My pleasure. A kill is even more satisfying when it’s made to protect someone you love.
Awe, that’s poetic. They should put it on a t-shirt.
“Lady Druid, is everything all right?”
I follow the deep, graveled voice to the host of the event, Garnet Grant. If life were The Lion King live-action edition, Anyx would be a muscled, golden lion Mufasa, and Garnet would be the strong, wiry, and slightly unscrupulous Scar.
Tall and darker in features, Garnet is bigger than me by a foot in height and a solid buck twenty-five in the weight category. I’m sure he was intimidating before he became the Alpha of the Toronto Moon Called and Grand Governor of the Guild of Empowered Ones, but he has it down to an art form.
I finish eating Dillan’s baking treat and lick the cinnamon off my fingers. “Yep. All good. How about you? Life good? Anything or anyone making you purr these days?”
His ebony brow arches and he gives me a look. Others fear him as a big, bad man, but I know the man behind the growl. He’s a pussycat—literally and figuratively—who also happens to lurve my boss.
And I may have given them a magical nudge to get their love life back on track.
“Life is good, yes.” The little quirk of a smile that almost escapes his lips makes my inner matchmaker smile. “Now, can we get to the business at hand?”
I glance around the room and frown. It’s just Anyx and us. “Um…I thought there’d be more of us.”
He rolls his eyes and grabs a black robe, which he shrugs over his shoulders. After he frees his ebony hair, he grabs a second robe from where it’s draped over the surface of his desk. He holds it in front of himself. “Guild Governor.”
I shrug into mine, which thankfully, is not one size fits all. My cloak is fitted to me. It hangs to the floor, and neither drags nor rises high enough to show my shoes—which is a shame because I wore the new druidy boots I got from Yes We Vibe. So cute.
My cloak has two gold bands embroidered over my right shoulder where he has five and the Guild emblem. I point at his. “Is this a hierarchy thing? Should I be earning points to level up?”
“How about you make it through the first meeting before you worry about leveling up?”
“Have I mentioned I’m a little competitive? Being the youngest of six kids, I tend to get my elbows out early.”
Garnet chuckles and places a hand at the small of my back. “That’s not a bad thing. I’m sure it serves you well.”
When we arrive at the meeting room down the hall, the buzz of conversation masks our entrance. Which, if I’m honest, is fine with me. The place is swank and sleek. A long black table shimmers with a high-gloss finish in the center of the rectangular room. Silky silver fabric covers the walls, and the lighting from the coffered ceiling makes the sheen dance. I tilt my gaze up and scan the bazillion pin-dot white lights that look like stars in a distant sky.
Noice. That’s what I’m talking about.
“Wow, the meeting on the Jubilee boat cruise was slumming it for you guys. No wonder people were pissed at me.”
Garnet arches a brow. Now that we’re in front of the masses, he has on his scary, autocratic face. “Don’t kid yourself. It was much more than the boat.”
I bark a laugh and the conversations come to a screeching halt. I wiggle my fingers in a little wave. “Hey.”
“Fiona. Yay! You’re here.” Suede rushes over while flicking her hand at all the scowly faces sending us snide looks. Her silver hair is braided down her back, showing off the pointed tips of her ears. “Hey girlfriend, welcome.”
I’m easing back from hugging her when Nikon sidles up, grabs me around the shoulders, and dips me back into a kiss. When he whips me back to my feet, he steadies me and smiles. “Hey, Cumhaill. Welcome.”
Okay, that causes a stir.
“What the hell, dude?” I sputter, wiping my mouth. “Since when do you think my lips are public access?”
He chuckles. “We’re giving them something to wonder about. Your brothers thought if you’re hot and heavy with number one—that’s me, by the way—maybe they’ll lay off you and yours for a change.”
“My brothers? Don’t plot with them. They’re goofballs.”
Nikon chuckles. “Sloan thought it was a good idea too.”
“Seriously? I highly doubt he approved you sticking your tongue in my mouth.”
He winks, unrepentant. “I may have gone off-script. I’m a method actor. I pride myself on committing to the part. And yum, you taste like cinnamon bliss.”
Another male chuckle brings me around to Zxata joining us. He looks dashing in his robe, his long blue hair and silver skin highlighted against the dark fabric. “Another entertaining entrance for you, Fiona.”
I cast Nikon a glare as my cheeks flare hot. “That’s me. Always making an impression.”
Zxata squeezes my hand and tilts his head toward the table. “The sooner we start, the sooner we’re done.”
“Right you are,” Garnet says. He turns to the room and gestures to the table. “Everyone, make your way to your seats. Let’s begin.”
It doesn’t take long for the group to settle around the table. We take our seats, and I’m relieved we don’t have to sit in the hierarchy ranking order of our powers as we did at the river cruise luncheon.
“That’s because this is an action assessment meeting, not a general monthly meeting,” Suede says when we settle into our seats. “There are fewer people, and we’re dealing with a specific issue. These are usually quick and painless—unlike the luncheons.”
She’s right. At that luncheon, there were forty or more people. Today, there is half that.
“Where is everyone?”
“Well, other than those who couldn’t come on such short notice, you killed the head of the mages, the hobgoblins, and unseated Droghun as the head of the druids.”
“No. I killed Salem to save the city from opening up a rift to hell, there is an unsubstantiated theory that my bear killed Kartak without my knowledge, and yes, I unseated Droghun as head of the Toronto druids, but I also had him reinstated as the head of the Toronto necromancers. See, when a door closes, a window opens.”
She grins. “I’ll be sure to point that out to him the next time I see him.”
I press my hands against the table and take an assessing look around the room. Awesomesauce. Unlike the table at the harbor cruise meeting, this table bows wider in the middle, so I can see everyone when they’re speaking.
No more anonymous hecklers taking potshots at me.
“All right,” Garnet says from the center of the long side of the table. “Here’s where we are. Last night, Xavier and his seethe entertained a few old country guests, and they threw a traditional celebration.”
Suede leans close and whispers, “A.k.a, there was a vampire feed-and-fuck frenzy.”
“Early this morning, his lieutenants did a headcount and noticed several of their flock had wandered off.”
“Flock? As in sheep?”
“Figuratively,” Garnet says. “That’s what vampires call the in-house humans they feed on.”
Suede pours me a glass of water and pushes it toward me. “We find it cuts down the incidents of vampires going too long between feedings, then binging on vagrants and late-night clubbers in the downtown core if each nest has a dozen or more humans who live with them full-time to satisfy their feeding requirements.”
My mouth drops open. I’m not sure what I expected of the vampires, but that seems barbaric. “We allow that?”
Garnet nods. “We insist on it. There are strict regulations for vampire seethes to keep sheep and even stricter regulations to ensure that the humans who choose to serve them are fully aware of the pros and cons. They aren’t prisoners, nor are they coerced. Believe it or not, seethes turn away volunteers who beg them for consideration.”
I swallow and try to let that sink in. “That’s cray-cray. So, normal people are all like, ‘Yes. Please, puncture my neck and make me into a juice
box. Oh, how I long to have my blood sucked?’”
“Something like that.”
Rein in the horror, Fi, Nikon says into my mind. Different species have different requirements to survive. There are others here who also feed on blood. Now is not the time to judge.
Right, sorry. “Okay, so, the sheep make up the flock, and the High King vampire reported that during or after the blood orgy of the ancients, some of them got free from the pen and wandered off. Is that the gist?”
Garnet nods. ”In a nutshell, yes.”
The high priestess of the Toronto witches grunts. The woman is pleasant-looking with upswept hair and a frilly pink collar opened over her robe’s lapel. That’s how she looks with the naked eye, anyway. I’ve seen beneath her glamor. Her true face is gruesome and drippy and no doubt the result of a spell gone bad. ”It’s a wonder Xavier even reported it.”
Garnet makes a note and lines the pen up at the top of the pad. “He had no choice. Three blood-drained humans wandered into the street and got picked up by the police. They may have been taken to the hospital. There might be people documenting a dozen fang marks. No matter what’s happened, we have the potential for exposure in every direction here.”
“Thirteenth Division covers Casa Loma,” I say. “Have you got anyone inside the force who can fill in the blanks?”
Garnet shakes his head. “Our experience with the police was rather one-sided until your family descended upon us.”
I chuckle. Yeah, we tend to swarm. “Do you want me to try to find out? Aiden’s in the Thirteenth.”
Garnet holds open his palms. “It can’t hurt. Do your best and let’s see where we are.”
When they all stop and look at me, I take the hint. Oh, right now. Reaching under my robe, I find my phone and call my oldest brother.
“Yo, sista. What’s up, baby girl?”
“Hey, there. I’m with Garnet and the Guild Gang and we have a sitch. Are you at work?”
“I’m in the parking lot. I have an hour before my shift, but I thought I’d tackle some paperwork. Why, what’s the problem?”
I explain to Aiden about the vampires and how they misplaced three sheep from their feeding flock and that it would be bad if someone examined them too closely because they’ll be down a few pints after hosting a feeding frenzy for the out of town crowd.
“Hang on. I’ll check the logs and see what I can find out. Call you back in two.”
I hang up and set my phone on the table. “He’ll call us right back. He’s checking to see what happened.”
Garnet nods. “Next question. Ashod, when was the last time we audited the seethe and checked the accommodations and care of their sheep are up to standard?”
A man across the table and down a ways frowns and pages up on his tablet. “Nine years ago.”
“That’s too long. Let’s send someone out right away. Maybe this is an isolated event, or maybe things have slipped over the past decade and we need to have a closer look.”
My phone rings and yep, it’s Aiden. “Hey, there. What do we know?”
“Okay, three women without ID picked up at Davenport and Spadina. No charges. No reason to hold them. They were assumed to be on something because the officer who picked them up wrote them up as impaired but responsive. They’re in holding sleeping it off.”
“Cool. So, can I send someone over and have them signed out in our care?”
“If you’re quick. There’s a note here that someone called the woman’s shelter. No one has shown up yet, but they don’t usually take more than a couple of hours.”
I look at Garnet, and he points at my phone.
“Hold on. I’m putting you on speaker with the group. Garnet looks like he has something to say.” I switch it to speaker, set it on the table, and angle it toward Garnet.
“Aiden, thank you for your help. What’s the address of your station house? I’ll send Anyx over with one of the females from my pride. Can you meet them and help move things along quietly?”
“Yeah, and if they get here in the next fifteen minutes, it would be even better. The officers that picked them up are off shift. I can grab the file and get it sorted before anyone from SVU comes on duty and comes down to take a look.”
Garnet nods. “Anyx, you and Zuzanna get them out of there and take them to Dimitri’s. Get them something to eat, and I’ll meet you there. I want to ask a few questions about what went on and how this happened.”
Anyx dips his chin and is gone a split-second later.
“Thank you, Aiden. Anyx is on his way to you now.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Garnet looks a little more relaxed as the call ends. “Assuming the lost sheep issue is taken care of, who’s up for the site visit to evaluate the conditions for their flock?”
“Let the druid go,” Malachi says. He’s a weaselly man with mossy green skin and a beer paunch. “She has all the answers and opinions.”
A flood of hands flies into the air and Garnet frowns. “Miss Cumhaill has no grasp on what our procedures are. How do you expect her to assess Xavier and his seethe?”
“The same way she does everything,” he says with a fake smile pasted on his face. “With no tact and a horseshoe up her perky little ass.”
There’s a rumble of amused agreement.
“No tact? You’re just pissy because I wouldn’t let you play with my spirit bear warrior. I told you. That was for your protection. If you thought I was rude, I could rectify that right now. If he guts you, that’s on you.”
Malachi raises a hand. “I saw him at the druid challenge at the standing stones. No need to bother him.”
“The vote’s been cast,” a heavily jowled woman with gold skin says from the far corner of the table. “Are we done? It seems the crisis is averted.”
Garnet scowls. “No. That vote doesn’t count. Fiona shouldn’t be the one, and you all know why.”
I blink and swing my attention his way. “I don’t. Why?”
“Because Xavier hates you,” High Priestess Witch Bitch says. “He makes no secret of it.”
“Why does he hate me?”
“Because you’ve ended what now? Two or three vampires in the past few months?”
I think about that. How bad is it that I have to think about how many vampires I’ve ended? You’d think that would be something at the top of your head.
“In truth, I’ve only killed one. and that was in self-defense. Bruin killed the one in the Barghest warehouse, and Garnet killed the one kidnapping me for the mages. I killed the one who sold me to the hobgoblin king, and only because he shot my friend twice in the chest. If he doesn’t want his men ended, they should stop trying to kill me.”
Zxata leans forward and sends me a warm smile. “His problem isn’t so much that the kills were unjust. Xavier and his men think of themselves as the invincible force in the city. You ending his people on numerous occasions reminds everyone that they can be taken down. It’s a point of arrogance.”
“Well, I’m not going to apologize for defending myself or my friends. Maybe Xavier should be more careful about whose money he takes when he loans out his army of kidnappers. You lay with the Black Dogs you get fleas.”
“You piss off Xavier, you end up dead,” Malachi says with unveiled pleasure.
“Whatevs. Fine. If I’ve drawn the short straw, I’ll do this assessment thing. I’m not afraid to meet the man on his turf, and I took the oath. Tell me what I need to do.”
“I’ll go with her,” Nikon says. “We’ll make it a date and hit the steakhouse first.”
“I’ll go too,” Suede says. “I’ve wanted to try out the restaurant, and since I was part of the original committee that put together the rights and requirements of the human blood donors, I’m aware of what they should be getting.”
Garnet checks something on his phone and addresses the group. “Very well. Our people have the sheep and had no problem at the police station. Our thanks to you and your brother for that, Lady Dr
uid. Since we have the assessment planning sorted, I suppose this issue is closed unless anyone has other business? No? Then you are dismissed.”
A couple of people flash out, but most of them get up and leave. Sloan said the whole wayfarer gift is unique, so maybe me expecting magical people to be able to portal in and out all the time is skewed.
The Moon Called can. Nikon can. I don’t know enough about the other races and species of empowered ones to know who else has that ability.
“You look deep in contemplation, Red.” Nikon slides into the seat next to me. “So, about our date tonight. I’ll make the reservations, and of course, I’ll pick up the tab.”
I chuckle. “It’s not a date.”
“Oh, it’s a date.”
“Nope. In fact, make the reservation for four because I’m bringing my date.”
Nikon snorts and waggles his brow at Suede. “I guess that makes you the lucky one, beautiful. I’ve already broached the idea of a throuple with Fiona and Sloan, and she nixed it.”
Suede primps her glistening silver hair. “Elves don’t have hangups about multiples. Feel free to broach any subject you like with me.”
Chapter Three
“Zxata says they voted you straight into oncoming traffic.”
I pull the two Wiccan celebration books Myra asked for and add them to my growing pile. “Yeah, but honestly, I’d rather jump in with both feet than let Xavier and the vampires sneak up behind me thinking I’m afraid to face them.”
“But aren’t you? You should be.”
Slow Descent. I cast the spell and lean over the rail of the third-floor mezzanine, dropping the stack of books to where my boss, Myra, stands waiting with the shelving cart. The texts and tomes fall at a measured rate, and Myra plucks them out of the air and stacks them on her cart.
“Da says we should always be cautious about danger, but never afraid. Fear breeds rash choices and often makes things seem worse than they are in reality.”
Myra makes a face at me. “In the case of Xavier and the vampires, things are usually much worse than you fear.”
A Witch’s Revenge (Chronicles of an Urban Druid Book 4) Page 3