by Kate Wendley
Ethan smiled. He liked the life in Harmony’s eyes. “So how do you travel by yourself so freely?” He absently caressed her arm while they talked.
“I’ve learned quite a bit of self-defense over the years, but mostly I’ve stayed in the West Coast states where people know who my Maker is. Samson is allies with enough people, or people just fear him enough that they pretty much leave me alone, though Bartolo in Vegas was a little hard to stay free of. I had to actually get Samson on the phone for him to believe me that he was my Master.”
“And Samson doesn’t mind you using him as a shield?”
She cocked an eyebrow and flippantly said, “Hardly. We have an agreement between us. He’ll be my Master and let me roam free so long as I go back once a year for a visit.”
Ethan froze at those words, but she kept right on talking.
“Samson doesn’t want to be part of a family either, and he’s strong enough to not have to, but he knows he needs allies. He gives his support to other Masters on the condition they leave him be for the most part. They’re usually so grateful to hear he’ll back them, no questions asked, or to hear he’s not interested in them if he’s not supporting them, that they leave me alone once I mention his name.”
Ethan very carefully asked, “What happens on your yearly visits?”
Harmony went still and his temper rose the longer she didn’t say anything.
“When are you due back again?”
She swallowed and weakly said, “He usually beckons me in June.”
June. It was mid-November now. He looked away, unable to bring himself to chastise her for what obviously went on between her and her Maker. It infuriated him to know she shared her bed with someone else even though he had no right to be mad about it. They barely knew each other, yet he felt like he couldn’t go another day without her. Why was he so taken with her, though? Was she putting a spell on him? Like an actual spell?
He pulled her close and hugged her. She felt so good in his arms, like she was meant to be there. Even so, he opened his senses as wide as he could to search her energy for anything that might tell him why he felt this way around her.
All it did was confuse him even more, though. The more he touched her, both with his body and his power, the more strongly he wanted her. He pulled back and she stared at him with wide, confused eyes.
“What did you just do?”
God he needed her and he’d do anything to keep her.
They gazed at each other for an intense moment before falling into a passionate kiss.
**
Anthony didn’t go upstairs tonight after he woke and fed. Since it was Saturday night, Kaia hadn’t had to work during the day, so she was already here when he got up. She was currently resting tiredly on his bed, still not feeling well and trying her hardest to pretend she was fine. Somewhat sternly he said, “My sweet, you need to see a doctor.”
She looked up at him with weary eyes and surprisingly said, “I know. I’ll call on Monday and see if I can get an appointment.”
He perked up at that. “No. I’ll take you right now. You’ll see our doctor.” He stood and held his hand out for her, but she didn’t take it. She just lie there looking sick and confused.
“But isn’t your doctor for the shifters? How’s he going to know what to do for me?”
Anthony let his hand drop and sat back down on the edge of the bed. “Dr. Williams and his staff all went to human schools, worked in human hospitals, and treated human patients before working in our clinic. Our weakest shifters are more like regular humans, so the clinic staff keep their skills current. Besides, the doctor already treated you once… when you were attacked by Winston.”
He cringed inside when he said that. They’d nearly broken up after the loner vampire, Winston, attacked her. Anthony had been too jealous and suspicious to just go talk to her about everything that had happened that night. Luckily things eventually worked out, mostly because Kaia was too stubborn to give up on him. He smiled at that thought.
She blinked tired, droopy eyes at him and took a raspy breath, making no move to get off the bed.
He felt lovesick and frantic at seeing her like this. “Please, my sweet. Please let me help you.” More quietly, he said, “It would mean a great deal to me.”
He pet her too warm head and her eyes teared up. She looked dreadful and pale when she finally nodded.
He smiled and called the doctor.
“Mr. Foster. How can I help you tonight?”
Anthony watched Kaia as he spoke. “Good evening Dr. Williams. I’m sorry to call on the weekend but I’d like to bring my girlfriend to see you. Are you available?”
He gasped in shock. “Oh no! Was she attacked again?”
“No, no, nothing like that. She’s just not feeling well. Perhaps the flu.”
“Oh thank goodness. Of course. Please, bring her by.”
Anthony pet Kaia’s hair again and smiled as he spoke. “Thank you Doctor. We’ll be there soon.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
He hung up and Kaia sluggishly reached for his hand. It worried him to see her so lifeless like this. It reminded him fiercely of his mother when she got sick before she died. She was too young, never even having a chance to grow old. He was devastated when she passed, making him realize for the first time that no matter how hard he wished otherwise, he had no control over some very important things in life.
Now he did, though. Now he could help those he loved. He held Kaia close as they walked slowly through the club and outside and over to the other building where the doctor’s office was. Going up a few steps at the building next door made Kaia groan and start to breathe heavily. Her eyelids drooped and she mumbled under her breath, “He’s mad about the bite.”
“Who’s mad? What bite?”
Some shifters walked by them and Kaia coughed. When she was finally breathing a little easier, he looked expectantly at her. She caught his eye and said, “Did you say something?”
“No, I thought you said something.”
She looked thoroughly confused, which made him doubt he’d heard anything.
**
Anthony helped Kaia into the doctor’s office where her fever promptly spiked and she nearly passed out. Dr. Williams wrote a prescription for some antibiotics that she’d need to help combat the flu, nothing here being a suitable dosage for her to be able to take.
Before the doctor would release the prescription, though, Anthony was briskly scolded, first about Sebastian’s mostly healed bite on the back of Kaia’s neck, and how dangerous that was since she could’ve turned shifter from it, and then about his own bites. An admonishment immediately followed about how she could only take so much blood loss. The doctor thought she should be tested for anemia and firmly stated that he hoped she was taking vitamins on a regular basis. Anthony, of course, hadn’t thought of that and swore to the doctor that he’d encourage her to do so.
Once Dr. Williams seemed satisfied that Anthony was taking him seriously, he stepped aside and let him take her back home. He scooped her into his arms and carried her back to his apartment, then put her in bed while she mumbled mostly incomprehensibly. He was worried sick about her, but the doctor assured him she’d be fine so long as she got the antibiotics soon. Anthony didn’t want to leave her side, but he might need to use some vampire persuasion to get her prescription filled at the pharmacy.
She got settled under the covers and tiredly said, “Mmm… love you baby.”
He smiled and brushed a long strand of hair out of her face. “I love you too, my sweet.”
She smiled with her eyes closed and it made him feel heartsick. He got a glass of water and went back to her side. “Kaia, my sweet, please wake up. I need you to take some Tylenol for your fever.”
She moaned and finally opened her eyes, though they were unfocused. “What did you say?”
He helped her sit up. “I need you to take this Tylenol. Please swallow this.” She obligingly took what he gave her
, then drank the water.
She weakly said, “Thank you baby,” as she closed her eyes.
He helped her lay back down and settled the covers over her. “Go to sleep, my love. You need to rest.” Her eyes were already closed and her cheeks were rosy red as he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m going out to get you more medicine. I’ll be back as quickly as I can. I promise.”
She quietly murmured, “They sold the last one. Lady with the babies… Her husband’s sick. Gene’s nice. He’ll call another store.”
He looked curiously at her, knowing she was asleep both by the feel of her energy and because of her rapidly moving eyes under her lids. She must be having a vivid dream.
She didn’t say anything else so he finally left, but before he went too far he asked Zach to keep an eye on her.
**
Anthony stood in line at the Walgreen’s twenty four hour pharmacy getting completely irritated by a woman with two screaming infants. He’d already given his prescription to the pharmacist, filled out with his own name, and they’d called him back over the intercom fairly quickly. The screaming babies were setting him on edge while he waited, their piercing shrieks at a decibel that physically hurt his super sensitive ears. To be fair, the woman was trying to settle them down.
She glanced apologetically at him. “I’m so sorry! Usually their father is here to help me out but poor Jon is sick as a dog right now.”
She picked up one of the babies as Anthony went still, staring at the woman in confusion. Hadn’t Kaia said something about a woman with babies? “Your… husband’s sick?”
She looked back at him and said pleasantly enough, “Yes, poor Jon. Half his office is out sick. I’m trying to get some oselta… Oh shoot. I can’t remember the name of the medicine.”
“Oseltamivir?”
“Yes! That’s it. They keep changing the medicines every year. You know, everyone building up tolerances to antibiotics and all.”
Anthony went still. He was trying to get the same thing for Kaia. She’d mumbled that they sold the last one. One of the registers opened up and it was the woman’s turn. She put the baby back in the stroller and finally made it up to the register in the chaotic way only a mother with kids and way too many things in her hands can do. Another register opened and Anthony took his turn. As if in a daze, his jaw dropped when he noticed the man helping him had a name tag that said ‘Gene’.
“Can I help you sir?”
Anthony slowly said, “Yes, my name was called over the intercom. Anthony Foster.”
Gene looked behind the counter, went around the corner, then came back. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Foster, but we just sold the last of our stock of Oseltamivir. Seems everyone’s got the flu lately. If you’d like, I’ll call another store and see if we can’t get you some delivered here tomorrow, or I could have them hold it if you’d like to go pick it up.”
“I’ll pick it up.”
Gene pleasantly enough said, “Ok. Give me just a minute while I call around. Which store would be best for you?”
**
The whole drive over to the other Walgreen’s and then back to the club, Anthony couldn’t stop thinking about what Kaia had said. It was possible she’d been to that particular store before and knew Gene, but how could she have known about the woman with the babies and sick husband? And that the woman would get the last bottle of the medicine Kaia needed? With a start, he remembered her mumbling on the way to the doctor’s office about how he was mad about the bite. She’d known that, too. Dr. Williams had definitely been mad about all of Kaia’s bites.
He hurried down to his apartment while he tried to puzzle through the things she’d said. Zach was sitting on the other side of his bed, a curious smirk on his face when Anthony stepped into the room.
He quietly said, “She’s been talking like crazy in her sleep. You should hear her, dude.”
Anthony startled. “What did she say?”
Zach chuckled. “A bunch of stuff about faeries. Did you get her medicine? She’s burning up.”
Anthony quickly unbuttoned his shirt. “Tell me everything she said. Quickly please.”
“What?” Zach scooted away as Anthony took his shirt off and lie down next to Kaia. He pressed his cool frame against her overly warm body.
He snapped in a hushed whisper, “I’ll explain later. What did she say?”
Zach looked at him like he was crazy, but said, “Something about how pretty the faerie woman was and that Dylan really liked the taste of her. And then, uh… something about another faerie. A man.” He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t know, it just sounded like babbling to me. I can’t remember everything she said.”
Anthony focused on Kaia. She was still sound asleep and didn’t even stir when he pulled her shirt up so he could press his much cooler skin against hers.
He quietly said, “My sweet. Tell me about the faerie. I want to hear about the faerie.” Her eyes moved quickly beneath her lids and he didn’t have high hopes that she’d speak to him.
She surprisingly mumbled, “You’ll meet him, baby.”
He kept his senses tightly on her, and she still felt like she was asleep. “When will I meet him?”
She mumbled incoherently and her voice dropped off.
He said a little more loudly, “My sweet, when will I meet the faerie?”
She lightly moaned, then said, “Mmm… when we find his home.”
“When will we find his home?”
“Smells good in there… feels strange…”
This wasn’t making sense and he didn’t like puzzling through cryptic messages. He should just stop and give her some medicine, but if she was having true premonitions, then he wanted to know what was on her mind. Whether or not it sounded like gibberish, he’d seen and experienced some bizarre things in the last few months. It made him realize there were things in this world that he’d never imagined could exist. So just because he didn’t think he’d ever been in the presence of a faerie, he wasn’t about to assume they couldn’t be real.
Slowly, he asked, “What’s the calendar date that I’ll meet the faerie?”
She didn’t move and didn’t speak. When he’d almost given up on her, she quietly said, “It depends… should be… April twelfth.” He almost asked another question, but she startled him by saying, “If I’m still alive.”
His eyes went wide. “Why wouldn’t you be alive? What could happen?”
Her whole body tensed and her neck arched. Her breathing quickly became rapid and shallow, but she still didn’t wake. Instead, she sounded heartbroken as she quietly cried out, “I’m sorry. I thought it was you. You were kissing her. I’m sorry baby.”
He caressed her hair. “Shhh. You’re all right. I’m here my sweet, I’m here. No one’s going to hurt you.” He kissed her on the temple and she settled down again, though her breathing was still faster than he liked. He should really wake her and have her take her antibiotics.
He startled when she said, “He’s powerful. Be careful of him, and don’t go through the door that leads to his home.”
His eyes went wide and his heart started beating. The woman who’d claimed to be his Vampire Mother told him the same thing about not going through the door.
He stiffly asked, “Be careful of who, my sweet? Who?”
“The Faerie King.”
He could feel his face flush. Was the Vampire Mother’s King the Faerie King? That didn’t make sense. That would mean…
He pushed that out of mind for now. He needed to focus. “Is the Faerie King going to harm us, my sweet?”
She was quiet and he thought maybe he’d gotten all he could out of her. For all he knew she was just mumbling silly stories in her sleep, but her words were too similar to the Vampire Mother’s warning to him.
Kaia moaned and snuggled into his body, her own still burning up. She eventually spoke so quietly he almost couldn’t hear her. “When?”
Something clicked in his mind. He had to a
sk very specific questions for her answers to make any sense.
“Will the Faerie King harm us when we first meet him?”
She relaxed in his arms. “No. We were just curious… come by any time your Majesty.”
He memorized everything she was saying right now. Maybe by next April twelfth it would all make sense.
Zach broke his train of thought. “Anthony, she’s sick as a dog. She needs her medicine.”
He barely stopped himself from snapping at Zach. He was so young and almost as naïve about the world as most humans were. To be fair, Anthony had never told him about the incredibly powerful woman who’d claimed to be the Mother of all Vampires, mostly because she’d made it clear that it was in his best interest to not talk about her.
But Zach was right, of course. Kaia was sick. “My sweet, wake up.” He carefully propped her up in front of him as she started to wake. “Kaia, you need to take some medicine. Please open your eyes for a moment.”
She groaned at him. “What time is it?”
He chuckled. “It’s time for you to go back to sleep, but first you need to take this. Here, swallow.” She dutifully took the pill, though her hand was badly shaking. He sighed and said, “You’ll stay here tonight and all day tomorrow.” He helped her hold onto the glass of water Zach was handing him.
Zach left and Anthony felt him go back upstairs before Kaia tiredly asked, “What did the doctor say was wrong with me?”
“He said you have a fever and probably the flu. When I was at the store, the woman with the babies said her husband and half his office was out with it. The pharmacist said the same thing. It must be going around.”
She quietly moaned. “The woman with the babies? What woman?”
He absently said, “Just a woman in line at the store.” He helped her lie back down in bed, not surprised at all that she didn’t remember what she’d told him. She was too sick, but also, Echo didn’t always remember what she said when she was having a premonition, either.
Anthony picked up the electronic thermometer off the bedside table and turned it on, then gently tapped Kaia’s lips. She automatically opened her mouth and he smiled as he put the device under her tongue. When it beeped, he was happy to see her temperature had gone down, though only slightly. It was better than going up.