Ash shifted her weight to one foot, looking sassy in her annoyance. “The only thing I see foolish about loving this man is thinking it is wrong simply because of who he is supposed to be, not who he is.”
The older vampire harrumphed behind his smile. “Wise words. Perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye.” Ash opened her mouth to counter his claim at her being anything but what she was when he suddenly turned to the other men. Both Mamoru and Tristan stiffened, ready for a fight. “I must apologize,” Innokentiy was saying, looking back and forth between the men, “for my earlier outburst that resulted in our ill parting. It was hasty of me. Having a moment to think on it, I will only ask you once calmly...”
The others all jiggled on their feet as a distant rumble filled in the landscape. Mamoru recognized it for what it really was right away. Tristan only realized it after his blood warned him—Innokentiy was making the earth under their feet moan. Ash only knew what the noise was by familiarity, her senses all muddled up in that blasted pythia spell.
“Are you working with the pythia?”
“No,” Ash answered for the group sounding insulted. She greatly respected the pythia, even relied on them for the grand order of things. Their job was to keep the balance, not skew it and play games with it when it fit their agendas and that there was one out there playing such a game now truly disgusted Ash.
The older vampire turned his attention to her and the other two men sighed at the cessation of power. “I believe you. Now, that all of that is a non-issue, I’d like to enlist your help. Rather, I believe we can help each other.”
Tristan snorted before he could stop the gross noise. “Heard that one before, then you buried me up to my neck in the earth and left us to die.”
“I retuned for you but James had already intervened.”
“Who’s—”
Ash put a hand on Tristan’s arm, silencing him. Looking up at him, but speaking to Netty, she said, “He goes by Desmond now, Master.”
“Oh, I see.” Innokentiy frowned hard, brow furrowed. “I don’t like that man, Desmond.”
“No one really does,” Ash muttered with such sincerity that the two Uruwashi snickered. She frowned when she realized what she’d said but Innokentiy was so lost in thought he didn’t notice the exchange.
“Guess you didn’t find Genoveva either?” Tristan asked with a sneer.
Ash started. “Are you—”
Innokentiy darted towards her, making her flinched back. “No. I am not working with my poor misguided scion, only looking to end her finally.”
Mamoru’s mouth dropped open and it was Tristan who overacted for the group. “Holy fucking shit, you’re that fruitcake’s Master?”
The vampire only smiled at him and Mamoru muttered in Japanese under his breath something about it being a pity for Netty.
“Master,” Ash interjected softly, “if I may.”
“Please,” the other vampire said. “Innokentiy or Netty. I shed the title of Master long ago. I’m not fit to mentor anyone.”
Ash’s frown deepened. She seldom used nicknames and even more so for ones dubbed by insane vampires that made a career of stripping Ash’s faith from her.
“Innokentiy, if I may, why did you fake your death? You were still very young then, too young to find need of solitude.” Not to mention he played human so well when he was wearing an aura.
“A sad tale that starts and ends with Genoveva.” He held his hand out and Ash hesitated for only the barest of seconds before stepping into the man and taking it. His flesh was cold and Ash shivered at the alien texture of it, smooth and without a single hair. Almost as if made of marble, if marble were completely non-porous. “My, what’s happened to you?”
Ash flinched and then understanding what he was asking, sighed. “A long story.”
“We have some time,” he said motioning to the sky before returning his attention back to Ash and kissing her hand with icy lips.
She glanced over to Tristan, their exchanged looks full of words that didn’t need to be spoken, or telepathically absorbed. They hadn’t even realized they were at that point yet, where they understood each other by just a look and Mamoru smiled lovingly at the bond they shared, lamenting his own love life, or lack thereof.
With a little nod, Ash said, “We are going to Gytheio for the night. Will you join us? We can talk in the comfort of a room.”
Netty, sensing the other’s unease shifted his gaze to them. “You agree?”
Mamoru nodded, though only just. Tristan sighed, giving his own reluctant acknowledgement. He trusted Ash’s judgment and whatever Mamoru’s instincts were telling him. Though, he’d hoped that he and Ash could spend some time together alone before whatever else they had planned, but he realized that alone time with Ash was like finding a unicorn. Wherever they went he could never find that fucking unicorn.
Mamoru snickered and gave Tristan a hard pat on the back. Netty too, hearing the American’s tired thoughts, smirked. Ash frowned. She really hated not hearing what Tristan was thinking, hated it even more that this was some misguided pythia—an antediluvian even—that was messing with her, forcing her to face herself and accept fully what she was or balk and just die.
“Yes,” Innokentiy said as he turned them around to head back down the hill. “I’d imagine. Tell me, what happened? You… you feel human.”
“I suppose,” she muttered with a sour pout, “I nearly am.”
The two Uruwashi fell in behind the vampires with their heads tilted towards one another in soft conversation. Ash was explaining to Innokentiy how she came to be caught by his scion and had been spelled down. The older vampire spared a look back to Tristan, really seeing him for a change.
The fingers gripping Tristan’s gun tightened and he forced himself not to let his finger slip onto the trigger. He didn’t trust the guy a breath but understanding just how outmatched they were with Genoveva, they really could use the older vampire’s help.
By the time they found a place to park in Gytheio, Netty was all caught up on current events. The fact that Ash didn’t even offer her neck to the man to just glean all the info in a single swallow of blood was a relief to Tristan that he’d make a point of thanking her on later. It was against their nature, but she did it for him.
“I see,” Innokentiy was saying, shaking his head.
Mamoru, taking on the body language of a paid bodyguard, slipped out of the driver’s seat and into the cool night. A soft drop of water hit Tristan on the forehead that wasn’t from the ocean wind as he got out to join Mamoru and he sighed. At least they weren’t going to be soaked again. He was really getting tired of being wet.
“I’ll find us some rooms,” the Japanese man said stiffly and marched off towards the huge hotel that faced the ocean. The vampires both preferred little B&B’s, but in their current situation, blending into a larger crowd was important.
Tristan let go of his held breath and slumped against the car for a moment. The trip into town was less than ten minutes but being in the car with a vampire as utterly old and heady as Netty was almost too much for him to bear. He was going to have to find some sort of sexual outlet soon or he’d go crazy.
Ash gave Tristan a thin smile as she got out of the back and shut the door.
Netty, on the other side, was examining the car as if he was having some sort of telepathic conversation with it. “I don’t think I’ve been in modern transportation this much since the last World War.” Hearing the other’s question in their silence, he looked up and smiled. “I prefer to use my own two feet. Just as fast and simply freeing to have the wind in one’s hair.”
Tristan blanched a little. He knew they moved faster than humans, but didn’t realize it was that fast.
“Yes,” Ash said, startling Tristan from his thoughts. “It is freeing. I remember… Goddess, it was more than three centuries ago now, but I remember the night the truce between the vampire and lycan was called. Were you active then?” At Netty’s negative gestu
re, she smiled sadly. “It was a lovely, cool spring night. We called truce and then the lycan invited us to run with him.”
Her gaze grew distant, eyes sparkling with fond remembrance. “The wind pulling my hair, the rush of scents, the possible danger of missing one’s footing and taking a branch to the face or worse, tumbling and being deemed unworthy of their pack. I never felt more alive than when I ran with those beautiful creatures.” She stopped short, eyes sharply back in focus and frowned, wrapping her arms around her middle. “It was a true shame when the truce was violated. I would have liked the chance to do that again.”
Feeling the other’s eyes on her, she stiffened to attention and then shrugged looking meek and tired—wholly human. “I had a hand in their extermination, only to give them the peaceful death they deserved and not the violence most of my kind lives by. It was the least I could do for them.”
Netty’s brows went high in amusement. “You are the woman I took you to be, a woman many of our kind dismiss and ridicule for being so… softhearted.”
Again that little shrug from Ash. “I’m tired of trying to be something other than what I am.”
“And what are you?” Netty asked with a big smile as if he already knew.
“A human in a vampire’s body.”
Innokentiy clapped his hands together with a high pitched laugh. “Yes, that’s exactly it. Splendid. And now that that’s been settled, how about we find a way to give you your body back, yes?”
Ash’s lips slowly spread into a dark smile. “I would appreciate it very much.”
Tristan wasn’t sure about this new development and was still standing by the car as the other’s started to move away at the sight of Mamoru waving from down the street.
Ash stopped and turned. “Tristan?”
“Hm? Oh, nothing,” he answered and came around to stop before her.
Her smile was warm and full of love. “You worry too much.”
“You can’t read my mind,” he snapped and then sighed, sorry for the outburst. He felt like an outsider more than ever and it was really starting to eat at him. Sure, it took over three hundred years, but Ash finally knew who she was. Tristan didn’t have that sort of time and it depressed him.
“Do you think I lasted this long, under that man’s rule, without learning a thing or two about people?”
He smiled, relaxing. “Come on,” he said, taking her arm.
Netty fell in beside them, instantly setting Tristan’s blood afire, albeit colder than the Antarctic. The look the vampire was giving them was enough to chill Tristan alone. “Tell me, Ash—it is okay to call you such, yes?”
“Please,” she answered softly as if in reverence.
“Ash, tell me, how old were you when Malik took you?”
Thankful for small niceties, Ash nodded. The man could have said killed, but he chose something gentler. Then again, he was very, very old and might have considered woman to be of weaker standing. But she knew without having to ask him that wasn’t true. The man was a Viking, the fact that their women were strong was a point of pride. “Twenty-two, only just.”
“And when you came into your seikonō?”
“Um…” She faltered, not because she didn’t want to answer, but she really couldn’t remember. “Perhaps near seventy? Yes, that is probably about right.”
“Seventy A.D.? Average then,” he muttered nodding with his head lowered as he rubbed his beard in thought. A gasp to his left made Ash and Tristan stiffen, realizing his appearance frightened a tourist, and without a single twitch, the vampire’s complexion suddenly bled into a darker shade. The shift of appearance brought out the man’s expressions and his brow creased deeply, making him look closer to forty. Such an easy shift, without even a thought, worried Tristan. Sure, they were all playing nice now, but it wouldn’t stay that way, not with a vampire. The thought that the man was likely to snap at any moment kept Tristan on edge.
Ash was tense for another reason. She knew where the questions were leading and didn’t like it. She was getting tired of defending herself to others of her kind. She was not a pythia, nor ever was. She was nothing more than a human when she died, but having a full pythia mother and twin always seemed to be the main point of argument on her uniqueness. Granted, she held onto some secrets of things she could do that maybe she shouldn’t have, but that didn’t make her any more special than the next vampire.
Next to her, Netty shifted his attention to her and she tensed. She was forcing a mental block into place, surprised at how difficult it was and made a promise to herself to go easier on Tristan about it. Even with her skill, she was sure that the Master was hearing her thoughts, at minimum, feeling her emotions. He was just too old to block out, even at full capacity.
“You are special, Ash,” he said in a low voice.
Tristan’s hand moved to the gun shoved in his waistband.
“But you’re no pythia, that’s absurd.” He smiled.
She chuckled, though it was forced.
“No, you’re special because you’re kind.”
The group stopped and Netty put on a big human smile and went into the small building behind Mamoru. Ash tried to follow but was stopped with a hand on her elbow.
“Is everything okay?” Tristan asked. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, only that Ash seemed upset by it now.
Ash smiled and stepped into him, wrapping her arms around his waist to rest her head on his chest. “Perfect, just like this.”
He made a little noise at her show of affection but happily took his hand from his gun to hold her, lowering his head to rest his cheek on the top of her head.
“You’re cold,” Tristan said softly.
“Yes, I am, but not the way you mean.”
He chuckled. “In what way do you mean?”
“My heart is warm, it always has been, but the barrier to it… I am ready to take down the prison of ice I have allowed to take fix on my soul. I want you to trust me—”
“With my life—”
“I know,” she snapped, cutting him off in turn. “But that’s not good enough. You doubt me and that is my fault. I do not want any secrets between us. I have so much to say but not sure where to start.”
“How about we start with a room… and maybe something to eat, I’m fucking starving.”
She smiled and stood back to look him in the face again and poke him in the belly. “You are going to get fat eating the way you do.”
“Hey,” he said with fake hurt in his voice. “I’m still a growing boy. Give me a break.”
She chuckled and started to turn away but then seemed to think better of it and leaned into him. Her lips were warmer than the rest of her, but still cooler than they should have been. Tristan sucked in a quick breath of cold air off her lips before pressing his fully to hers again. His head started to tilt, Ash’s following suit to deepen their kiss. A slip of warm tongue brushed Tristan’s lower lip. He gave a little sigh and opened his mouth to return the favor when a masculine voice behind Ash cleared their throat. With another little sigh, wistful and sad, Tristan let Ash go.
As she turned away, Tristan looked over her and meet Mamoru’s grin with his own and shrugged. He was going to take every moment he had.
“I got us two rooms,” Mamoru said as they joined him. Netty was standing off to the far side of the lobby examining a painting on the wall. “I’ll stay with the Viking. You two can take the other room.”
“Are you sure?” Ash asked in a low voice, not because Netty wouldn’t hear, because he could, but out of a sense of politeness, such as it was.
“Yeah.” Mamoru straightened, looking confident and a little full of himself as he said, “I’m stronger than you two right now put together. I can handle him…” He glanced back and cricked his neck at the smile Innokentiy was giving him. “Sort of.”
“Fine,” Ash answered dryly, but with a concealed smirk.
He jabbed his thumb in the air towards Tristan. “I also ordered some food
for Garfield over here.”
Ash snickered at the comparison, surprising Tristan that she even knew of the famous fat cat.
“I’ll give you time to settle in and then I’ll bring Netty over to discuss our next move.”
Ash’s expression sobered and she nodded.
“Thanks,” Tristan said and then flinched when he noticed the person behind the desk. She was older, plump and red-cheeked with the heat of the tiny lobby. Her eyes though were wide and full of worry as she watched Mamoru. Innokentiy looked calm and very much alive, but Tristan wondered if the two men said some things in front of the poor woman they shouldn’t have. With a smile and a nod that seemed to relax the woman a little, he took the key and headed up to the room. Instead of suffering the tiny little elevator with two vampire, Tristan opted for the stairs. If he couldn’t handle three measly flights of stairs, he should just give up all together. Being, well, whatever he was, he still had nearly human strength and needed to keep in top shape to keep up with his stronger counterparts.
Mamoru and Netty rounded the elevator onto the floor just as Ash and Tristan stopped at their door. The Japanese man looked ticked off and red around the ears, while the vampire behind him was wearing a mischievous grin. Realizing that they were being watched, Mamoru’s head snapped up and his cheeks flushed, before he bowed his head in an attempt to hide the blush. Netty gave them a little playful shrug and leaned in to whisper against the back of Mamoru’s neck, making the man stiffen and jerk up straight.
“Baka!” echoed down the hall and Tristan wondered if the two would be alright alone.
Ash, seeming to find delight in the little show, chuckled. “Innokentiy was well known as a jokester. He just plays. The gloomy man in the car was just a shadow of a happier person.”
Tristan grunted in answer, shoving the door open and motioning for Ash to go first. He wasn’t sure about Netty, but could see that the man had a mischievous side, behind all that emotional bullshit he was lugging around anyway. Tristan could relate.
Their room was nice, for what it was. They’d gotten a deluxe room that had a separate living room and bedroom. Instead of high traffic commercial carpets, the whole room was floored in big beige tiles. The furniture was cheap looking and old, but clean and good enough shape that he wasn’t worried about breaking it. The bedroom was nicer than the living room at least. Being on the corner, it had two French doors that opened onto balconies. If they intended on staying here all day, Ash would have to sleep in the bathroom to be safe from unexpected housekeeping intrusions and the general inability most hotels curtains had in blocking out any sun.
Moon Child Page 25