by Kristie Cook
Owen bought his own motorcycle and a condo on Captiva. The Amadis bankrolled his party. I wondered how long they would pay him to protect Dorian and me, or if they would cut him off if he continued to help us. I didn't think Rina would let it go that far … but who knew anymore?
The time wasn't an entire waste on the search for our daughter … well, depending on how you looked at it. Owen checked around for us and talked to a lot of Amadis people, though he couldn't go anywhere near the villages because the Daemoni still watched. He didn't find any leads for us, which meant it was either a waste of time or that we should start our search outside the state.
"I haven't been able to reach everyone, though," he said our first night in our new house. We sat on a blanket on the balcony, watching the sunset after a picnic dinner. Dorian and Sasha, the Lykora, had already run off to his room. "A certain witch coven refuses to talk to me, and I haven't heard from one of the wolf-packs either."
"What'd you do to them to make them so hostile?" I teased.
Owen snorted. "It's not me they're afraid of. You and Tristan, however … they've been warned to keep their distance from you."
Well, that wasn't good. How would we find the girl if no one would cooperate?
"Did you take care of the real estate agent?" Tristan asked, abruptly changing the subject, which meant he wasn't too worried about the witch coven or the wolf-pack.
"Sure did," Owen said.
"What did you do to her?" I demanded, all sorts of ideas going through my mind.
"She was very helpful–I really don't think you had anything to worry about," Owen said without answering me. "She said her daughter's available to babysit that cute little boy of yours, though."
"What did you do?" I asked again.
"She needed to forget some things about us," Tristan said flatly.
I opened my mouth to ask what that meant, although I already knew deep down–knew it meant Owen messed with her memories and also knew it was probably safest for all of us, including her. But the doorbell silenced me. We all stiffened.
"Amadis," Tristan and Owen said at the same time.
They could sense the person on the other side of the door, but they could only identify people they knew, usually by scent for Tristan and magical qualities for Owen. So they both looked at me, and I felt for the mind signature.
"She's a witch. And she brought us a cake as a welcome gift. She wants to be friends."
Tristan and Owen followed me to the door. I didn't know if it was to protect me, or because I said "cake."
A pretty blond stood on the other side of the door, with the biggest eyes and boobs I've ever seen. Okay, maybe not the biggest boobs, but they were disproportionately large on her slender frame–too big not to notice. I peered at the guys on each side of me, smiling inside at what I expected to see. Tristan surprised me–he stared at the cake, actually. Owen, though, was no surprise. He stared above the cake in her arms … and not at her hazel eyes. I was thankful for my mental wall, because I didn't want to know what ran through his mind at the moment. Poor guy. We really need to find someone for him.
She smiled warmly and held the cake out toward us. "Hi, I'm Blossom. Welcome to our neighborhood. Well, I live over on Captiva, but close enough."
Owen continued staring, and Tristan took the cake from her and carried it off to the kitchen. I shook my head with embarrassment.
"Come on in, Blossom," I said, stepping aside and purposely knocking Owen out of the way. "Sorry about these guys. They're just … uh …"
"Guys?" Blossom said.
"Yeah. Exactly." I held my hand out. "I'm Alexis."
She pushed my hand out of the way and gave me a hug. "I know who you are. Oh, I guess I'm supposed to curtsy."
"Oh, no! Please don't," I begged. "Really. A hug is fine."
"Yeah, hugs are perfect," Owen said from behind me. I jabbed my elbow into his ribs.
Blossom eyed him. "Hmm … maybe if you're good, I'll give you a hug goodbye."
Owen became a perfect gentleman. He introduced himself and Tristan, then helped Tristan bring plates and silverware out to the balcony so we could enjoy Blossom's cake. I liked Blossom. She gave Tristan a once-over, then looked at me with a "nice catch" expression, but she didn't ogle or drool as most women did around him. After hearing an unusual thump in Dorian's room and checking on him, I brought him out to meet our guest, and she proceeded to rave about how great he was–the poor kid fell hard with his first crush–and I beamed with pride. And once I took a bite of her heavenly chocolate cake, I liked her even more.
"Oh, my! This is the best cake I've ever eaten." Part of me wanted to devour the whole piece on my plate and then the rest of the cake itself, and part of me wanted to savor every single crumb. I hadn't had good sex since … since Australia, but I thought the cake could be a perfect replacement. It was orgasmic. My "mmm's" and "ooh's" that kept escaping my lips with each bite were met with "that" look from Tristan.
While we ate, Blossom told us all about the colony–which business owners were Amadis, where they hung out at night, how they managed their secrets, etc. She said they were a big, happy family … until we came to town.
"There have been threats, and we heard about attacks. The colony will fight for you if they have to," she said, "but they really don't want it to come to that. They like their lifestyle here. It's comfortable and laid back. The tourists aren't crazy drunks looking for trouble and attracting Daemoni attention. We want to keep it that way."
"The Daemoni don't know we're here," I said. "We chose this place because it's safest for us and the people surrounding us."
She tilted her head. "You're like a catch-22. No one else can protect us better in these times … but, well, we probably wouldn't need your protection if you weren't here in the first place."
"We'll keep them away from the colony," Tristan promised. "We want to call this place home, too."
Blossom nodded, but she didn't seem entirely convinced. I couldn't blame her–if I were her, I wouldn't want me living nearby either, even when we were five miles from the colony. By the time she left, I didn't know if she still wanted to be friends, and I didn't check her thoughts to find out. If any friendship were to develop, I wasn't going to start it by being a snoop.
I had the same dream that night as I'd had every night since visiting Lisa, and the repetition began to annoy me. I'd always been a dreamer before the Ang'dora, and often my dreams were meaningful. It was part of being a writer, I'd always thought. But since the Ang'dora, I'd hardly dreamt at all, and when I did, they were random and vague. Now I dreamt every night about faeries, my pendant and Vanessa, endlessly chasing and searching but never quite grasping any of them. I woke up frustrated. The dreams meant something, and there was only one person who, supposedly, had the answers. If only I could get him to talk.
Chapter 15
I opened the door the next morning, wishing the furniture deliverymen waited on the other side, but I already knew Owen stood on the front steps.
"It's your mom," he said as my new iPhone rang. The phone was an early anniversary gift from Tristan, who was playing with his own at this exact moment. I glanced at the number on the phone's screen.
"Are you psychic and not telling me?" That wasn't the first time he'd done that.
"No. I just got off the phone with my mom." He walked past me to the kitchen. Apparently, he hadn't bought his own food yet.
"Hey, Mom," I answered.
"Hi, honey. How's your new house?"
I glanced around. "Pretty empty right now, but our furniture should be here any minute."
"I won't keep you then. Did you happen to buy a bed for the guest room?"
Uh-oh. "No. Why?"
"That's okay. I can sleep with Dorian or something. We'll work it out."
"Are you coming here?" I tried to sound excited, but my emotions were mixed. I missed her, but I still had to wonder whose side she was on.
"Charlotte and I will be there next Friday
. We have an investigation into a witch who's learned how to enhance breasts, and she might be planning to sell that as a service. We'll stay for the weekend. Char can stay with Owen, of course."
So we'd both be buying guest beds.
"That's great, but Tristan and I might not be here. We're going … out of town."
I couldn't tell her where or why; she'd disapprove and probably try to stop us. Tristan decided Owen's phone calls and investigations weren't enough–we'd be paying a personal visit to either the witch coven or the wolf pack. He just hadn't decided which one yet.
"Out of town? Do you really think that's a good idea?" Mom paused, and I should have known not to try to keep anything from her. "Alexis, you need to get off this wild goose chase! Until the Daemoni settle down, you're endangering your lives every time you go out in the world."
"They'll never settle down. You know that as well as I do. In the meantime, there's a girl out there … maybe our daughter–"
She cut me off. "We'll talk about it when I get there. In fact, we have a lot to talk about. See you next week."
"Love you, Mom," I muttered, but the line went dead.
I sat next to Tristan on the living room floor and watched him download finance and stock-tracking apps onto his phone.
"Great timing on their part," he said, referring to Mom and Charlotte.
"Yeah, I know." I sighed.
"No, it is good timing. They can stay with Dorian, so Owen can come with us."
"Sweet!" Owen called from the kitchen.
That improved things. Owen and his shield were always good to have along, but until now, we thought he'd have to stay home to protect Dorian.
"What do you think about Blossom?" Tristan asked, his head still bent over his phone.
"She's hot," Owen chimed in.
I ignored him. "She seems cool. Why?"
"I was wondering how much we can trust her. It wouldn't hurt to have a witch along with us."
"That means telling her everything," I pointed out.
"Not necessarily. I'll think about it more, but if she comes around, check her mind out."
I made a face.
"For me? Please?" He grinned and winked. I must have nodded while the fog clouded my brain because he thanked me.
"If I do that, then you owe me," I said when my head cleared.
"I don't have to owe you, because you can have whatever you want from me. Anything for you, my love."
I rolled my eyes–I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be so easy. "Then tell me what Lisa was talking about. About my pendant."
He scowled. "Except that. I told you, I have no idea."
"I think you do, especially if you do a little digging." When he didn't reply, I tapped my head with my finger. "I can find out from you if I really wanted to."
He narrowed his eyes. His voice came out low. "You wouldn't."
"I really don't want to, Tristan, but I feel like this might be important. You can't think of anything? What about what you were told? Surely, you remember that. You have a perfect memory."
"It's irrelevant," he growled. "Just bullshit that we're not going to bother ourselves with."
"So you do know." It wasn't a question. He knew and refused to tell me. Usually, I'd let it go, not wanting him to relive any pain or guilt from his previous life, but unlike his other memories, it seemed as though this one had to do with us, not only him.
He jumped to his feet. "Furniture's here."
I heard the truck about a mile down the road.
"You said anything for me," I pushed.
"Not this! It's not worth it, Alexis. Trust me."
He strode toward the door, and I sprang up. "You can't keep secrets from me, Tristan!"
He turned on me, his face hard. "You'd really invade my private thoughts?"
"No! I meant we're married, that we're in this together. We can't survive with secrets. We need to trust each other."
His face softened, and he wrapped his arms around me.
"I'm sorry." He kissed the top of my head. "But I do have secrets, my love, things you really don't want to know."
"If they have to do with us, with our daughter, then I do want to know. Anything that might help."
He sighed. "It won't help, ma lykita. It'll only make things worse. Please trust me on this."
The doorbell rang, and I had to let it go. For today, anyway, because the rest of the day was full of furniture deliveries and cable installers, then Tristan setting up the television and Internet service. And, finally alone with only Dorian sleeping soundly in the other room, we were able to make love. Another reason for choosing to live away from the colony was that I didn't have to worry about anyone hearing us–with their sharp ears or minds. Only Normans surrounded us, so if my thoughts reached out farther than our property, they'd only think they were having good dreams. We couldn't get too crazy–the sounds of our bedroom being destroyed would wake Dorian–but we still broke our new bed. Owen would have to fix it, and I had to brace myself for the embarrassment … but it was worth it.
"Hey, Mom," Dorian said sleepily the next morning, snuggling between Tristan and me on the floor, Sasha under his arm. "What happened to your bed?"
Um …
"Mom was jumping on the bed and got out of control," Tristan answered with a grin.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing … because it was very near the truth.
***
Blossom came over nearly every day with another to-die-for cake. She usually dropped the cake off and chatted for a few minutes, but once the following week, with the guys out on the beach, she stayed, and we had some girl time. It was strange for me. Besides Mom, I hadn't hung out with a female since I was ten years old.
"You're going to make me fat," I mumbled through a mouthful of strawberries and icing.
"You can't get fat," she said matter-of-factly. I gave her a questioning look. "When you sleep, your cells regenerate, and your body goes back to exactly the way it was after the Ang'dora."
"Uh, yeah, right. Is that common knowledge, though? I mean, around the Amadis?"
She gave me a sheepish grin. "Not exactly. When I found out an actual Amadis daughter had moved in, I did some research, you know, to find out exactly what you are. You're really kind of badass–vampire, Were, mage and angel all rolled into one. Of course, you could eat an entire cake every day and not gain an ounce, so that makes me want to hate you. But … well, I can't. You're too cool."
I stared at her in disbelief. She researched me? Well, then, that gave me permission to research her … even if it wasn't exactly the same method. Within a minute of listening to Blossom's thoughts while she talked, though, I felt ashamed, yet fascinated. I'd never heard a mind work so fast.
I'm so freaked out, this investigation will be the death of me, but I just hope Eduardo doesn't get dragged into it–the image of a man with dark hair and eyes showed in her mind–he's so great and hot and even though it was his idea, asking me if there was a spell to make tits larger, I was the one stupid enough to see if I could create one and it's a good thing I used myself as the guinea pig because anyone else would have killed me!
She barely paused before moving on.
I still need to figure out that last ingredient to the potion that should cure the neighbor's cough and hopefully it will turn out better than this enlargement spell, if I can just control myself, but it's so dang exciting to create new stuff and I know I'm a good witch–wait, no, I'm a great witch!–just a little enthusiastic is all, like with these boobs, and, really, everyone needs to get over their stupid fears because I like Alexis and the rest of them.
"So what are you doing this weekend?" she asked without a break in the conversation–that's how fast she processed all those thoughts.
I pulled completely out of her head, my own spinning. "Going out of town, I think. My mom's coming, though, so plans might change."
"Yeah, I know." She chewed on her lip as she looked out the window. "She's coming to investigate m
e."
So … she's honest.
"I got a little excited with my experiment and ended up with these." Returning her gaze to me, she smushed her breasts together with her hands. "I didn't mean to. I was pretty happy with my girls before, actually. Now they're way too big. They get in the way all the time, and it's impossible to find cute tops that fit right. But Eduardo–he's the vamp who owns the coffee shop on Captiva–likes them, so maybe it'll be worth it. He's really yummy. You'll get to meet him sometime."
"Yeah … sometime." If the natives ever let us come into town.
"Of course, you have Tristan. Major yummy. I think it's so sweet that you're real soul-mates, a match made by the Angels. I wish they'd do something for me." She sighed wistfully.
I picked up our cake plates and took them over to the sink, debating whether to mention Owen, but I wasn't sure how interested he was in Blossom. Not my business. It'll happen if it's meant to.
She asked me for some pointers for dealing with Mom and Char, and I told her to be truthful, because Mom would know anyway. Then she chatted about how exciting it was to meet all of us, especially two Amadis daughters … and ranted on about several other things, too.
"So where are you going this weekend?" she asked, coming full circle.
"Um … I'm not sure. Either Daytona or a bike ride to Lake Okeechobee." I wasn't exactly lying–Tristan still hadn't decided if we would visit the witch coven in Daytona or the Okeechobee wolf pack first–but it wasn't the full truth, either. I wanted to trust her, but I didn't know yet. Trust never came easily to me, not since I was a kid and people hurt me one too many times. And right now, I wasn't sure I could trust my own mother, let alone some witch I'd just met. She was probably safer not knowing, anyway.
"Well, I hope you can go," she said. "I'm from Daytona, and it's always a lot of fun. And Okeechobee must mean a Were bike rally, which can be a blast. And you look like you could use some fun."
"I hope we can go, too, but I don't know how much fun it'll be," I muttered.
"Oh, it will be, especially if you go to the bike rally. Wait, maybe not–there's a full moon this weekend. That wouldn't be good. You should go to Daytona."