"Gotta run. Yuki."
"Go!"
Hugging her one more time, I ran back through the door and out of the store.
Chapter 3
Enter slowly.
Okaaay?
Trust me.
Always. I slowly pulled the diner door open. The chime above the door even seemed to ring slowly as I took one step into the diner and surveyed the situation. The vampires had pushed three of the tables in the far corner of the diner together and were angrily staring at Yuki, who sat across from her cousin George.
The rest of the diner was business as usual, nobody seemed to feel the tension in the air, except for Marge who was glancing at me nervously from behind the counter. I made a stay motion at her and slowly sat in my booth.
Good. George and I are coming to sit with you.
As if on cue, she and he stood and slowly marched their way across the diner, weaving through the tables between us. Almost with a strained look on their faces, they slid into the booth, Yuki first.
"Greetings, Lady Dorothea."
"Hey, George. Long time no see."
The door chimed behind me, and I felt another vampire enter the diner. More familiar than the others. It was Amir, the very first vampire I'd seen in Cedar Falls. I'd saved him and his sister from a vampire-hunting band of witches. Amir was one of the good guys. Without looking, I slid in further to give him enough room to sit. "Hi, Amir."
"You knew it was me?" He didn't sound shocked, he seemed pleased.
"Yes?"
He sat down and smiled. "Could you tell me how?"
"I don't know. I could feel it was you when you came in."
"See?" He made a gesture at an incredulous looking George.
"That does not prove anything. She could have smelled your cologne."
Amir sighed. "Lady Dorothea, could you tell me where Yvette is right now?"
"What?"
"Just see if you can feel her like you did me."
I hated parlor tricks, but I did as he asked, rolling my eyes as I closed them and felt around for Amir's sister. She was gone. A scene flashed through my mind of the battle between Lord Abernathy and me. Yuki's father had kidnapped her to marry her off to another clan of vampires. It had turned into an all-out war between me and the vampires. Amir had refused to fight out of loyalty to me, but his sister chose Lord Abernathy's side. Evidently, she had been torn to shreds by the undead, wounds grave enough that even a vampire could not have survived. I hadn't even known. "Oh, Amir. I'm so sorry."
I blinked up at him through the tears.
"You saw her death?"
"Yes. Not a way to go."
"Do not worry. She chose to follow him into his insanity. Those who followed their own hearts are alive to this day. She put too much faith in a man who did not deserve it. If only he could have been more like his daughter."
I smiled at Yuki, but she was staring at me nervously. "What?"
George stopped her from answering. "How many vampires are in the diner at this moment?"
Without closing my eyes, I knew the answer. "Three at this table, twelve in the back and one in the bathroom?"
"Count the number of people at the other table."
Lifting my gaze, I did as he asked. There were fourteen heads. "Fourteen. But only twelve vampires."
"Are you sure?"
I knew without a doubt that I was. "Positive."
"How can you tell?"
"Beats the hell out of me, George. I just can. The blonde girl on the end and the guy in the middle closest to the wall. They're human."
George turned to his cousin and nodded. "You were right."
"Yuki?"
"I'm sorry, Master."
"For what?"
"Before I answer, can you do something else?"
"Depends on what that is," I answered her honestly, narrowing my eyes at my familiar.
"Tell me how many vampires are in town?"
"What? Come on, Yuke, I can't do that."
"Try? Please?"
Sighing, I rolled my eyes again before closing them, picturing Cedar Falls in my head. One by one, little red dots appeared on the map in my head. I counted each one as they appeared. Three of them appeared outside of the city limits. "Forty-eight in town and three just outside of town," I answered, surprised at myself.
"Holy shit." George's forehead hit the table. "It's not possible."
"What isn't?"
"One more thing?" Yuki nervously tore the napkin apart that had been beside her hand. Marge was gonna smack her.
"What? No more parlor tricks, Yuke. Tell me what's going on."
"I will. Can you feel the vampires in Amersville?"
Wanting the weird conversation to end, I did as she asked and closed my eyes. "None that I can see."
"So, it is just the local vampires you can feel?' George lifted his head from the table.
"Yes? Wait. No." There was a tugging on my consciousness. Closing my eyes, I followed the pull to the southeast. "No. I can see them in Ashville, too. Eighty-seven of them. Yuki, call your mother. She is worried about you and angry at herself that she didn't warn you about your father. George, your father misses you and regrets what he said to you about your sexual preferences." I opened my eyes and stared at the two of them with their mouths hanging open. Amir chuckled beside me.
"And the two of you doubted me."
Yuki looked at Amir. "How did you know?"
"Since I wasn't at the graveyard and had already sworn my loyalty to Lady Dorothea, I felt it as soon as he died."
"Who?" I was behind on the conversation, but I had a feeling I knew who he was talking about. I just wanted him to say it.
"Lord Abernathy. When you sent him to the earth, you took his power."
"No, I didn't. I had a vampire side before that. It's what got those sweet kids killed."
"You had vampire powers beyond belief," he answered. "Almost on par with a vampire lord."
"Yes. They thought I was one. Abernathy didn't like his power being questioned."
"Exactement. But when you killed him, you tied all of his line to you."
"Huh?"
"You're not just my master, Master." She motioned to the vampires behind us and then spread her hands and included the rest of Cedar Falls into her quantification. "Ashville, too. Apparently. It's how you know what my mother and uncle are feeling."
"No. Not possible. I'm not a vampire, I'm a witch. A witch who needs a fucking cup of coffee and some aspirin." I motioned at Marge and made the universal symbol for 'I need some fucking coffee' by pouring an imaginary pot into an imaginary cup. Either she would know what I was talking about or get a good laugh at my mime skills. She grabbed four mugs and a fresh pot and headed toward us. Apparently, I didn't suck at charades.
"You're more than that, and you know it, Master." She said the words almost reverently. I didn't like it. Not one bit.
"I'm just Dot."
All three of them laughed. It was probably a good thing. I could feel the vampiric tension leave the room. Thankfully, I wasn't sitting close enough to the others to smell their fear. The fear I could feel. Luckily, the feeling didn't set off my fangs and hunger.
"So, what does this mean?"
"It means that you have a lot more on your plate than you thought, Lady Dorothea." Yuki bowed her head.
"Oh, you just knock it the fuck off, Yuki." I reached across the table and bopped her over the head with the tips of my fingers. The calmed vampires' fear swelled inside my head as they backed the whole table a little farther away from us, scrunching against each other like minnows in a bucket. "Relax," I shouted across the diner. "That was a play tap. I'm not going to hurt her or any of you."
Marge dropped the pot of coffee.
The rest of the diners, the human ones, stared at me like I'd lost my mind. Which I was about three seconds from doing.
"What's goin' on, Darlin'?"
"They want to make me the leader of their youth production of Romeo and Juliet b
ut think I'm too mean to be a good director."
"Yeah. Sure. Let me get this cleaned up and get another pot of coffee. Sorry, you scared me!"
"Sorry, Marge."
"Hungry?"
"Pie. Double."
She nodded in understanding. If I had a drug addiction, it was pie. At least I only indulged when the shit hit the fan. With the way my life had been going, I was running a serious risk of getting fat. "I'll have it right out."
She left us sitting there, Yuki trying very hard to stifle her giggles. Miguel brought a broom and swept up the glass and then cleaned up the coffee with a mop.
"This is just perfect."
"I know this causes you discomfort, Lady Dorothea. Some of us were afraid, too. Some still are." Amir nodded at an uncomfortable looking George. "But this will be a good thing."
"What will?"
"Having a lord who will do right by us, not exploit us or others for personal gain."
"I'll speak to your mother and my father," George told Yuki and stood up. "I shall inform the others, as well. My lady," he said to me, bowed low, and headed back to the table of vamps.
"He's pissed," I said, not caring if he could hear me or not.
"Well, his father or my mother should have become the next lord of the clan."
"To have a witch is probably a little insulting."
"Not so much insulting as it is a financial nightmare."
"What?"
She laughed and Amir patted my arm in sympathy. "You don't understand," Yuki said with a sad smile.
"Understand what?"
"You get it all."
"All what?"
"Everything. The houses, cars, boats, and limos. Hell, even the blood banks will go to you."
"I don't want them," I answered adamantly just as Marge returned with a pot of coffee, pouring cups for all three of us.
"You don't get a choice, Lady Dorothea."
"Yuki, if you call me that again, I'm going to flog you with spaghetti. Dot. My name is Dot."
"Yes, Master."
Marge giggled. "Pie will be done in a minute. I'll bring it out. Carry on."
Covering my face with my hands, I rubbed vigorously. Shadow walking to the far side of the moon seemed like a better and better idea every minute. Every time I turned around, I was in charge of something, or someone, else. My mother had one coven and it turned her into a raving lunatic. Nana, too. I had a coven, a dark elf, an elf, a couple of races, and a godly sphere. There was no way I was going to get through everything with my sanity intact. I'd be drooling by Wednesday.
I didn't realize I was staring at the teal Formica top of the table until there was a piece of pie blocking my view. "Thanks, Marge," I said without looking up.
Then a thought nudged its way into my brain.
"Wait, if I'm the head bitch in charge, I can do what I want, right?"
Yuki and Amir exchanged a glance but nodded slowly.
"Good. Tell your mom to stay right where she is in that big assed house. George's father, too. And first order of business once the blood banks are in my name is every vampire in the clan no longer has to pay for blood." I grinned and took a bite of my pie.
"What?" They asked simultaneously.
"You friggin' heard me. When I heard your father was charging them, I wanted to kill him." My heart stopped when I realized what I said, but Yuki didn't seem fazed by my outburst at all. In fact, she smiled at me. "I can do that right?"
"You're the boss," she answered with a snicker.
"Enjoy your pie. I'm going to go spread that little bit of news with my brethren. That might make all of this a little easier." Amir patted my leg and got up, rejoining the other vampires.
"Think they'll be happy?" I ran my fork through the crust of the pie, opening its juicy entrails and letting it mingle with the vanilla ice cream.
Their cheer was answer enough.
"What's that all about?" Chief slid into the booth next to me. I hadn't heard the ding of the door over their cheer and he sat down before his aftershave made an appearance in my nose.
"Their team won the world cup. Hey, sexy." I leaned against him, stealing some of his calm and warmth. Happy for a moment until he picked up a spoon and stole a piece of my pie. The bastard. "Get your own!"
"Big Bird says share." He stuck his tongue out at me.
I tried to steal it back by kissing him. Our tongues fought for a moment before he swallowed with a chuckle.
"I'm going to fucking throw up now." Yuki got up and went to sit with the others.
"Poor kid. Can't stand to see the grownups fight over a piece of pie." He looked back at the table of vampires. You gonna tell me why they're so excited to be sipping coffee in a diner? And don't tell me it was about soccer. The world cup was a few weeks ago."
"Damnit. I knew I heard something about it. Figured it was a good excuse."
"Why were they all happy? I thought they were supposed to be broody."
"Do you really want to know?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."
Sighing, I took another bite of pie before he ate it all. "Apparently, I'm the new vampire lord. Lady. Whatever."
"Woah." He huffed and stole another bite.
"Like I needed more on my plate."
"What are you talking about? There's plenty of room. The pie is almost gone."
"Quit eating it, and you know that's not what I meant."
He kissed my temple. "Well, if anybody can handle it, it's you."
"Gee, thanks."
"You're welcome. Need a pep talk about anything else?" His grin was infectious, and I found myself smiling alongside his goofy ass. Then I frowned. "What?"
"Picked up another roommate today, Bill."
"I know. I met him when I stopped by your house. Thanks for telling me, though."
"Don't look at me, I didn't know until today, either."
"You misunderstand. I was actually thanking you for telling me. I figured it would take you a couple days to build up the nerve." He grinned to soften the blow, even though it was accurate as fuck.
"We fight enough without outside help. Figured I'd nip it in the bud."
"Is he another mate or boyfriend…?"
"No." I sighed, still appreciating his lack of jealousy.
"Well, he thinks the world of you."
"Huh?"
"You were all he talked about once he found out you were my girlfriend."
"Oh. Yes. He is very friendly for an evil dark elf." I chuckled. Ellis didn't have an evil bone in his body. His mother on the other hand… Noble but psycho.
"Well, how about I pick you up for dinner tomorrow and you can hide out at my place?"
I dropped my fork. It clattered against the plate and flung tiny bits of pie over the table. "What?"
"I'll pick you up for dinner and you can spend the night at my place if you want," he reiterated slowly for the dumb witches.
Since we'd been dating, I'd been at his house once. One time. Didn't even stay that long. It was almost a monument to his late wife, and I didn't feel comfortable there. Whenever Chief and I got together it was at my place, for him to invite me to his and spend the night was… It was kind of monumental. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin the moment. Swallowing my discomfort, I smiled and nodded. "I'd love that."
"Good."
"Hey, Bill. Coffee?"
"Yes, please. And two more slices of pie." He turned to me. "You want anything?"
"You're a shit."
"Yep. Yours."
Chapter 4
I knocked my phone off the nightstand trying to get the ringing to stop. When I bent over the edge of the bed and cracked my eyes open, Chief's name was flashing across the screen. Picking it up off the floor, I answered it quietly and snuggled back into Jason's arms.
"It's," I paused to pull the phone away from my ear and looked at the time, "six in the fucking morning. There better be a body or I'll make damn sure there is one."
"You read the paper
yet?"
"You assume too much. One, that I could comprehend words at this ungoddessly hour. And two, that I read the paper."
"Grab a copy sometime today."
"Just save me yours. Give it to me at dinner."
"You might want to read it before then."
"How about you just give me the Cliff's notes version so I can go back to sleep?"
Jason's hand slid down my stomach and two of his fingers slipped between my thighs, gently rubbing me in his sleep. Maybe he was awake, it was hard to tell with him. Until he started nibbling my shoulder.
"How about I just read you the headline. Local witch threatens children in restaurant. Sound familiar?"
"Yeah, kinda. I wasn't threatening them, I was telling them I wouldn't hurt them. And they weren't kids, they were vampires."
"Yeah. I know. I was there, remember?"
"Vaguely." I let out a hiss of pleasure as Jason's fingers dipped inside me and spread my wetness over my rapidly hardening nub.
"And you're okay with this?"
"That I vaguely recall your presence at the time of the incident or that the paper is slandering my good name."
"Both." He chuckled.
I moaned as Jason's nibbles turned into him gripping the flesh of my shoulder between his teeth as his morning wood prodded my entrance. Bending at the waist, I exposed myself to him, easing his access. Without releasing me, he lined himself up and plunged into my depths. My moan turned into a groan as he filled me.
"Is somebody there with you?" From Chief's voice I could already tell he knew the answer to that.
"Maybe."
"You're getting fucked right now, aren't you?"
"That's a bigger…maybe." I managed to get the words out between thrusts as I closed my eyes.
"That's really fucking sexy," Chief said with a little catch in his breath.
"You like…fuck…hearing me?"
"Yes. What are you wearing?"
"What I usually…oh goddess harder… What was I saying? What I usually wear to bed. Nothing."
"He's behind you, isn't he?"
"Yes."
"Hand cupping your breast, pulling you against him?"
"No. He's fingering my clit and biting my shoulder."
"Holy fuck."
"Are you hard, Chief?"
Seventh Seal: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 7) Page 3
