She glanced at the laptop, reminding herself of the numbers.
“Who tells the elves?” Lindal asked.
Beth looked at him squarely. “I will.”
Sera was holding her hands together in her lap, the knuckles white. She said nothing.
Beth started in on the casualty list and gave a summary of the media reaction to the downtown basement explosion, which was received with incredulity.
“They’re pretending it didn’t happen?” Noemi asked. She was part of Beth’s sub-trinity and from Chicago. “With all the cellphone videos out there, they think they can get away with saying it’s rabid dogs?”
“It might hold for a while, until it blows up on the Internet and then the majors will have to cave,” Zack said quietly. “We don’t know what will happen after that.”
“Shouldn’t we warn them about the Grimoré, now?” Octavia asked. “If they’re warned, if they’re looking out for themselves, the Grimoré won’t be able to pick them off, like sheep in a pen.”
Beth made herself not look at Lindal. Or Sera, either. “The elves will not permit us to reveal ourselves, so we will have to let the chips fall as they may.”
Silence. Everyone looked at her, puzzled.
“So, we don’t warn them?” Octavia asked. There was anger in her voice.
“We need the elves,” Beth explained. “Without them, we will lose the war and they are very…sensitive about exposure.”
There were more puzzled glances, most of them toward Lindal. He didn’t react. He didn’t look at anyone, either.
“It’s not just the elves,” Noemi said. “Vampires would not be happy about wholesale exposure.” She was a vampire herself and also a director in Chicago’s city hall. She had a nuanced understanding of politics among humans and more. Beth didn’t doubt she was right.
“It’s not that we’re sensitive,” Noemi added. “After centuries of abuse and scorn and fear from humans, we’ve developed thicker hides than the elves. We didn’t get the luxury of hiding out on a different world. We had to live among those who feared us. That was long ago, when humans more easily believed the supernatural existed. Nowadays, we get to enjoy life passing as humans because humans believe so thoroughly that we are nothing more than myth. There are many vampires who would not appreciate losing their hard-won place among humans.”
Zack grimaced. He was agreeing silently with Noemi.
Beth cleared her throat. “I’m sure the shifters and demons and others would also be afraid of exposure, too. Only, the Grimoré care nothing for our media, if they even understand it. At first, they preferred secrecy so they could hunt and gather humans freely. That phase has ended now. They’ve demonstrated that revealing their existence to humans is immaterial to them now the end of the war is in sight.”
“How do we stay hidden, when the Grimoré are letting hounds and vampeen loose on the streets of our cities?” Cairo asked. He was the jumper from Sera’s trinity, in Florida.
“We can’t,” Beth said flatly. “The only way to stay hidden is to not fight them, to hide away where the cameras won’t find us. We can’t afford to do that. We must oppose them, wherever we find them.”
“What if we find them in the Galleria where every teenager has a cellphone?” Mia asked.
“Then that is where we find them and face them,” Beth said.
The little, astounded silence fell again.
Beth raised her hand, anticipating the response. “Think it through,” she urged. “There is so much garbage on the Internet, so much that is fake and unbelievable, that a few more videos of people fighting off mangy dogs and monsters with teeth, or even tall, pale people with big heads, will be dismissed by almost everyone as another click-bait video. The more of it on the Internet, the less inclined the major networks will be to touch the matter.” She leaned forward to press her point home. “As long as there is no one around for the media to question, afterward—if no one confirms anything, if no one speaks on behalf of anyone—then even if we are caught on those same cameras, it will continue to look unbelievable.”
“For how long?” Ekota asked sharply. “How long before the sheer number of incidences add up to conviction?”
“I have every expectation that the war will end long before we reach that point,” Beth said, with as much confidence as she could muster poured into her tone. “For now, we take the fight to wherever the Grimoré are, no matter where they are.”
Cora and Zoe and even Octavia looked doubtful.
“Zoe?” Beth pressed.
Zoe shifted, re-crossing her legs. “Ours is a small town, Seaveth. People know who we are. It’s not the same as fighting in the middle of Times Square and jumping away. People know where we live.”
“You’ll have to adapt to your situations, of course,” Beth told her. “Only, we do not shrink from engaging the Grimoré just because we fear exposure. We just don’t explain ourselves, either.”
* * * * *
The meeting ended inconclusively, with an air of discontentment, which bothered Beth more than she let Zack and Lindal see.
Exhaustion was dragging at her, so when the last coffee cup had been washed, she left Zack monitoring the cellphones and Lindal brooding by the window and went to bed.
It was a relief to lie down and curl up under the quilt. Yet sleep wouldn’t come. Tiredness was making her feet throb and her arms and legs ache. The bones of her face felt hot, as if she was coming down with a fever. Her mind wouldn’t quit. She kept turning the events of the last few hours, days…every slow year of the war, over and over in her mind.
What had she missed? Had she made a bad decision? Was her faith in the prophecy, which foretold an end to the war before Mia’s baby was born in early April, completely foolish?
She turned onto her other side and tossed the covers aside. She was too hot underneath them. Too worked up.
Beth didn’t know how long she laid there, her mind only now starting to prod and dig at secondary issues and concerns that would develop from the Grimoré attack. The meanings behind it. Things she really must remember to do when she next woke. Lindal’s dilemma. She didn’t know how much time passed while she failed to sleep because she refused to look at the clock. She kept her eyes shut. She was tired enough that it was easy to lie motionless and wish that sleep would take her.
She realized she had drifted into a very light doze when she felt soft warmth on her upper breast and realized it was a pair of lips.
Lindal’s scent was unmistakable. His head was just beneath her chin. He had eased himself onto the bed as she had lain there, not quite asleep.
“You’re far, far too wound up,” he breathed against her breast. “You’ll never sleep if we don’t get you relaxed enough.”
As he spoke, she felt Zack’s cool fingers on her shoulder, easing the tiny strap of her nightgown off her shoulder. The silk dropped over her arm and Lindal nudged the fabric lower, until her breast was exposed.
At the same time, Zack rolled her back. She thought he was lying her down on the bed on her back, except her shoulder came up against his chest. It opened her up to Lindal’s explorations.
“Mmm, that’s better,” Lindal breathed.
Zack slid his hand over her shoulder, down to capture her breast. The nipple was snagged between his fingers and he tugged, teasing her. At the same time, Lindal lowered himself down onto the sheet and sucked her other breast into his mouth.
Beth was still groggy with the need for sleep, which kept her in a completely relaxed state, accepting everything they were doing to her. The tugging on her breasts was delicious, a heated friction that drew her out of her sleep-filled thoughts.
They played with her breasts, teasing her, for long minutes. She woke properly, as her body stirred. Her breath escaped her in a little gasp. None of the thoughts that had been plaguing her could intrude now. She was focused fully upon the rush of sweet longing, the pounding ache of her clit.
Finally, finally, the two of them let her
breasts go and turned their attention elsewhere.
Zack lifted her knee and draped it over his legs, separating her thighs and opening her up. She heard the soft sound of his zipper lowering. Yet it was Lindal’s fingers that stroked between her thighs.
Beth gasped at the light touch. Her clit was swollen and aching to be touched, but he avoided it. Instead, he pushed his fingers a little way inside her. She could hear the slippery sound of her arousal. She was very wet.
He pulled out of her. His hand was removed and then returned to her heated skin. This time he stroked his fingers back, pressing them against her ass, testing the muscle. His fingers were slick.
Lubricant.
He pushed against her ass, teasing, then pressed inside. He was preparing her and that made her pleasure rise. Zack was also running his hand over her in light strokes, from her knee to her breasts, in a wandering circuit, making her nerves fizz and stir.
Every touch and stroke was enhanced because she was pinned between the two of them, spread open and exposed. She was completely vulnerable, theirs to do with as they wished.
Most of her days she spent braced, fending off irate vampire elders, pissed off elves, enemy incursions, medical emergencies, all while working to ensure humans did not learn of their existence. Throughout her days, she was constantly trying to think ahead, to outmaneuver the Grimoré, to find the end to the war she had virtually promised everyone would come.
This moment now, here between Lindal and Zack, was the only time she could afford to be weak, to lie back and accept things being done to her, instead of being the one who got things done.
It was heady and delightful.
Zack’s cock pressed up against her ass and she could feel it was as slick as she was, beating with heat and pulse. He pushed inside her, spreading her open. Beth breathed, making herself relax, letting him in.
When he was fully inside her, Zack rolled over onto his back, bringing her with him. He shifted inside her at the movement, then pushed deeper.
Her head came to rest next to his, her back pressed against his chest. He turned his chin and kissed her cheek, as he wound his arms beneath hers. He stroked her breasts and Beth gasped at the touch. Every nerve end was awake and alert now. The brush of his fingertips was electrifying.
Lindal arranged her legs, spreading her open. The bedroom door was ajar and light came from the living room, so his view of her pussy and of Zack’s cock buried in her would be clear.
He stared down at her as he stripped off the jeans and shirt, dropping them to the floor. His cock emerged, standing almost vertically erect and he stroked it, looking down at her.
Beth’s heart pounded at the sight, at her helplessness, at what would happen next.
When Lindal settled on his knees at the foot of the bed and leaned on his stomach, between her knees and Zack’s, Beth thought she might climax right then as she realized what he planned to do to her.
He ran his hand through her cleft and Zack hissed as his finger trailed around the base of his cock. Beth could feel Zack twitch inside her.
Lindal bent his head. His tongue swept along the path his fingers had just taken and Beth moaned at the soft, wildly arousing touch.
He pushed his fingers back inside her, stretching her around him and rubbing against the walls with insistent pleasure.
His mouth closed over her clitoris, sucking on it. His tongue teased and prodded it, with a hard pressure that made Beth arch against Zack, her breath stalling.
Her climax leapt. She couldn’t stop it. It rose up in her like a tide, making nerves flare and her pleasure spiral. She couldn’t catch her breath.
Her climax slammed into her with the impact of a runaway train and her senses failed for a few heartbeats, while the spike of pleasure gripped her in its fist, pulsing.
Then she fell back against Zack, almost boneless.
Except that Lindal didn’t stop. He stroked her clit, his fingers moving in a steady, hard thrusting motion inside her.
Beth gasped as excitement rekindled and the newly frayed nerves responded. She was going to come again. Lindal was going to pull it out of her, make her come again, overriding her body’s natural inclination to relax and shut down.
“She’s squeezing me,” Zack breathed. “I could come from that alone.” His fingers were still teasing, still in motion, although now he was tugging at her nipples, matching Lindal’s quick, steady rhythm.
Beth didn’t have the breath to answer him. She was gasping, making ragged, hoarse sounds, as Lindal drove her to another orgasm.
This time, the climax seemed to flow over her. It was heated, sparkling water, while iridescent streaks flashed across her vision.
Zack groaned and she could feel his cock moving in little, helpless thrusts inside her.
“Wait for me,” Lindal told him, as he climbed onto the bed on his knees. His cock was twitching.
He bent over them and eased his way into Beth’s pussy. She was sopping wet. Taking the two of them stretched her and gave her a sensation of fullness that was unique and incredibly satisfying.
Lindal’s breath was also hurried and uneven. He gripped her hips as he thrust deep, then pulled out of her and pushed back in.
“Oh, God…” Beth breathed. It was wonderful. She squirmed as a climax flowered deep in her belly and began to build.
Lindal’s hips worked hard as he drove himself into her over and over again. His fingers dug into her hips, holding her down so he could get deeper. From countless other occasions, she could tell he was going to come very soon. His eyes were nearly closed as he became lost in the pleasure.
Zack was groaning almost continually, his hips jerking beneath her. He was the first to come, his cock pulsing and jerking inside her. His hands clamped down on her breasts, holding her still while he pumped.
His pleasure set off her own. Beth came with a cry that strained her throat. It felt as if every muscle she had clenched in response, even her heart stilled, sampling the pure thrill pouring through her.
Lindal gave a hoarse cry as he came, his fingers digging even deeper, until he stilled, the tension gripping him. She could feel his cock pulsing, spilling its seed.
Until finally he, too, sagged over the top of them. He withdrew and eased her back onto the mattress, as Zack slipped out of her and pulled her up against him.
Beth was back to feeling the ache of tiredness tugging at her once more, only this time, she knew she would sleep. She could feel her body sagging with it, sinking her deeper into the mattress.
And so thinking, she slept. When she woke, it was daylight once more. Someone had opened the curtains and early morning light was shining weakly through the blinds.
Zack was still behind her, his arm heavy over her waist, telling her he had slipped into the very light sleep he sometimes experienced.
Lindal was lying on the bed, on his side, facing her. His eyes were closed. As she blinked and drew in a deeply relaxed breath, he opened them. The blue was incredible. She always marveled at their color.
He was watching her and there was wariness in his eyes.
That brought all her concerns and worries crashing back around her. The elves, the portal, the Grimoré and how the entire world depended on her making good decisions.
Most of all, it delivered the weight of Lindal’s future, making it press into her chest, an anvil that made her bones creak and her breath painful.
Tears built in her eyes.
Lindal brushed them away with soft touches of his fingers. “Don’t….”
She swallowed. “I’m scared,” she whispered.
Lindal drew in a breath and let it out. He picked up her hand from where she had it resting under the pillow and held it in his.
She wanted him to tell her it would be all right, that everything would turn out. It was Zack’s job to be pessimistic, to look for potential snags and problems. Lindal had always been able to see the good, the positive.
Only this time, he didn’t. “I’m scared,
too,” he said.
Chapter Seven
As the walls of the dingy office coalesced around them, Wyatt was hit with the smell. It was the aroma of every auto shop in America, rich with old oil, burnt and stressed rubber, car parts, dirt and the neglect of shop owners who cared more about service than bookkeeping and left piles of greasy thumbed documents untouched to gather dust on any flat service.
The calculator keys would be grimy with sweat and grease, the computer would be the cheapest model that had been available eight years ago, the screen smeared by dirty fingers. The chair would creak and be fixed with duct tape.
He looked around to find the calendar. It was over by the door, opened to this month, at least, with a buxom, barely clad blonde straddling a Harley Davidson, her thighs gleaming with oil.
“This is every cliché I’ve ever seen in the movies, all in one room,” Mia breathed, looking around.
“We did say somewhere obscure and unexpected,” Wyatt reminded her. “You okay?” She was rubbing her belly.
Mia nodded. “I get these stitch things. Declan says it’s perfectly normal. And there’s no way I’m going to sit down on anything in here.”
The door opened, revealing Ronny Alexos’ tall, spare figure and the head of tight, silvered curls. Wyatt relaxed, letting go of the hilt of his knife and letting his coat fall back into place. “Ronny.”
“Right on time.” Ronny stepped in and looked at Mia. “You must be Shamira.”
“Mia,” she corrected. “What is this place?”
“Frankie’s Auto Repair Shop, Clay City, Indiana. Population was just over eight hundred, two days ago.”
“What happened two days ago?”
Ronny grinned. “We got ourselves a convention.” He pushed open the door, which had once been white but was now an ancient yellow, with dark stains around the door knob and frame. “Come and see.”
They followed him out of the office into a slightly neater front shop area, with a counter and cash register and new tires stacked everywhere. There were images of sports cars framed and hanging on the walls.
Terra's Victory (Destiny's Trinities Book 7) Page 6