Invisible (The Curse of Avalon Book 1)

by Sariah Skye

  Mathias was dressed up in a navy-blue business suit, complete with tie, that was tailored in all the right places, his hair coiffed backwards, and his face clean shaven. “Ah, Ava!” He ignored my barb, and smiled. “We didn’t want to wake you for breakfast, but there are fresh croissants, and fresh coffee. Hope that will do.”

  “That’s perfect.” Mathias plated a couple, with a small dish of fresh butter, and Bash fetched me a mug of coffee. I lifted my brow, at the two men whose eager-to-please actions were making me feel…uneasy.

  “Um…thanks?” I said, setting them down on the center island, to add the right amount of creamer.

  Xander winked at me. “Face it, Ava, we’re full service incubi.”

  “Full service…” My mind began to wander at the thought of “full service”. Just what could I make them do…and just how many times?

  I had to clench my legs together at the mental images of various dirty things crossed my mind. Myself and Xander in the shower…Bash and I on his bike…me ripping off that tie around Mathias’ neck…and investigating with my hands just where the ‘v’ of Trystan’s stomach led…

  Stop it, Avie! I scolded myself again this hour. I forced an uncomfortable grin at the boys, and quickly became occupied with mixing the right amount of creamer in my coffee.

  “Och, look, men. We’re having an effect on her,” Trystan teased.

  “I think you’re right. Look at those red cheeks,” Bash kidded, grinning.

  “Oi, that’s nothing compared to those beautiful boobs,” Trystan responded.

  “Trystan! You dickhole!” I scolded him, wide-eyed.

  He tipped his head backward and laughed.

  Mathias strong body pressed against me gently, as he leaned over, brushing a tender kiss on my cheekbone. “I’ve got a meeting, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” He turned, palming his keys as he headed off for the front door.

  I stared after him, in awe. He kissed me so easily, it was like he’d always done it; like I wasn’t a new fixture. In fact, the other men looked to him in shock as well.

  Mathias stopped in his tracks, seeming to realize what he’d done. “Hell, I hope that wasn’t too presumptuous, Ava. You just fit in here so well with us, it’s like you’ve always been here.”

  A slow smile of appreciation spread over my lips. I didn’t say anything, but Mathias smiled earnestly to me before he left.

  I cleared my throat, disrupting the heavy aura that was left behind. “Well…so what happened with the Stargazer, Bash?”

  That seemed to bring everyone out of their trance. Bash set his mug down on the countertop before speaking. “It was the weirdest thing. We’d posed as special investigators—I have all sorts of badges ‘borrowed’ from various officers and whatnot in town.” Before I could inquire how he came across such items, he waved me off. “Don’t ask. Anyway…they said there was a fire, but there was no evidence of one.”

  My forehead wrinkled with confusion. “But, I read that there was a fire? Right?”

  He nodded. “That’s where it gets weird. I spoke to one of the Minneapolis police. According to him, there was smoke everywhere, scorch marks, everything typical of a fire. But, there really wasn’t one. At least, not that Mathias or I could see.”

  I frowned. “Yeesh. That is so weird. What do you think it was?”

  He gave me an expectant look. “Obviously it was some sort of spell.”

  “But why?”

  He shrugged. “No idea, and we can’t find out any more until we get into the Underground.”

  I exhaled. “That will be…difficult.”

  “Definitely,” Xander said. “There’s no evidence of any secret club, any entrance anywhere. There’s mention of that secret hall you and Mathias were in, but no word on where the secret entrance is after that.” He sighed, defeated, sipping his own coffee.

  “I need to get a hold of Summer.” It occurred to me that I hadn’t bothered to check with her; I was so enraptured by the boys, and the beautiful bedroom, that it slipped my mind.

  “Oh, I traced her phone,” Bash said, nonchalantly. Like it was something everyone always did to each other. “She’s somewhere Uptown, where she hasn’t left since about 1am.”

  I raised my brow with concern. “She hasn’t left?”

  “I wouldn’t worry. Doesn’t she have any other friends?” Trystan inquired.

  I paused before overreacting. Two of her good friends/co-workers did in fact live in the trendy neighborhood of Uptown, Minneapolis. I breathed out, feeling relieved. “And Monday is her day off too. Of course, she’s just hanging out.”

  “See?” Xander said. “Don’t worry.”

  I’d feel better when I actually spoke to her, but I was fairly confident that Summer was smart enough to keep herself safe.

  “And the wards that were implemented around your mother went untripped,” Bash continued.

  “That’s good. How though can you possibly know that?” I asked.

  Bash grinned like the Cheshire cat.

  “Bash here is a whiz at combining potions and talismans with modern-day conveniences,” Xander explained, clasping his friend on the shoulder.

  “Yeah, I wonder why people thought I was a witch?” Bash said, voice dripping of dry sarcasm. But there was a hint of pride in his tone, too.

  “Hey, man, don’t hate,” Trystan said. “You helped many people with your tinctures. That’s no small feat.”

  “I did, I just…” He trailed off. I knew what he meant; he was eventually punished for his work. “Anyway, for your mother if the wards were disrupted, they’d give off a small electric explosion—” he nodded towards Xander who just bowed his head, “—thank you, Xan—it will alert my phone.”

  “How is that—” I began, but shook my head. I still couldn’t fully grasp the current supernatural situation, let alone anything more.

  “We may just have to follow someone in to the Underground if we can’t find Summer,” Trystan said, giving me a penetrative gaze.

  I laughed shortly. “Yeah…I don’t think my shield is too reliable yet.”

  “No, but maybe with some practice—now is as good a time as any to get working on that,” Xander said.

  I sighed. “Yeah, maybe, but I have to get some work done,” I said, curling my lips in a sneer. “Maybe this evening?”

  “We shouldn’t wait long,” Xander said. “After you’re done?”

  “I sorta said I was going to go with Trystan around the grounds; meet the rest of the animals,” I said.

  “Well after that,” Xander said.

  I nodded. “Sure. I guess I can put in a couple of hours later tonight instead.”

  “Sounds good,” Xander agreed.

  “You know,” Trystan said, “if you stick around, there’s no need for you to work. We have enough to go around.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “While I’m sure that’s great, and I’m thrilled you have so much, I’m never ever going to be the type to depend on a man. Err…men,” I corrected. “I’m not a damsel, or a prim little princess.”

  Bash snorted. “You’re sure not.”

  I raised a brow, along with my middle finger as well, which just made everyone laugh.

  “She sure isn’t,” Xander laughed.

  “Och, you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll put you to work,” Trystan said, with a solicitous wink that meant clearly more than he was implying.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “What sort of work?”

  “Well, we planned to expand the rescue. We could always use help with that,” he replied, entirely serious.

  My expression softened. “Oh…animals? I would do that for free.”

  He beamed. “I know ye would, but it’s a lot of work. Sometimes we bring in other various supes—fae, nymphs, things like that—to help out. Beings of nature. But, some of the more domesticated animals are used to humans.”

  “But I’m not fully human,” I reminded him.

  “Aye, but you’r
e more human than anyone else they’ve seen,” he said.

  “Well, Sierra and I can certainly help. But I still need my own income,” I said begrudgingly. “I just...what if all of a sudden you lost interest, and threw me out?”

  Bash’s face darkened. “Do you really think we would do that?”

  I shrugged, averting my eyes so I didn’t see the wounded expression on their faces. “Well…incubus or not, my father still left my mom. After a while, my boyfriends grew tired of me too.”

  Trystan growled, banging a fist on the countertop before he grunted, “They were fools. Fools!”

  “Agreed. Avie, if you ever decided to leave us—we wouldn’t leave you hanging. You have my promise on that,” Xander spoke earnestly, as the other guys echoed the sentiment.

  I smiled with appreciation. “Thanks. But really…I just can’t. Not entirely.”

  The three of them sighed, but nodded that they understood.

  “Still want to come see the animals later?

  “Of course,” I said, with a smile. Trystan appeared pleased.

  It took a lot of work to pull myself away from them, but after refilling my coffee, and grabbing another croissant, I reluctantly went upstairs to begin my crappy work for the day.

  CHAPTER 26

  I had a bitch of a time concentrating on work. To help, I yanked the small desk and chair from the office to the bedroom, for now; hoping the view would be a good motivator. It was, but I found myself spacing out at the rainstorm rolling in instead of the boring data entry.

  For some reason—and I say that with all the sarcasm my bitter little heart can muster (which is a lot)—I just cannot get into mindlessly typing medical insurance claims in my dumb computer. Somehow, it just didn’t feel that important anymore. Not that it ever did, really. Especially knowing the world was so much bigger than I had previously thought. I’ve gone beyond just thinking I was a bit of an odd duck because I had this bizarre ability, to knowing there was a whole other world full of crazy people like me out there.

  And as much as the “Kelly Clarkson ultimate Independent Woman” wanted—no needed—to remain an individual…part of me was so tempted to take the boys up on their offer.

  It was no lie I wasn’t happy with my current “career.” It was just a job, to pay the bills. Since I got my Associate’s Degree I just sort of coasted through life, doing the bare minimum I needed to, to get by.

  Mathias, Bash, Trystan, and Xander reminded me that there was so much more to life. And if they could hide their reality, and still live productive lives—so could I.

  But. It wasn’t practical to live with them forever. Was it?

  Trystan was right—one way or another, I was probably going to become some kind of fixture in their lives. We were sort of the same: created by a curse. I didn’t think I’d ever find anyone else that could really relate to it.

  And, suddenly, I realized that I’d have a lot of life to live. There was a chance I’d be as long-lived as they are. I’d had this thought before, but it really just hit me. And it was overwhelming. So why bother wasting my time with something so trivial?

  I snarled at my computer screen, at the endless spreadsheets I’d already gone through today. It was all I could take to not toss my computer across the room, when I heard a knock at the door.

  “Am I interrupting?” Xander asked softly.

  I snapped my laptop shut and groaned. “God, I hope so.”

  “Hoped maybe you could use a break,” he said, entering the room the full way.

  I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. “Honestly, it’s really hard to stay focused suddenly. With everything going on, you know…”

  Xander smiled, as he paced about the room, adjusting pictures slightly, or dusting off a surface with his fingers.

  “I’m told that’s your artwork,” I said, with a nod.

  Xander nodded. “It is. For a short time in San Francisco, I worked in a museum. Just silly things like cleaning up, lifting the art…whatever. Sort of got me intrigued. I had no idea I’d be any good.”

  “Really?” The picture he paused before was of a beautiful cherry blossom tree, with a silhouette of a girl swinging from a swing that hung overhead on a branch. A crystal-blue river with all sorts of greenery made its way through the center. “You didn’t paint or anything before—” I stopped mid-sentence, clamping my mouth closed. I wasn’t sure what a sore subject his past was.

  Xander shrugged, running his fingers over the girl on the swing. When he turned away, the weight in his eyes told the whole story.

  “Who was she?” I asked.

  “My youngest sister. She was quite young when I left her.” Xander sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, sauntering mindlessly to the window nearby. “Ying was her name. She was only seven.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, my face falling.

  “Oh, it’s okay. She just always wanted to go here; it was a park in the bigger city nearby. We were too poor to go on such excursions. So I painted her here, later,” he said solemnly.

  My heart ached for him. “Xan…I—”

  He waved me off. “No. She ended up living a very good life. I actually ran into her about forty years later; she married a jade peddler. It brought them to California. I knew it was her because she had a heart-shaped birthmark on her cheek. Always tried to cover it up but…I knew.” His tone was full of affection, speaking of his younger sister.

  “Did she know it was you?” I asked.

  He smiled wryly, shaking his head. “No. I wished to tell her, but I looked the same as I did when I left. I should have been nearing my seventies when we met again. She did say, ‘I had a brother that looked so much like you…I miss him.’ That was enough for me. Just knowing she was okay…” he turned back to me, a lone tear streaming down his cheek.

  I raised from my chair, crossed the short distance, and pressed myself into him for a hug. I didn’t say anything as he stroked the hair down my back; I just let him reminisce.

  “At least I got to see her again. That was a blessing. I even told her a story about me—but not me of course. Of someone I’d ‘met,’ that fit the description of her brother years ago. He struck it rich, and lived on a small farm by a river until his passing. He never married, but he was happy,” he said. “It seemed to please her, thinking I was safe and well.”

  “Of course it would,” I said.

  Xander sighed. He squeezed me gently before stepping back from me. “So, ready to work on your power?”

  I curled my lip in a frown. “Ugh. Working might be better…” I said sarcastically, pretending to turn back to my computer.

  He chuckled, and pulled me back. “The sooner we start, the sooner you can get better.”

  I grumbled reluctantly. He was right of course, but…

  Xander leaned over on the desk, gently running his hand over the parchment and flower I’d brought with me. I felt my face heat.

  “Thank you for that,” I said softly.

  He nudged me. “You’re welcome. You struck me as never having anyone do anything for you like this; I figured you deserved it.”

  I smirked. “Trystan noticed it too.”

  “Trystan? That ass…” he grumbled, rolling his eyes. “He’ll probably try to cook up some topper too. Be ready,” he said with a wink.

  “Oh, I’m scared,” I said sarcastically.

  “So. Ready?” He asked, holding out his elbow. “It’s too wet for outside, but we have a gym in the basement. Not much, just some weights, a couple machines, and a floor with mats. Not that it’ll be that physical but…it’s open.”

  “Lead the way…” I said, with a sigh.

  “I’m not quite sure what else to advise you,” Xander said, leaning against the wall of their gym ‘studio,’ raking his hands through his jet-black hair, and chugging at a bottle of water that he had produced from a nearby fridge (containing all the important things: water, Gatorade, and beer of course).

  I collapsed to a heap on the mat, c
overing my face with my hands. “Ugh! I didn’t think it’d be this hard!” I let my hands fall to the sides, and pouted, avoiding Xander’s eyes, and staring up at the track lighting on the ceiling. It was a very simple room; it was windowless in this area, and the floor was black linoleum, covered with soft, primary colored mats, and mirrors on the opposite wall. Separated by a partial wall were all the machines: treadmill, weight benches, etc. This section where we were practicing, was generally empty, with only a lone punching bag hanging from the ceiling. Xander said they usually used this area for sparring.

  So far we’d tried everything. He instructed me to summon it, he tried scaring me—nothing really worked. Xander’s power could be called upon on demand, and mine just seemed to emerge whenever, even in strange ways. There was no logic to it, and we weren’t having any luck in figuring it out.

  “It just doesn’t seem to be active unless you need it to be,” he said, scratching at his temple.

  I sighed. I even tried going back to the class where I felt most anxious, recalling that situation again. It just didn’t help.

  “It always seems to be there when you need it, though,” Xander said thoughtfully, sliding down the wall and landing on his butt. “Maybe you can’t call on it randomly.”

  “Well that sucks. What if I want to change in the middle of a room sometime and there’s no changing room?” I said, with a snort.

  Xander grinned slowly. “By all means, try it out then.”

  “Pfffffft…” I said.

  “We could try some kung fu moves?” Xander suggested. “Bash might be a better teacher, though. He taught me.”

  I raised a brow. “Really? You didn’t learn that back home?”

  He shook his head. “No. Outcast and slave, remember?” He said wryly. “No, it wasn’t until I met up with Bash did I learn. He’s a great sifu. Or, I could fetch that weapon, and have you give it a go,” he said, with a wink.

  I winced. “Umm…wouldn’t outside be better for that?”

  He shrugged. “It won’t do anything unless you’re really shooting someone. Otherwise it’ll just backfire. It’s not anything like a typical weapon.”