by Amanda Byrd
“What? Did I mess something up?
“No, but seriously? A Town Car? Miranda . . . I couldn’t possibly . . .”
“You can and you will. No arguments. I’m picking you up at the airport myself. I drive a black on black Audi SQ8, it’s an SUV. I’ll wait in the cell phone lot until you get your luggage. They won’t let me near the curb until you’re already outside waiting for me. I know, total bullshit. Just get your shit packed and be ready.”
“Ugh, fine.”
“Love you!”
“Yeah, yeah, love you, too.”
Miranda hung up without another word. Shiloh tried pretty hard to resist but Miranda was not having it and Shiloh realized that and gave in, which was surprising, especially since Shiloh is who spent many years teaching Miranda how to be bossy when needed. Miranda preferred the term verbally forceful. Miranda, we have almost no time to prepare. Bullshit. We have a full seventeen days and I’ve got Emperor Bête Noir to show me the battlefield. I’ll take him and King Nightmare with me. Tonight. I’m done playing games with this bitch. She wants a fight, she’s going to get one. A fight she never saw coming. I was weak back then. I’m so much stronger now. She bit off more than she can chew and will find out the hard way. Oh well, her kid was evil and so is she. Hell, I feel like I’m turning evil because of you two, but luckily I’m still part human. She will die. How is entirely up to me.
Miranda walked out the front door, Teddy yelling after her quite confused as to why she would walk out and not say a word about what she was doing or why. She told him everything and all he knew was she just got off the phone with Shiloh looking angry and starting to sprout her fur. Miranda did not notice the fur or the claws or the teeth starting to show. She did not feel any of it. She was angry. She wanted to rip Elisonde’s face off, but that would have to wait. Oh the things I will do to her when we finally fight, though she’ll probably choose to fight from the air, which is fine by me. I’ve got two gargoyles. She is so screwed. And for that last thirty seconds of her life, she’ll regret coming anywhere near me.
Miranda climbed up and onto Emperor Bête Noir’s back. He sensed her want to fly and also her want of him to show her the battlefield. Up he rose, slowly so she could get used to flying on him. Suddenly he was no longer a stone figure; he felt like leather, and not the cheap plastic kind either. No, he felt like true, quality leather and he was soft but not so soft that Miranda would have to fight to keep hold as he flew. Miranda looked down but did not see King Nightmare on his pedestal. Then she heard leathery wings flapping to her left. She looked and, to her relief, it was King Nightmare joining the flight. They flew in the cool night air, up and down through the clouds over Tampa. The feeling of exhilaration flowed through Miranda to calm her down; the fur, nails, and teeth all retracted.
Suddenly they were above a field Miranda recognized. It used to be a trailer park but was nothing but grass now. No signs that life ever existed there, not even a fence post. A developer had long ago demolished the entire park to the point of having the cement pads ripped up and replaced. There were sporadic patches of green grass, brown grass, and dirt. The area was six acres, one of the largest former trailer parks in the county. The developer had signs up about a new exclusive housing development that were worn and faded as if they had been sitting in the Florida sun for years. Miranda guided Emperor down low enough to read the signs and she quickly found out how right she was. The signs read “Exclusive New Gated Community Coming Summer 2011”.
She set Emperor down and walked the field, her werepire vision kicking into high gear, giving her the ability to see so very clearly as if it was the middle of the day. A gravel driveway type of thing was the only distinguishing mark anything had ever even been here at all, aside from the worn down signs. She walked the grounds for hours, seeing vividly the images previously imparted to her by Emperor when they first met and in her dreams. This is where it would all go down in seventeen days. Miranda and Elisonde, Interment, Emperor Bête Noir, and King Nightmare would lay such a total destructive waste to this land, it would look like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie or video game. The visions and thoughts excited not only Miranda but her beasts within.
How perfectly beautiful the destruction will be! Yes, beautiful and sad. Look at it! It sits here pathetically half dead, yet somehow still so very much alive. How? How does the earth do this? And how can we justify more destruction? Don’t get me wrong, at least it won’t be filled with the radiation of a nuclear war, but . . . shit. Life is just as beautiful as death. Damn it. Damn it through all seven hells and back again! I’m not . . . I don’t know what I am or how I feel. At least now I have an understanding of the grounds and that there is nothing—NOTHING!—for miles. The only preparations we’ll need are to keep the fire limited to this area. We know she favors the fire of the dragon and the ram can hurt us in the air, but she will resort to fire because she cannot face me herself. She’s not that kind of fighter, which works in my favor because she’ll turn and have a pure silver sword, which, if she’s half as smart as she claims to be, she’ll be wearing some kind of gloves to protect herself. And armor. Is she that smart, though? I’ll bank on she is, so we’re better prepared. Elisonde will blacken this earth with Interment’s fire and I will further darken it with her blood. So be it.
She smiled then. A particularly sweet and happy smile spread across Miranda’s face as she turned and looked at her gargoyle children. She was blessed, if there even was such a thing, to have these two magnificent supposedly mythical creatures by her side, fighting with and protecting her. She was also blessed to have Shiloh coming down early and to have Teddy also by her side, though she would prefer he not be on the battlefield. Saving people was a thing of the past and though she knew Teddy could handle himself, she needed someone with Shiloh to help keep her calm while Miranda, King Nightmare, and Emperor Bête Noir thoroughly devastated Elisonde and Interment.
Miranda gave Emperor a kiss on what she assumed was his cheek and imparted to him that she would be riding King home, that it was nothing against Emperor, but that she needed to see how well he handled with her on his back, as he is who would ultimately end Interment’s life, potentially with her on his back, though she suspected she would be better off on Emperor the night she ended Elisonde. Emperor bowed his head in understanding and nudged Miranda toward King. King bowed gracefully, allowing Miranda full ease to mount in side-saddle type way. She then flipped her left leg over his back and was comfortably seated when King took flight.
He took off at a speed that made Miranda a little more than uncomfortable. She bent down and whispered something in his right ear and he slowed a bit. Miranda estimated they had taken off at the speed of a commercial airliner and were now cruising at somewhere around one hundred twenty miles per hour, which was a great deal more to her comfort levels. At least in an airplane, it was pressurized and her face did not feel like it was about to rip off in the wind at those speeds; now her face just mushed and felt the kind of tingly when her arm or leg fell asleep. They landed softly at the end of Miranda and Teddy’s driveway and Miranda dismounted King. She kissed him on the cheek and enjoyed the walk back to the house, recovering full feeling back in her body.
Nineteen
Just like any other day, Teddy went to work, but Miranda went to the airport to pick up Shiloh. Miranda was a real asshole about the time Shiloh’s flight left. She made it to the cell phone waiting lot in record time. Normally it would take her a half hour, give or take a few minutes, but at four in the morning, it took fifteen minutes. Miranda was prepared for Shiloh’s wrath with coffee and lots of it, with more set to start brewing at her house in a few minutes.
Miranda sat in her truck for just under thirty minutes messing with satellite radio stations and watching shows she liked on a streaming app through her phone and car speakers when Shiloh called, angry as the demon Miranda expected. Miranda drove the loop to the passenger pickup, got out
and took Shiloh’s bag, and put it in the trunk. Shiloh was already in the passenger seat staring at the coffee cups practically drooling, wondering which was hers.
“Both in those cup holders are yours.”
“You are a damn life saver! The coffee on the plane was shit!”
Shiloh took a chug of the piping hot bean juice made just the way she liked it and made a noise Miranda could only guess was that of pleasure and happiness.
“I take it I made it right?”
“Oh my God. It’s heaven! We haven’t seen each other in ten years and you remembered how I like my coffee! THIS is why we’re best friends.”
Shiloh put her cup in the holder and hugged Miranda, careful not to hit either of the two cups Miranda brought her and spill them by accident. Miranda hugged her back and when she let go shifted into drive, knowing all too well that security would be at her window in a matter of seconds. Not only was this airport beautiful, but efficient. At least from Miranda’s experiences here. She pulled out of passenger pickup and once they were on the road and Shiloh had already finished one of the two coffees Miranda brought her and started on the second, they started talking again.
“Okay, I have to meet this idiot receptionist of yours. You do know that, right?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Once you meet her, you’ll understand why I’m literally begging you to take over. Plus, you’re the only one I trust enough to handle what needs to be handled with certain patients. Hell, you can help me choose, too. I don’t give a shit. I need you here. I have these bastards in me and Teddy and I can’t handle this alone. I need you by my side. So I figure you meet bubblehead, that’s what I call her, no I never bothered to remember her name, and then we can start checking out county and private schools, particularly for the incredibly intelligent boy.”
“He has a name you know,” Shiloh laughed, “but that sounds good. It’ll be nice to have some kid-less time, too. Any antics or shenanigans planned?”
“Not quite. First, we have to set the battlefield. It’s all half-dead grass, which means fire will take over and spread further than we ever would want it to, so we need to build, or have someone build, cinder block walls in the shape of, oh, say, a colosseum?”
“Can’t Teddy do it?”
“Shiloh, we have fifteen days. He can’t do all that by himself. Screw it, I’ll call my—shit, I forgot. He’s terrified of me. I’ll just pick a contractor and have you deal with them. We don’t need anyone else in this city terrified of me before they even meet me.”
“Wait, what? He was terrified of you before he met you? The guy who built your house? What the hell did you say to him? Wait,” she started laughing hysterically, “did he shit his pants?”
The two of them, like the twisted ones they were, laughed so hard they almost wet themselves. Miranda got a nasty and painful case of hiccups from laughing so hard. Shiloh tried to keep drinking her coffee but it almost shot out of her nose like a stream of snot-filled fire. Miranda was happy to have Shiloh finally here. Back in their heyday, they caused some trouble, nothing to get themselves arrested—they were smarter than to have witnesses—but enough to get them grounded.
“To answer your question, no, he did not. I don’t think I would have been able to contain myself if he did. Then I would have been pissed off he got it on my brand new floor.”
“You got the wood-look tile?’
“Damn skippy! I worked hard for the money to build this house, I’ll be damned—oh, I am—if it’s not exactly what I want.”
“You’re not damned . . .”
“The hell I’m not. I’m part human, part werewolf, and part VAM-PI-RE. That spells damned to me. But you’ll be helping to find the cure, right?”
“Duh! I want my Miranda back, though, I gotta tell you, I wanna see you transform and if it’s cool enough, I might not help.”
“You bitch,” and again they burst into laughter.
Miranda turned down a road into what could only be described as a barren wasteland. It was her street, though Shiloh did not know that. Shiloh let out a sigh, thinking this reminded her of where she currently lived. As they got closer to Miranda’s house, she slowed down to five miles per hour. Shiloh shot her a look of pure daggers. Miranda laughed and kept the truck at a crawling pace right up to the driveway. She pulled up to the gate and shifted into park. Shiloh had tried to jump out before Miranda made a full stop but was caught by her seatbelt.
Struggling to breathe, Shiloh finally made it out of Night Chariot, falling to the ground, onto her knees, in awe.
“Miranda . . . they’re so . . . holy shit,” every word came out breathlessly and in such astonishment, even Miranda was shocked. It took a lot to render Shiloh speechless and Miranda had finally succeeded. Twenty years of friendship and Miranda finally beat Shiloh at her own game. Miranda walked over to Shiloh and helped her up, Shiloh dusting off her knees. Miranda walked her to the gargoyle in front of her.
“Shiloh, this is King Nightmare. King, meet my best friend Shiloh.”
He did not move but Miranda knew he acknowledged her speaking to him. She would know this night if he approved or not. Emperor was a different story. Miranda guided Shiloh around the front of Night Chariot to Emperor.
“Emperor Bête Noir, this is Shiloh. Shiloh, meet Emperor Bête Noir, Emperor for short.”
Miranda put a hand to Emperor’s cheek and he imparted his pleasure with Shiloh. He liked her and that was enough. But he could not sense how King felt about Shiloh and that troubled both Miranda and Emperor. Emperor could read thoughts and see the future and telepathically impart all of those things to Miranda. Miranda was not worried, though, for they would all officially meet tonight.
The women got back into Night Chariot and Miranda pushed a button on the garage door opener and the gate opened. She continued up the driveway to back into the garage. Shiloh stared in amazement at the house and the size of the garage; she wondered what she would find inside. They got out of the truck and grabbed Shiloh’s bag from the cargo area and Miranda set the alarm on Night Chariot, giggling as she always did. Miranda grabbed a blood pack from the warmer and bit a hole in it and stuck a straw in and began sipping. Shiloh thought nothing of this and continued on into the house.
Miranda showed Shiloh to her room and told her to meet her in the kitchen when she was all settled and Miranda would give her the full tour. Shiloh laid down on the comfy mattress and passed out.
Twenty
Shiloh woke up around the time Teddy had walked in from work. She got out of the bed and unpacked her things but she was too excited to see the rest of the house so she left her bag open on the floor, clothing tossed about, and left the bedroom. First, she checked out the attached bathroom that was all hers. Finally! She could take a bath or just go to the bathroom without worrying which kid hit or bit or was being mean to which other one. She could get used to this.
Next, she walked out into the hallway and screeched so loud both Miranda and Teddy came running, and the cats took off for the safety of their own room to hide in. Miranda fell to the floor in a fit of laughter and Teddy was visibly shaken before finally realizing Shiloh’s screech was one of shock and admiration. She ran down the hall like a kid going to a world-famous theme park for the first time. In and out of every room, every bathroom, and even opening the various closet doors. She stopped inches away from the one with the deadbolt and locking doorknob.
Flipping her thumb out at it she looked at Miranda and said, “I take it that’s the office?”
“Yeah. It’s open. Go on in.”
Shiloh opened the door and sucked in a deep breath. She had never seen such a beautiful office except maybe on tv or in a movie. She pushed both buttons on the wall, simultaneously opening the blinds and turning the lights on. She slowly walked around the room, taking in every inch, just like Miranda did when she first laid eyes on it. She touched
the bookshelves, the desk, the chairs. Everything felt soft and new. Shiloh did not yet know what had taken place in that very room several days prior. Miranda would tell her but now was not the time.
“So, you want the tour of the rest of the house now that you’ve explored almost every room in this wing?”
“Almost? There’s more?”
“Yeah. It’s just the cats’ room, but I know you’ll freak out over it. It’s so freaking cool!”
“Shit yeah! Let’s go!”
Shiloh walked a little faster now out of the office and Teddy closed the door behind her after pushing the buttons to close the blinds and turn the lights out.
“Oh yeah, you have the windows with the built-in motorized blinds! How effing cool!”
Teddy shrugged and replied, “Miranda gets what she wants and she did work hard for it. Californians are some seriously messed up people and they don’t hesitate to pay two hundred dollars an hour.”
“They paid her HOW MUCH? No wonder she has no problem with spending money on certain things. Is she still a cheapo about others?”
“You know it.”
“Okay, are you two done talking like my superhearing doesn’t work? Yes, I’m still a cheapass about a lot of things. Why spend money I don’t have to unless it’s a house, vehicle, maybe a personal chef . . . Nah, no personal chef, but I really want one. Bad. Okay, tour of the rest of the house, let’s go.”
Miranda led Shiloh to the cats’ room first. Shiloh, predictably, freaked out over the kitty castle that was placed near one wall. Then the self-filtering water bowls.
“They’re pretty spoiled, aren’t they?”
“Of course. Margot wouldn’t have it any other way and she got Will started in on it, too. Spoiled assholes. Typical cats.”
Miranda shrugged and led Shiloh through the rest of the house, Shiloh freaking out along the way. The foyer, the master bedroom and bathroom, the walk-in closet, the kitchen—every room, right down to the half bath under the stairs. Shiloh was truly impressed and not just with the house, but Miranda’s ability as a therapist. If she was not as good as she wanted to be, she would not have many awards, be recognized worldwide, or have made half the money she did. Shiloh was also proud of her friend and maybe a little jealous, but that part did not matter. Miranda had made her dreams, and more, come true. Now the poor thing was faced with a whole new set of issues no one should ever have to be prepared for.