind the stamina of races outside of human. Mentally, the three hours were enjoyable. Far more than they should have been.

  Candy gave me twelve whole minutes to recuperate in the middle of 'payment'. I know it was twelve minutes because there was a dashboard display blinking the time. She didn’t take a break or stop and kept other parts of me busy. By that point, I was in no mood to argue with anything happening. I was probably drooling on myself in happiness.

  Three other tidbits of information were true. One, she certainly wasn’t the type to remain silent while riding. Two, she got her wish about me calling out her name, more than once. Three, fuck is a great word, way better than horse shit.

  The three-hour mark hit and she collapsed forward with a satisfied smile. It was amazing, but she managed to time it right on the dot. Worn out didn’t even begin to describe me. Even if I did heal as fast as Stacy thought, this was a different level of work. Maybe the whole dating thing was worth looking into again.

  Though maybe not in a car on the side of a freeway. How we’d avoided law enforcement knocking on the window was beyond me. Being in the early hours of the morning just before any sort of rush hour probably helped.

  “How many more hours would it take to tell me which one is your real addiction,” I said.

  She laughed. It was an excited and exhausted sound. I could tell part of her was absolutely wired while her body celebrated a flood of endorphins.

  “You’ll find out sooner or later.” Candy sat up and smiled into the distance.

  “I don’t think I’d argue with extra rounds later,” I said.

  “We’ll see.” Candy stretched and it was fairly attractive. Fortunately, even though the spirit was willing, the flesh was tired.

  “No, then?” I asked.

  “Not right now. I’m good.” She glanced down at the leftovers of our act in the car. There was a mess of sweat and fluids.

  “Hell,” I said.

  She reached behind the seat and pulled out some effective looking wipes and a hand towel.

  “Prepared for it all.” An eyebrow raised with my words.

  “You bet,” She said. I was thankful vampires were diligent about communicable diseases. That meant the only worry was pregnancy, and that didn’t happen between races. Candy was still grinning as she cleaned up. The remains were tucked into a bag and she put her clothes back on. Her hair was short enough that it looked wonderful in its disheveled mess.

  The only repercussions for our act would be if Kahina cared or not. Of course, the partial vampire had implied she was aware of my other excursions when I was traveling. Screw it, a statute had to apply somehow after four years. Guilt be damned.

  “How about that Lord thing? Would I have to endure more of that for an explanation?” My excitement put me in a stupid frame of mind.

  She paused and her serious face came back. The one that swung a complete one-eighty from where we had just been. Were all the women around me bipolar? Or did I have a special knack for saying the wrong things?

  “The more people who know what you are, the worse it will be for everyone. If you don’t know, you can’t tell anyone. I will not be the one to try and change history again.” She sounded sad.

  “What does that mean?”

  Candy kept the look plastered across her face and started the car up. I hadn’t gotten my pants fully on by the time she swung back onto the freeway. At least a few cars going the other direction got a good eyeful of my privates. Not how I wanted to leave an impression.

  “Candy?” I tried her name. “Candy?” My mouth opened to ask a third time.

  “Keep it shut or you’ll never be able to ask me for anything in the future,” She said.

  That shut me up.

  “Even if I enjoyed it.” Candy gave a slightly warmer smile. There was something about those eyes that said she was also being serious.

  For the rest of the trip, I didn’t say anything. At this point, it seemed to be the wisest choice made all day. An hour later, well past the first rays of dawn, we met with the gaudy sign for Caesars Junction.

  “I can’t believe you know where this is,” I said.

  “You’d be surprised. I get around.” Candy responded. I tried not to think of an alternate meaning for that. Something about my pause must have set her off. “If a man sleeps with a ton of women, they call him a stud, but if a woman does it, she’s a slut, right?”

  “That’s a question, and there’s a price for that.” I tried for a joke in reply
. It was either that or give her the locks and keys speech. A key that opens multiple locks is a good key, but a lock that opens for any key isn’t a very good lock. The fact that I managed not to say anything should count in my favor.

  “Cute.” The blonde elf didn’t seem amused.

  I sighed. “Well, I don’t know you well enough to call you a slut, and if it was just a physical thing, then, believe it or not, I get it.”

  “Sure. You’re a guy after all.” She waved my comment off.

  “I should probably warn you that my ex is rather possessive,” I said. This ‘guy’ hadn’t been with more than a dozen women in his life.

  “How possessive?” Candy asked with a half smile. She seemed excited at the prospect.

  “Well, she’s a partial vampire,” I answered.

  “Hasn’t completed the change?”

  “No.”

  “Then you may have as many opportunities as you want in the future. Opportunities to ask me for all sorts of things.” The way she tossed it out there so casually sent a chill down the back of my spine. If Kahina didn’t make it then there would be no issues with jealousy. What a frightening thought.

  “I guess,” I said.

  “Which way from here?” She asked. We had made a deal for her to talk to Evan first.

  I fumbled around in my jacket that had been disrobed in the shuffle and found the lipstick tube. Inside was the hair from Evan’s head. Candy watched intently as I closed my eyes for a moment and connected.

  “Woods are west from here. Then once we’re inside the local pack should find us.” I hoped someone would be roaming around to find me. Stacy and Julianne wouldn’t let me wander around without some help, right?

  “Sounds like a plan.” She turned the car west and headed for the woods at the edge of town.

  “Not sure how far north he is. I had some problems tracking last time.” I said.

  “What sort of problems?” Candy asked.

  “Not sure. Thought I was getting closer, then he seemed to slip away.”

  “Really? That’s interesting.”

  “It’s frustrating.” I had wasted days trying to catch up to Evan.

  “I thought I took care of all those frustrations.” Somehow everything I said turned into innuendo with Candy. She had certainly reduced my frustration level. I felt great, but even more tired than I did after leaving Kahina’s. Was that last night? Had I slept since then? My internal clock was all kinds of messed up.