Revenant

by Janet Jones

Then she heard it too. The back door groaned and rattled. Good grief, burglars wouldn't be that loud. It had to be—

  The back door of the cellar slammed open, and the Benedikt teens strode in, all talking at once, their gazes intent on a commotion behind them. A tall blond man swept in after them, carrying a girl Talisen hadn't met. A gangly youngster in black leather stomped in after him. Talisen got the impression of a ferocious scowl beneath the boy's mane of neon blue hair.

  Ellory brought up the rear, effectively silencing all their talk by slamming the door behind him. He and the boy with blue hair were the only ones still in Talisen's line of vision.

  "Why the devil didn't any of you stop her?” Ellory roared.

  "One minute she was with us, and the next, she was gone,” the blue-haired boy replied with a thick German accent. “By the time we found her in Mr. Big's Burgers, she had wolfed down a combo. She's such a little thing. Where did she put it all?"

  Ellory opened his mouth to answer, but his words never came. He went as still as stone. Talisen's heart all but stopped as he turned slowly and fixed his gaze first on her, then on Shelby, then on her again.

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  Chapter Six

  Like a flock of ravens, the rest of the Benedikts gathered around Ellory. They recovered their collective composure and treated Talisen to a glare that made them look far older than their tender years. In the silence, the sound of the security door opening behind her sounded like a volcano erupting.

  Sean slid to a halt before he plowed over her and gaped at his little sister. “Shelby! What have you done?"

  Shelby burst into tears. That sent Talisen over the edge. She rounded on Sean. “Get hold of yourself and leave her alone. I wanted to see what's down here."

  Sean blinked, took a step back, and met Ellory's dark gaze with a rueful look. “I'm sorry. I should've been keeping my eye on them. Where's Jenny? She called to me. She said she's hurt or sick or something."

  Ellory gestured behind him. Sean rushed down the corridor and disappeared from sight.

  Talisen scowled back at Ellory, picked Shelby up and carried her to him, handing her over like a sack of sugar. “You fix this before you say one word to me. Understand?"

  His eyes softened, and for an instant, she thought she saw a flicker of amusement. He hugged inconsolable Shelby close, murmuring something in her ear. She cried harder.

  Talisen caught the gaze of the blond stranger, who was leaning against a wall and keeping clear of the hullabaloo. A gorgeous guy, but he looked faintly murderous. He inclined his head in a mockery of a bow. Now, what was that about?

  She turned her attention to the girl on the couch. Sean was leaning over her, holding her hand. The rest of the teens formed a protective throng around her.

  Talisen pushed her way through. “Well, let's not all stand here with our fingers in our mouths. Georgina, go fetch a wet washcloth. Delfina, you bring a blanket. Adrienne, you get a wastebasket, because I think she's going to be sick."

  The girls glanced at Ellory. He nodded, still murmuring to the sobbing Shelby. They broke formation, as swift as cats, and returned with what Talisen had asked for.

  Talisen sat down on the edge of the sofa and smoothed Jenny's hair out of her eyes with a smile. “Honey, if your tummy hurts really bad, we need to take you to the hospital.” She said over her shoulder, “You guys have any antacids?"

  When no one responded, she looked up at the teens. Like peas in a pod, they sought Ellory's gaze. Talisen looked at him, too. Why was he hesitating? They surely had something in the house that would help the child.

  The look in Ellory's eyes said in no uncertain terms that her assistance was neither wanted nor needed. “That won't be necessary. We'll take care of Jenny."

  Putting Shelby down, he kissed her cheek and turned her to look at him. He didn't say a word. She gave him a sleepy nod and, like a little marionette, walked out of the room and down the corridor. Talisen heard the security door open and close.

  Ellory turned a silent, bulldozing gaze on her and nodded for her to follow Shelby. Why was he acting this way? Just because she'd poked around in his cellar?

  Jenny's panicky moan arrested everyone's attention. Talisen slid the wastebasket into place just as the girl rolled over and vomited. A sickly sweet odor pervaded the room, and something solid hit the bottom of the wastebasket with a thump. Everyone but Talisen sighed with relief.

  She ran the washcloth over the girl's mouth. It came away bloody. “Oh, Jenny...."

  Jenny snatched the cloth out of her hand with astonishing energy. Wiping her mouth, she lay back on the couch. Her eyes were clear and her face gaining color. “Whew! That's better! But I think I bit my tongue. See?"

  She poked the tip of her bloody tongue out to show Talisen. Unconvinced, Talisen steeled her stomach and reached for the wastebasket. Christophe planted his leg in front of it and scooted it backward into Georgina's waiting hands, like a short pass in the third quarter. Georgina marched away to the bathroom with it. Talisen felt a large, warm hand close over her arm. She looked up into Ellory's eyes, eyes that pleaded for patience and cooperation.

  "I need you to go. Please. Shelby shouldn't be alone."

  She followed him to the security door, her mind whirling to make sense of too many weird things. What kind of people slept in a cellar?

  But when Ellory turned to look at her, her questions scattered. So much heat in his eyes, but no anger. The little mark on her neck tingled suddenly, and Talisen couldn't keep from rubbing it. His gaze followed the movement of her hand.

  His voice was breathy. “I'll be up in a bit. We'll talk."

  He opened the door for her and held it. She gave a reluctant nod, but before she'd taken a step, he braced an arm against the doorjamb and kissed her.

  She felt a big, red ocean of need and hunger and unconditional love. His. Hers. Theirs. She couldn't tell. She didn't care. She just wanted more. Please. More and more and more.

  When he parted his mouth from hers, she couldn't hold back a whimper of protest. She opened her eyes to find herself clinging to his arm. Her head was actually spinning. Lethal man. Lethal kiss.

  Ellory's head was down, his face hidden. His chest rose and fell as though he'd been running, and he gestured with a nod of his head for her to leave. Talisen scooted out the door and lit up the stairs with every inch of her screaming that she was going the wrong way.

  * * * *

  Ellory closed the door and leaned back against it, eyes shut, heart racing. Nothing inside of him but Talisen. Nothing behind or ahead of him but her.

  It had to be soon.

  "Ellory?"

  He opened his eyes to find Meical beside him, wearing a you-poor-stupid-fool smirk. He pushed himself away from the door, rubbing his jaw to coax his canines back into his gums. As for the other part of him, there was no hope for that but a cold shower. Ducking inside his room, he tried to readjust himself inside his jeans before he put a fist through the wall.

  Meical laughed.

  Come to think of it, maybe he'd just put a fist through Meical. “Shut up, Meical."

  Meical laughed again.

  Ellory shoved past him with a warning growl and rejoined his children. Jenny was sitting up beside Sean, who'd wrapped an arm around her like a human octopus.

  Ellory bent and kissed her crown. “Never again, my girl."

  She shook her head. “I just wanted to see if I could do something normal, you know?"

  "You were lucky this time,” said Delfina. “Usually it takes days to get that stuff up, because we can't digest it anymore, and it just sits there and rots in your stomach and—"

  "Delfina!” they all said in unison.

  Delfina winced. “Sorry."

  Ellory ran a hand over Jenny's clammy brow. “Since you've just undone the better part of a night's feed—"

  "Oh, leave that to me,” Sean said with a grin.

  Jenny rested her head on his shoulder, and the two of them excha
nged smiles.

  Ellory cleared his throat and waited until he had Jenny's attention. “You'd better avail yourself of the medicine cabinet before you devour our Sean. I need him hale and hearty, or else the rest of you are going to be doing the housework and errands around here."

  With groans and protests, his youngsters hoisted Jenny up from the couch and pushed her in the direction of the fridge. Ellory tossed Christophe the key to the padlock, laughing when Sean argued that it was inhumane to feed cold cream to a kitten. A bout of rough-housing ensued, while Christophe doled out two pints of blood to Jenny from their emergency stores. She made a face, but drank it down.

  Meical strode past Ellory to the backdoor. “Thank you for a scintillating evening. And I'd keep a short leash on Meinrad, if I were you. He's got your charisma with the women—poor misguided fool—especially one in particular. Think jasmine."

  Ellory's smile vanished. “No. Not Freya."

  "Freya, indeed,” murmured his friend. “But Meinrad isn't the sole reason she's interested in your household. Ms. Davies's presence under your roof has caused such unease in the Enclave that our queen feels duty-bound to pay us a visit. I did warn you there'd be trouble."

  Ellory closed his eyes and grappled for control of his temper. Bad, bad timing. Freya had zero toleration for disputes between houses within her demesne. If he had provoked her anger, none of them would survive.

  "I'll plead an audience with her."

  "It won't do much good where Meinrad's concerned. She has a death-grip on his thought-path already. I understand she hasn't taken a mate in ages, and you know, she doesn't have to take no for an answer."

  Meical opened the door. The two of them froze.

  The silver sparks that filled the moon-bathed backyard distilled into a shapely form, setting off an unearthly hum in the air. Dread and exhilaration fractured Ellory's thoughts. It was a marvel to him how her one thousand years of existence never showed. She looked like a girl of sixteen with alabaster skin, eyes of silver, and ebony tresses that glowed with a radiance of their own.

  Placing a hand on his heart, Ellory inclined his head. “Madam, you honor me."

  "And yet you train your eyes on me like a hare ready to spring for its burrow.” Her contralto voice reverberated through his body. “Peace, Ellory. I have not come with chastisements. This time."

  She dismissed Meical with a glance. He bowed low, and with an encouraging smile for Ellory, vanished.

  Freya crooked a finger at Ellory. “Walk with me. We needn't disturb your household."

  Ellory joined her with a grimace. They ambled across the lawn toward the fenced-in pond. Freya waved her hand, and the locked gate gave way with a compliant beep, allowing her access.

  In spite of her assurance that he was safe, Ellory's nerves quivered with caution. He watched her body language. A flick of the wrist, the blink of an eye, and he could be her next meal or a pile of smoking ash.

  "I am little comforted by your current course of action,” she said. “Of all the things that can cause strife among our kind, the fate of a trifling piece of human flesh should not be one of them. A simple gesture would go far toward reassuring your neighbors. You know of what I speak."

  Rebellion clawed for release inside of Ellory. He curbed it, put his hands behind his back and smoothed his voice to fluid acquiescence. “I mean only to give Talisen more time."

  "You cannot hope for my tolerance as long as you shirk the barest essentials of this sort of arrangement.” She halted on the fragrant path and gave him a withering gaze. “Mark her for your own and be done with it. Tonight."

  Ellory looked up at the swaying tree limbs overhead. If he could win Freya's approval.... “I want her to accept me for what I am. I know it's never been done before, but—"

  Freya's laughter cut him off. “Don't overestimate your creativity. It's all been done before, much of it so long ago you cannot even conceive the passage of time."

  His heart skipped a beat. “Vampires have cultivated relationships with humans before? Without using deception?"

  She didn't answer right away, but knelt by the pond to cup the water in her small hands. “Once it was a common custom, governed by a code we all understood."

  Then perhaps his plans for Talisen weren't as mercenary as he thought. Ellory knelt beside Freya, daring to touch her sleeve. “Tell me more. Please."

  She looked out across the water with a sad, dreamy look on her face. “There was a time when fledglings hunted together without fear for their lives. We were all known to one another by the great houses we served, and none were left without protection. No one hurt the little ones then, Ellory. The atrocity your house suffered at Dylan's hand would never have been tolerated. I am watching him. I am not without justice."

  Ellory bowed his head, unable to speak. It meant so much to him to know the murder of his first children hadn't gone unnoticed by her. He felt her hand on the top of his head. Her touch held a magnetism that both frightened and soothed him.

  "I commend you for your compassion on those who are weak and vulnerable among us, Ellory. That is one of two reasons why I offer you this chance to get your house in order, including this human you desire, before I allow your brothers and sisters to make your life more difficult than it has to be."

  He looked up to search her eyes. “One of two reasons?"

  "And there you will leave it. For now."

  "But—"

  She put a finger to his lips. “In the meantime, reassure me that you can control those under your protection, whether human or vampire. See to the girl tonight."

  She dipped her hand once more into the pond and tasted a glistening droplet that clung to her fingers. He offered his hand to help her stand, and she wiped her dripping hand on his shirt. “There is a member of your house by the name of Meinrad."

  Ellory's heart went cold. He couldn't keep the sorrow from his voice when he answered. “Please, Freya, he is my youngest."

  Her eyes glinted with reproof. “I am no harpy come to devour the child."

  "He thinks he's invincible. He has no self-control. He's pure appetite. You'll probably kill him before you've had him a week. Half the time, I want to kill him myself."

  "Would you deny your queen this simple comfort?"

  Ellory ran his tongue over his dry lips. The wrong answer could cost him everything.

  She laughed. A night bird answered her. “Be at your ease. Let us discuss Meinrad's future as though I were any other come to petition you for the honor of his affections."

  He sighed in relief. This meant he could speak without fear of offending her. “Thank you.” His gaze fell at her feet. “He needs me, yet."

  "I will court him slowly. In the interim, I will merge my mind with his as I please."

  "Not that you haven't already."

  "And you will give him leave to hunt with me."

  "When he wants to, and only then."

  She paused, shrugged, and nodded. “Do you accept my suit?"

  Ellory regarded the moon and considered Freya's terms. In her care, Meinrad's survival was certain. He would become powerful, by virtue of his alliance with her. Ellory knew from personal experience the benefits of such a match, though Aloisia had given him no choice in the matter. But he was determined Meinrad would decide for himself.

  "If he's unhappy, you'll send him home to me. On this point, Freya, I will not negotiate."

  She smiled slowly. “You're a good protector, Ellory."

  He bowed. “I still say you'd prefer an older mate."

  Her gaze slid over him with a gleam of appreciation.

  Ellory went weak in the middle. “But not me."

  She laughed again. “No, that wouldn't be fair. You've been drawn off your path twice already, first lured by your own misconceptions and then snatched like a ripe peach by Aloisia.” Her smile faded. “Truly, she did you a grievance. So, dear Odysseus, I won't blow you off-course. You're nearly home now."

  Ellory's breath caught in his th
roat, and he took a step toward her. “W-what? Home? Freya, what do you—"

  She was gone. Just like that. No explanations.

  But she'd proclaimed it. Truly, she did you a grievance.

  Ellory blinked at the empty darkness, his body chilling in the night air. His legs buckled, and he slipped to his knees. Freya herself had acknowledged Aloisia's crime against him, and therefore, so must all who lived under her dominion.

  Finally, after two centuries, vindication!

  He rocketed into the night sky and sounded a roar of victory meant for Dylan. He listened to his challenge fade into the distance until his jubilation ebbed in the face of the narrow escape his house had suffered tonight. Freya did not offer second chances lightly. Sobered, he floated to the ground. The very earth beneath his feet whispered to him of the task at hand. Talisen.

  He strode inside, bade his children goodnight, and went upstairs with a bellyful of determination that choked him. Moving soundlessly through the house, he followed the soft staccato of Talisen's heart to Shelby's room. Talisen lay curled up in a beanbag chair, eyes closed, her body bathed in soft gold from the nightlight. He knew she was far from sleep.

  Heartless. Heartless to deny her the common mercy of deception. He had accorded that much to thousands who meant nothing to him. He could spare her the truth and ease her into his world. Or he could spare her nothing and seek false absolution in the fact that he hadn't lied to her.

  Either way, how could she not hate him?

  His mirthless laugh startled her and woke Shelby. He stepped to the child's bedside, whispered a command for her not to wake until morning, and drew the covers over her.

  When he turned, he caught the scent of Talisen's arousal. She was watching him. His body's swift response was checked only by the questions she unknowingly projected, questions she deserved to have answered.

  "Thank you for your patience,” he murmured.

  She nodded, stood up and stretched. “Is Jenny all right?"

  He let his gaze slip over her and his groin tightened. “Up and around already."

  Talisen didn't look convinced, but she said no more. He followed her out into the hall and closed Shelby's door. Her feelings crossed her face like clouds over a field of flowers. Confusion. Anxiety. Disappointment. Confusion again.