“Thank you, Geoff,” Kallias said. He shot an irritated glare toward Erik as he muttered, “I appreciate you not being a reckless idiot, unlike some people.”
Erik shrugged. “Hey, you know what? I’m not even sorry for taking her because, in case you’ve forgotten, we would all be dead if it weren’t for her.”
Rose shifted uneasily at the reminder of what she had done.
Geoffrey’s dark eyes widened in alarm. “Wait. What?”
“Rose saved our lives last night,” Kallias explained.
“She is a hell of a lot more powerful than we thought,” Erik added.
Geoffrey seemed bothered by that. He frowned worriedly at Rose.
Kallias glanced at Rose. “So, how did you know that I was hurt?”
Rose shoved her hand in her pocket until her fingers found the phone. She pulled it out and handed it to him. “You left your phone, and Audrey called.”
Kallias nodded. “Audrey. Of course. I should have known.”
Geoffrey turned his scowl toward Kallias. “Wait, you knew about her friend? Didn’t you think it was strange that her friend has a psychic ability, too?”
“Of course I did,” Kallias agreed, “but I also saw inside Audrey’s mind. She genuinely cares for Rose. I don’t see any reason to be suspicious of her.”
Rose smiled at him. “Exactly.”
“She is a bit strange,” Kallias added, “but so is Rose.”
Her smile faded. “Wow, you’re so sweet,” she muttered sarcastically.
Geoffrey scratched his head nervously. He leaned toward Kallias. “Can you…er…perhaps…tell me exactly what happened last night?” he asked quietly.
Kallias nodded. “Sure, just let me take a shower first,” he said, gesturing toward his torn, bloodied clothing. He started toward the stairs, but then, he turned abruptly to stare at Geoffrey. His brows furrowed, and he seemed to concentrate intensely on Geoffrey. “On second thought, let’s talk privately.”
Rose frowned suspiciously as they headed into the living room. She wondered what Kallias had seen in Geoffrey’s mind and why they would need to speak privately. She nearly jumped when she felt a hand grasp her arm. She glared down at the hand that had startled her and then at the owner of the hand.
Erik cringed as she glared at him. He scratched his head, ruffling his messy blonde hair. “Dang. I was just wondering if you wanted some coffee.”
Her anger instantly faded, and she smiled brightly at him. “Do I want coffee?” she repeated, scoffing, “As if I might say no.” She stepped past him.
Erik laughed and followed her to the kitchen. He grabbed a skillet from the cabinet. “I’ll make something quick since it’s so late. You like grilled cheese?”
“Sure,” Rose said as she prepared the coffee. “I actually know how to make grilled cheese. It usually turns out a little black when I cook it, but still.”
He stopped and frowned at her. “Black? As in…burnt?”
“I like to think of it as well-done,” she said, wincing.
Erik laughed and rolled his eyes at her. “You really can’t cook, can you?”
“I have plenty of skills,” she muttered. “Cooking just isn’t one of them.”
As Rose leaned over the coffee pot to pour the coffee grounds into the filter, she stiffened as she suddenly felt someone next to her. The person leaned forward and sniffed her. She turned toward the person, her brows furrowing as she found Emma standing next to her. “Uh…Emma? Did you just sniff me?”
Emma stood so close that Rose could feel the satin of Emma’s blue dress brushing against her hand. Emma clutched the arm of Rose’s hoodie and leaned down to sniff the fabric. She frowned and raised herself on her tippy-toes to sniff Rose’s neck. Then, she grabbed a handful of Rose’s hair and sniffed it as well.
Erik watched in fascination, a spatula poised in his hand and an amused smile tugging at his lips. Rose shot him a questioning look, but he just shrugged.
Rose’s eyes widened as Emma leaned forward and sniffed the front of her shirt, or you know…her breasts. “Um…Emma?” she sputtered in shock. When Emma didn’t answer and just continued to sniff her, her face touching the front of Rose’s hoodie, Rose shot Erik a pleading look and mouthed, “Help.”
He snorted and tossed the spatula aside. He crossed the room and wrapped his hand around Emma’s arm, gently pulling her away from Rose. He looked far too amused by the strange situation. “Emma, stop sniffing Rose.”
Emma jerked her arm out of his grasp. “She smells different.”
Erik grabbed her and held her back as she tried to sniff Rose again. “Emma, it’s not considered appropriate by most people to sniff another woman’s breasts.” He grinned wickedly and added, “Kissing them, on the other hand…”
“Oh, for goodness sakes, Erik,” Rose groaned.
“She smells different,” Emma insisted.
“Of course she does. Didn’t you notice that Kallias does, too?” Erik said.
Emma’s hazel eyes lightened with recognition. “A blood bond?”
Erik finally let go of her arm. “Kallias wouldn’t be alive otherwise.”
Emma danced around in a circle. “Yay!” she squealed. Rose winced as Emma patted her harshly on the shoulder. “I knew you cuties would have sex.”
Erik raised an eyebrow at Emma’s strange dance. “Do that again.”
Rose rubbed her shoulder, wincing at the soreness. “Why does everyone assume that we had sex? And even if we did, that wouldn’t be anyone’s business.”
But no one was paying attention to her. “I can’t,” Emma said to Erik. “I have to get out of this room before you start cooking disgusting human food.”
Erik pouted at her. “But it smells all right when I cook it.”
Emma grimaced. “Eww. No,” she said as she turned and left the kitchen.
“I smell different?” Rose asked Erik after Emma was gone.
Erik flipped the grilled cheese and glanced at her. “Sure. A little.”
She frowned worriedly. “Is it a good different or a bad different?”
He grinned at her. “Don’t worry, babe. Everyone still wants to eat you.”
She scowled. “How the heck is that supposed to make me not worry?”
He tossed two more grilled cheese sandwiches into the skillet. “It’s barely noticeable. It basically just warns other vampires that you’re bound to someone.”
Rose leaned against the counter. “And that…protects me?” she guessed.
“Ideally, yes,” Erik said, waving his hand as he explained. “It’s kind of a common courtesy among vampires not to…eh…take what belongs to another.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
He winced. “Right. I know. I was explaining it the way they see it. Don’t shoot the messenger, okay? Look, most vampires view humans the way most humans view animals. To us, or…eh…them, humans are food. So, when a vampire decides to feed a human his or her blood, it is usually because the vampire became fond of that particular human, which kind of makes you a…pet.”
Rose glared at him. “Did you just call me a pet?”
Erik stepped away from the skillet. He held both hands up in the air, including the spatula-wielding hand, as if she were pointing a gun at him. “Hey, it’s what they think, not what I think. I swear to Odin and Thor and Loki.”
She frowned. “You can’t swear to Loki. He’s the trickster god.”
He winced. “Oh. You caught that, huh?”
Erik yelped as a saltshaker suddenly flew through the air and hit him in the head. He rubbed his head, scowling at the saltshaker as it shattered on the floor. “Oww,” he whined. “That’s not fair. You can’t use your abilities on me.”
Rose crossed her arms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He grinned and reached out toward her. “Turn-about is fair play.”
Her eyes widened, and she quickly sidestepped him. “Truce! Truce!”
/> As Rose darted toward the other side of the room, placing the bar counter between them for safety, Erik burst into hysterical laughter. He laughed so loudly and so obnoxiously that he nearly fell over in the floor before he finally sobered and returned to the stove to try to save the food before it burned.
Rose cautiously eyed the coffee pot from the other side of the kitchen, not willing to risk the venture back to that side of the counter until the coffee was completely finished brewing. “So, they would spare me out of…politeness?”
“Not just that, no,” he said as he set the fourth pair of grilled cheese sandwiches on the plate. “Most vampires aren’t willing to take that kind of risk.”
She glanced longingly at her coffee as it finished brewing. “What risk?”
He frowned at her, as if he were surprised she’d asked. “The risk that the vampire bound to that human will kill them, of course.” He sighed at her puzzled expression. “The blood bond does more than just intensify the sexual feelings and hunger between the two people. It also intensifies the vampire’s protective instincts and urges. A vampire who is bound to you will rip someone to shreds without a second thought if that person threatens your safety or wellbeing.”
Rose swallowed audibly. “You think Kallias would do that?”
“Kallias would have probably done that for you before the blood bond,” he scoffed as he placed two more grilled cheese sandwiches in the skillet, apparently determined to use every slice of bread in the house on one meal. He shrugged. “But yeah. I mean, hell, I ripped a guy in half one day for calling Alana a whore. I didn’t even realize I’d done it until I saw the two halves of his body lying on the ground. But, in my defense, I’d only been a vampire for two days.”
She blinked. “Well, I was hungry before that mental image,” she muttered.
He chuckled, “The point is: they’ll hesitate before provoking Kallias.”
Rose chewed on her lip. “Will Theron?” she asked. “Hesitate?”
His smile faded. “No. This will just give him another reason to kill you.”
—
Kallias leaned forward, his brows furrowing. “Her blood did what?”
“It kind of…glowed,” Geoffrey stammered. “Kallias, I have never seen blood react the way hers did. I don’t know what she is, but she is not just human.”
Kallias hung his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his thighs, as he listened to Geoffrey explain what had happened the night before. Geoffrey had listened attentively as Kallias explained what Rose had done the night before, how she’d wielded her power effortlessly and how her eyes had changed colors, being overtaken by that glowing red haze. This new information worried Geoffrey.
“She is human,” Kallias argued. “Her blood tastes like human blood.”
“Except it tasted much more powerful than human blood, right?” Geoffrey pointed out. He sat on the sofa across from Kallias, leaning forward on the edge of his seat. “Think about it. How could she be human when her blood is more powerful than vampire blood? She must be something more than human.”
“She is human, and you are not to say otherwise,” Kallias said harshly.
Geoffrey swallowed. “I understand that you care about her, but…”
“No, Geoff, you don’t understand,” Kallias snarled. “Less than two weeks ago, she was living a normal human life with no clue that we even existed. And now, she is hanging out in a house with four dangerous vampires, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. She has a blood bond with me, a twenty-five-hundred-year-old telepathic vampire, which is screwed up enough as it is. She has telekinetic abilities, and after last night, who the hell knows what she can do? Because I…I haven’t ever seen anyone do anything like that. And on top of all of that, Theron and a ton of other vampires want her dead. She has enough to deal with right now without you making her feel like some kind of freak of nature.”
Geoffrey sighed, “But Kallias, what if she isn’t human?”
“I don’t care what she is. I love her. That’s all that matters,” Kallias said.
Geoffrey stared at him for a moment, blinking in shock as he processed that declaration. He’d suspected, of course, but until Kallias confirmed it, he hadn’t been completely sure that the ancient vampire actually loved this human, or whatever she was. He exhaled slowly and ran a hand through his hair, as he tried to choose his words carefully. “Even so, surely you can see reason here. After last night, I think it is safe to assume that she is dangerous. We have to…”
“We are dangerous,” Kallias argued. “We are vampires. She is human.”
“Possibly human,” Geoffrey corrected. “And yesterday, she nearly killed a vampire that’s older than you are. We have no idea what she is capable of.”
Kallias stood. “Rose chose to stay in a house with dangerous vampires that are capable of killing her. Hell, she sleeps next to me. She knows we are dangerous, and she trusts us. And now, you think it’s too hard to trust her?”
Geoffrey held up both hands. “Kallias, calm down. I’m just saying that there’s a reason you don’t see humans letting wild animals roam free through the streets. It doesn’t matter if they trust the animal or if the animal trusts them. If there’s a chance that the animal might hurt or kill someone, you still have to take precautions. They still take care of the animal. They just put the animal in…”
“In a cage?” Kallias asked, his voice a low, blood-curdling growl.
Geoffrey winced. “Okay, so, that was a bad analogy, but I still think…”
He didn’t manage to get the correction out before Kallias shoved him back, his hand closing threateningly around Geoffrey’s neck. He paled in fear as he realized how much weaker he actually was in comparison to Kallias.
Kallias looked absolutely feral, his fangs bared. “Do not threaten her.”
Erik was already in the room before Geoffrey could react, pulling Kallias off of him. He placed himself between them. “Hey. Hey. Kallias, look at me.”
Kallias blinked at Erik, his body still shaking with anger. “Huh? What?”
Erik frowned at him. “You attacked Geoffrey. What happened?”
“I did?” Kallias asked breathlessly. He glanced toward the doorway as Rose stepped into the room. “I…I don’t know. I guess I just…snapped.”
Erik nodded. “It was the blood bond. Let me calm you down, okay?”
Kallias nodded his assent, still trembling as he tried to control the anger.
Erik placed his hands on Kallias’s face and used his abilities to soothe the primal, volatile fury that surged through Kallias. He watched as Kallias relaxed, his shoulders falling and his eyes softening as calmness swept over him.
“Thanks,” Kallias mumbled as Erik dropped his hands and stepped back.
Erik nodded and turned back toward Geoffrey. “Are you all right?”
Geoffrey swallowed, still a little shaken up. “Sure. Yeah. I guess.”
Kallias stared at Rose, saddened by the hesitancy that he saw in her eyes.
Emma appeared in the other doorway. She leaned elegantly against the doorframe, her normally wide, innocent eyes now narrowed with concern.
“I don’t understand,” Geoffrey said. “Kallias has never acted like that.”
Kallias glanced at him, his brows furrowed, but he remained silent.
“Kallias has never had a full-blown blood bond with anyone before,” Erik explained. “You would do the same thing if someone threatened Emma.”
Geoffrey quickly shook his head. “I wasn’t threatening Rose. I swear.”
Rose frowned at Kallias as she realized he was staring at her again.
Erik shrugged. “It must have felt like a threat to cause that reaction.”
Geoffrey’s mouth fell open. “W-what? You’re on his side?”
“I’m not on anyone’s side, asshole. We’re friends here, not enemies,” Erik muttered. He scowled at Geoffrey. “I just want to know what happened.”
“Not here, Erik,” Kall
ias said quietly, still not taking his eyes off of Rose.
“I wasn’t threatening her,” Geoffrey insisted to Erik. “I was just suggesting that we act rationally about this. She is obviously dangerous, and I…”
“Dangerous?” Rose repeated in shock, her eyes widening. “Me?”
“Gamoto,” Kallias muttered, cursing in Greek.
Geoffrey glanced at her, swallowing uneasily. “Well, after last night, I…”
“Are you kidding me?” Erik interrupted. “Stop being such a baby. We’re monsters, and look at her. She acts like it’s no big deal. A human is braver than you.”
Geoffrey glared at him. “I am just being rational, which is something I don’t expect you to understand. I expected Kallias to understand. He is usually the rational one. Yes, we are monsters, but she might be an even worse monster.”
Erik’s hand automatically shot out toward Kallias’s chest to hold him back, just in case. He glanced at Kallias, his eyebrow raised. “Try not to kill him.”
Kallias made no move to attack, but his eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Monster?” Rose sputtered. “You think that I’m a monster?”
“No,” Kallias interjected quickly. “Rose, you are not a monster.”
“Geoff,” Emma said softly. She remained in the doorway, frowning at her husband. “Why would you say that about Rose? I like her. She is nice to me.”
Geoffrey actually shrank back at that. He suddenly looked ashamed.
“I have murdered innocent humans, Geoff. I have tortured vampires,” Erik said darkly. “I am the worst monster in this room. I can assure you of that.”
Geoffrey swallowed and looked away. “We don’t even know what she is.”
“I will tell you what she is. She is an innocent human that we promised to protect,” Erik said harshly. “Now, if you have changed your mind, that is your choice. You can leave anytime you want. But we will continue to protect her.”
“No, I still want to help,” Geoffrey said. “I just think that we should…”
“Then, maybe you should shut the hell up,” Erik interrupted.
Geoffrey’s eyes widened. He sighed and stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I should get some air,” he muttered as he shuffled toward the door.
The Stone of the Eklektos Page 72