by Mlyn Hurn
Jordan nodded, wondering again if he was misreading the unspoken message in the man’s dark eyes. “Sorry. Uhm, let me think… where was I?”
Darien smiled. “Something to do with alchemy, I believe.”
Jordan couldn’t help but return the smile. Their gazes held even as the smiles faded. How long they had been just looking at one another, or even how much longer it might have continued, abruptly ended as smoke and sparks appeared on the top of their table.
Jordan pushed back his wheelchair quickly. “What the hell?” he said, wondering if he was seeing things.
Darien muttered, “Oh, hell!”
A second later, an old man materialized sitting atop their table.
Jordan blinked his eyelids quickly, questioning his ability to hold his liquor. The brightness of the shiny robe stated this wasn’t an aberration, as did the slightly askew pointed hat. The taped-together wand, with silver duct tape, just added to the insanity of this macabre vision.
“Ohmigawd… ohmigawd… ohmigawd!” Birdie waddled over to the table, wringing all four of his hands together, but changing the pairs every other second.
“We have to get rid of her, Darien! That’s all there is to it!” the old man demanded.
Jordan folded his arms, staring at the old man as he started to talk. All of his doubts regarding his sister and cousin’s puttering around with spells came to an abrupt end in that moment. As he realized the man was not sitting on the table, but in fact was floating just above it, Jordan knew he was in the presence of some powerful hocus-pocus.
“Damn it, Dargon! Now what have you done?” Darien lifted his hands and lightly rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers.
“Not me, Master, no, it wasn’t me. It’s that wench in your bed!” Dargon floated around on the table to look at Darien as he protested his innocence.
Darien shook his head, looking over to meet Jordan’s eyes.
Jordan wanted to deny the disappointment he felt upon hearing the other man had a woman in his bed. His and Darien’s gazes met and held, even though Darien’s words were directed at the old man called Dargon.
“She is not in my bed, Dargon. And we have company, as you seem to be intent upon ignoring. Did you forget our little talk about proper behavior when we have strangers here in the bar?”
Jordan was sure the words had a much deeper meaning. He was sure of it when the scraggly old man turned to look at him, as if for the first time.
“Eek! Another one!”
Jordan saw the wand being shook at him and then everything went black.
“Jordan! Jordan! Come on, Jordan, wake up!”
Taryn couldn’t reach her cousin. About ten minutes ago, he had suddenly materialized within the bedroom. She’d been calling his name, hoping he was all right. After a few seconds, she realized Jordan must have been the unexpected visitor to the bar. Since his sudden appearance here followed the old wizard’s rapid retreat, it looked like the theatrical magician’s claims of transportation were truth. Was he flying or truly rematerializing?
“Jordan! Please wake up.”
Looking around, she saw a pitcher of water. That would work, but she really hated getting Jordan wet. Still, she needed him to wake up. Something had brought him here, and he had not seen the lists with the suspicious places to check out. It was possible he had discovered something else beyond what Damon had found through his contacts. She hated the fact that he was here, and in danger.
Shaking her hair off her face, she focused on the water pitcher. With a few flicks of her fingers, the water container lifted off the table, moving through the air. She paused, considering that perhaps she could flick the water at him with her fingers. That way, he wouldn’t get drenched. The last thing Jordan needed was to sit in his chair, sopping wet.
The pitcher was hanging in midair when the bedroom door opened. Unfortunately, that was enough to break her concentration and the container started to fall.
Darien’s dash forward caught it right before it hit the floor.
Taryn started in immediately. “How dare you do this to us? Are you involved with my aunt’s murder? Did you help that old wiz-bag in killing Lamenta?” Taryn was on her knees, pointing her finger. “I told that crazy snake-charmer that I’m going to see him prosecuted for murder and put in jail forever!” Stopping to catch her breath, she pushed her hands through her hair. Feeling the cut hair, she got even madder. “And did he cut my hair? If so, then he assaulted me! That’s another five years in the slammer, easy!”
Darien looked at the angry young woman. At least, he now had the answer as to what had upset Dargon. To be honest, he was surprised she irritated him. The old guy was older than dirt and while he was a little eccentric—
He paused. Dargon was beyond being just a strange character. “Just because you are angry at Dargon is no reason to take it out on someone you don’t know.”
“Don’t know?” Taryn asked, frowning at Darien.
Darien gestured towards the man in the wheelchair. “I’m afraid Dargon’s rather upset with you for some reason, and he took it out on my visitor here.”
“You two know each other?”
Darien smiled at Taryn, nodding. “Jordan here is my friend, and we had been discussing the fascinating subject of alchemy when Dargon popped in.”
A low-pitched groan got his attention, and Darien moved quickly towards the man in the wheelchair. He went down on one knee, reaching out to lightly touch Jordan’s forearm. “Are you all right, Jordan? I’m sorry Dargon hit you.” Darien spoke softly, hoping that Jordan wouldn’t figure out what had happened.
“Damn! Who would have thought that old guy had this in him?” Jordan muttered, reaching up to rub the back of his head.
“Yeah, he’s surprising for a senior citizen,” Taryn muttered from the bed, her sarcasm almost dripped from her words.
Darien looked over his shoulder. “He is spry,” he explained before turning back to Jordan. He realized his hand was still resting on Jordan’s forearm and the younger man had not yet shrugged it off. Nor had he indicated he was even aware that it was there, Darien reminded himself reluctantly a moment later. Just because he was attracted to a man didn’t automatically mean he was as equally drawn. Hopefully, he could get Jordan upstairs before his newfound friend realized a woman was chained to his bed.
“Why don’t we go back upstairs? I have an office if you’d prefer.” Darien smiled reassuringly, or that’s the feeling he hoped to convey. He thought this could possibly work out when he noticed a strange look in Jordan’s eyes. Then he realized his visitor’s gaze was focused past him, at the woman on the bed. Damn! Scrambling for an explanation that made an iota of sense, he turned to look at Taryn.
Darien stopped abruptly as he saw the beautiful woman frantically waving her arms in front of her. She stopped immediately when she realized he now looked at her, as well.
“Whew!” Taryn said, smiling quickly. “I think that was a bee. Perhaps you two should leave before it comes back.”
Jordan shook his head. “I think perhaps we should stay here. Uhm—”
Taryn had been trying to signal Jordan to pretend that he didn’t know her. No need for him to get trapped here, as well. He could go for help. Of course, why he was even here in the first place was going to draw hell from Blue. But that was a problem for later—
“No, really, Darien. I’m fine. Perhaps you and your guest, this handicapped stranger, would leave. I actually think I should get some more sleep.” Taryn paused to yawn loudly, covering her mouth with one hand, waving goodbye with the other. “Yes, you both leave and I’ll be fine napping here—”
As she looked from Darien to Jordan, she saw relief on the vampire’s face and confusion on her cousin’s. She knew she wasn’t doing a good job of reassuring Jordan, but then her goal was to get him out of here, and away from danger.
Jordan obviously wasn’t willing to go along. “I don’t understand. Why are you here, in a bed… handcuffed?”
> Taryn and Darien both started speaking at the same time.
“Technically she isn’t handcuffed but foot-cuffed, or maybe even ankle-cuffed.”
“I was sleepy and needed somewhere to catch some shuteye.” Taryn smiled, but that faded as she realized Darien had been speaking at the same time. She looked at the handsome vampire. Damn! She so wished it was his brother’s bed. Then she’d gladly be restrained. If she couldn’t leave, then she wouldn’t be accountable for accepting his sexual attentions.
Knowing she must stop those dangerous, errant and very erotic thoughts, she took a deep breath and decided once more to deflect Jordan’s interest so he could escape. “Perhaps your visitor, who is a complete stranger to me, would like to go out into the sunlight, Darien?”
“Just because there’s a woman in my bed doesn’t mean I want her there!” Darien again blurted out while she talked.
Taryn propped her fisted hands on her hips. What the hell! Shaking her head, she looked from Darien to Jordan. For an amazingly intelligent man, Jordan seemed to be suffering from his head wound or surely he would have gotten her hidden message. When she turned to Darien again, she saw quite plainly that it hadn’t been as cryptic as she’d hoped. She was surprised when the glare changed to a smile when Darien shifted back towards Jordan.
“There’s no need to go outside. I have a special solarium, if you’d like to see it. This ramshackle place has a few surprises in it!” Darien lifted his hand to Jordan’s forearm again.
Taryn watched the two men. Slowly, she sat on the bed, her hands relaxing and coming to rest on her thighs. Jordan stared at Darien, who most definitely returned the look. She waited for one of them to say something, but silence reigned. Darien’s hand didn’t move, either from his own volition or from Jordan shrugging it off.
Damn! No, double damned!
She hesitated to let the thought solidify in her brain. Funny, but she’d never once wondered about Jordan’s sex life, if he had one and his preferences. Suddenly, she felt nauseated as she realized she’d been so thoughtless in regards to someone she purported to love so unconditionally. It hurt and angered her that she’d been so shortsighted, or God forbid, so uncaring. Sure, she could say that she’d never wondered about Blue’s sex life either, but that wasn’t entirely true. Several times she and Blue had discussed men, or rather the lack of men, in a hunter’s life.
Certainly, it didn’t matter if Jordan was gay. After all, she had several friends… well, acquaintances was a better word. That sounded bad, she thought. They were her friends… she liked them, but her life was so abnormal that she saw friends so rarely it was hard to build deep relationships. So, what if Jordan was gay? It didn’t change who he was. She’d still love him. Absolutely, she would protect him—
Damn! She needed to get Jordan away from Darien. He was a vampire after all, and her family would never forgive her if something happened to Jordan on her watch.
Slowly, she began taking deeper breaths, wiggling her fingers. If she really focused, she was sure that could control and narrow her energies in order to get Jordan out of this place. There was the chance that the old wizard had put other blocking spells in place, but until she tried she wouldn’t know. Concentration was what she needed, and to draw deeply on the power that Lamenta had always told her was deep inside, just waiting for the right time, when she really needed it.
Remembering her aunt broke her train of thought. If Lamenta were here, Taryn knew her aunt would be able to cross magic wands with that old fart and come out the winner. There wasn’t a single doubt in her mind.
Okay, Taryn, she told herself silently. Focus… focus… and then she whispered. “Let the wheels roll, as the wings do fly, the runner will sprint, I bid him goodbye.”
“No! Taryn, stop!” Jordan shouted while he shoved Darien sideways, propelling his wheelchair backwards.
All three adults watched as a flash occurred where the chair had been a second earlier, followed by a puff of smoke.
Taryn looked at Jordan, frowning. “Hey!” she spoke quickly, her tone short and sharp.
Jordan shook his head.
Lifting one hand, he pushed back his blond hair from his forehead. Right then, he knew without a doubt God had a sense of humor. Why else would he finally meet someone he was attracted to, and who appeared to be returning those feelings, when he was in the middle of an investigation? Not to mention there appeared to be a mystery here, not the least of which was why his cousin was restrained in the bed of the man that he was attracted to! Damn! Could this situation get any worse?
He looked at Darien, wondering what he was thinking. Somehow, he wasn’t all that surprised to find Darien staring at him. He couldn’t stop the smile that curved his mouth upwards. When Darien began smiling as well, Jordan felt an incredible warm glow inside. His heart was already racing, and it wasn’t due only to missing Taryn’s spell.
Taryn’s voice broke the spell. “Jordan! You have to get out of here. He’s a vampire!”
Jordan heard his cousin’s words. He should have been surprised, but he wasn’t. It was fate. Everyone in his family seemed to be paired with a vampire.
“I haven’t had human blood for over a decade,” Darien told him.
Jordan smiled. “My father is a vampire, a psychic one, and so is my uncle.”
“Kiss him and get it over with!” Dargon said peevishly as he entered the bedroom. “What is this—the bloody dating game?” It was obvious the old wiz was in a very foul mood.
Taryn got to her feet, standing in the center of the bed and pointing a finger at Dargon. “Murderer!”
Dargon straightened his hat, which now had a definite, and quite possibly permanent, bend in it near the top. “Witch!”
“You got that right, bozo!” Taryn pushed up imaginary sleeves preparing to face her foe. She lifted her hands towards the old wizard. “I’m going to knock you onto your feeble, bony ass!”
“Taryn, no!” Jordan shouted at his cousin.
“Bozo! How dare you—” Dargon stopped abruptly and crossed over to stand beside Darien, who was still sitting on the floor where he had landed from Jordan’s push. “Uh, what’s a bozo?” He leaned over, asking Darien.
Taryn jumped up and down on the bed. “It’s a clown, and that is precisely what you are. You are a clown, a sham… a shyster!” By the end of her tirade, she was shouting.
Jordan directed his chair towards the bed, reaching out towards Taryn. From what he’d seen of this warlock’s powers so far, his cousin’s temper needed to be curtailed, and quickly. “Taryn, I don’t think you should be—”
“No, Jordan. This is the freak I saw with Lamenta right before she collapsed. He murdered her. He needs to be punished. I want him locked up! He should be put into the dinkiest cell on Alcatraz.”
“Alcatraz is closed, Taryn,” Jordan pointed out patiently.
“Well, he needs to get shoved into a cell with a huge, scarred and tattooed bruiser who will make him the backdoor bitch for cell block A!” Taryn glared at the old wizard, pointing her finger at him and shaking it slightly.
Jordan saw the gray-haired man started to dance from one foot to the other. No doubt his usually calm vampire-slaying cousin was upsetting the old guy. “That’s not for us to say, Taryn. Perhaps if you go home, I’ll stay here and sort things out.”
Darien got to his feet, idly brushing off his trousers. He took one step towards Jordan, but stopped to look over his shoulder at Dargon. “You say one more word, or move one finger, and I will not only take away your computer privileges, I will lock up your handheld game toy.”
The effect on the wizard was immediate and surprising. His hands were shoved into pockets on his robe. Darien told him to go sit in the corner, and he did. “We appear to have a problem,” Darien announced as he pulled the key from his pocket to release the cuffs still around Taryn’s ankles.
“Don’t let her go!” Dargon cried out in a pleading tone from the far side of room.
Darien glan
ced over his shoulder at him.
Chastised, but muttering under his breath, Dargon sat back down.
Taryn continued to stand as Darien released her. “Let Jordan leave.”
Jordan protested quickly. “No, Taryn, I’ll stay. I think it would be best for you to go since you irritate the older gentleman.”
“Gentleman? He’s no gentle anything, and I question his right to be known as a man.”
“Oooh, Master! The witch insults me. How can I bear such injustices?” Dargon hopped up from his chair, dancing from one foot to the other.
“Excuse me, Master, but we have more company!” Birdie announced in a voice filled with doom as he entered the bedroom.
* * * * *
Taryn glanced from Birdie to Jordan, and then Darien. From the looks on their faces, it was obvious she was the only one who thought more company had to be an improvement. Without pause, she reached over and grabbed one boot. It wasn’t easy, but she balanced as she tried to pull on one of the boots.
“Good!” Taryn announced with glee. “Maybe it’s the police to take you away!” She couldn’t resist goading the old wizard, wise or not.
Dargon wasn’t waiting around, having jumped to his feet upon hearing they had even more uninvited guests. “They’ll never catch me! I’ll go through the portal!” He shouted the last part as he ran out of the room.
Taryn grabbed her second boot, hurrying to pull it on.
Seconds later another voice interrupted the eclectic group. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
Everyone turned as the newcomers entered. Taryn was not surprised to see that Simon Ruthven was the speaker, nor that he had not come alone. “Hello, Blue. Fancy seeing you two here, huh?” she added quietly, with a shrug and a smile.
Simon gently ushered Blue into the bedroom in front of him, while he kept a tight hold on the robes of his old wizard, dragging him back into the bedroom. This answered the old question of where old Dargon had disappeared to quite a few years back.