Mistyx Sonata (Mistyx Series Book 1)

by Paulette Miller

  Cupcake sat up and puffed out her chest proudly.

  Blade continued, “I hear that you’re gifted with a knife, as am I.”

  Cupcake lifted a paw, flicked out a claw, and let out a low growl.

  While keeping a straight face, Blade reached out, felt the sharpness of the tip, and nodded approvingly, saying “Very nice. As one warrior to another, I’m glad to know that you’re here to protect Nikki from her nasty roommate. But don’t fear. I’ll help take care of her when she’s out of the apartment.”

  When the cat looked at him like she didn’t believe him, Blade pulled out his own knife from a sheath on his hip. He expertly twirled the weapon around his fingers and then tossed it into the air. Without even looking, he caught it by the hilt. The cat nodded with approval.

  Blade then handed Devin his food and, as he gave Nikki her container, he said, “I asked Bee what you might like and she didn’t think spicy food was your thing. She recommended steamed vegetables and rice. I hope it’s okay.”

  Nikki nodded silently, surprised that he thought about her needs. While she eyed the dark red peppers in the Vampires’ food, she asked, “Do you always eat such spicy food? Just looking at your plates makes me sweat.”

  Devin replied, “Vampire taste buds are very different than yours and normal food just tastes bland to us. We prefer to eat foods with very strong flavors—something with a little kick.”

  Nikki knew that the level of heat they ate would rocket her into space.

  After stabbing a piece of meat with his knife, Blade placed it in front of the cat and said, “I figured you didn’t like spicy food either, so I got you some chicken.” When she hesitated and stared at the gift, he stabbed a piece of meat for himself and added, “Eat up. If we’re going to protect Nikki from the big, bad, biting wolf over there, we can’t risk getting weak.”

  Cupcake decided to accept the meal and the person offering it. She bit into the meat and carried it over to Blade’s plate. After setting it down, she mimicked Blade’s behavior by ripping off a smaller piece and stabbing it with her claw. While purring loudly, the two began to share a meal.

  Seeing the cat being so friendly with Blade, Devin hoped this meant that she was coming around. In the spirit of peace, he decided to test her hatred toward him by reaching out to pet her head. Without ever moving her face from her food, Cupcake’s paw snapped out in lightning speed and swiped across Devin’s hand, making the Vampire yell and jump back.

  Blade saw the rake pattern on his friend’s skin, roared, and exclaimed, “Nice moves, Cupcake!” He then suggested to the cat, “Maybe when we’re done eating, we can go work on some defensive moves together.” Cupcake rubbed her cheek on the side of his hand to say yes and then, in perfect synchronization, the two stabbed another piece of meat.

  Nikki and Devin watched the exchange in silence, amazed that a Vampire had completely won over Cupcake in an Olympic gold medal worthy time. When Blade and Cupcake noticed their shocked expressions, Cupcake scrunched up her face in confusion and Blade asked, “What?”

  Nikki giggled as she noticed that both Cupcake and Blade had matching stark white spiky hair. She thought they could win a contest for people that most resembled their pet.

  Moments later, Cassandra arrived and joined in on their dinner. After confirming that Nikki had been treated well, she joined in on the meal.

  After everyone was done eating, Devin looked down at Nikki’s partially eaten plate of food and asked, “Didn’t you like it? We can order you something else.”

  “No, it was very good. I guess I’m just tired and not very hungry. I’ll finish it tomorrow. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll head up to bed.”

  Seeing the dark circles under her eyes, Devin didn’t argue with her and said, “Get some sleep and I’ll be up later.”

  She stood and, after she put her leftovers in the refrigerator, she called, “Are you coming, Cupcake?”

  The cat nodded toward Blade, informing Nikki she wanted to stay a little longer.

  Nikki understood the request and said, “Take your time and come up when you’re ready. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

  After everyone said good-night to her, Blade waited anxiously to see Nikki fly to the loft. When she began to walk up the stairs he called, “Using manual transmission tonight?”

  She looked down at her feet and, realizing that he was right, replied, “I guess my wings are tired too. I’ll fly tomorrow.”

  Cassandra excused herself and followed Nikki up to the loft to confirm that she was okay. Now that Nikki was gone, Cupcake hissed at Devin and then jumped into Blade’s arms.

  Blade said, “This might be a tad bit easier if you and the cat made friends.”

  “I’ve tried, but she hates me.”

  Blade scratched a purring Cupcake between the ears and said, “Maybe that has to do with the fact that you have Nikki trapped here like a caged animal. Instead of fighting with the cat, why don’t you embrace what she has to offer to the situation?”

  “I’m willing to try, but she needs to meet me half way.”

  Seeing the frustration in his friend’s eyes, Blade said, “This might help ease your pain.” He took out a bag he had hidden in his coat and handed it to Devin.

  Devin looked inside and pulled out a small silver flask. He opened it, sniffed the liquid, and announced, “This is Human blood and it’s still warm.”

  “I collected it on the way here. I figured you’d need it.” As Devin took a big swallow and sighed, Blade said, “You know that to truly contain your thirst and keep your blueberry bite free, you’ll need to go out and feed directly from Human veins.”

  Devin chuckled at the choice of a nickname for Nikki and said, “I know. I haven’t figured out how best to handle that.”

  Moments later, Cassandra returned and announced, “Nikki seems to be okay. This has all been very traumatic on her and she needs to rest. For some reason, she insists that I give you a chance to continue to behave tonight, so I’ll leave you now.” As the air filled with the prickling of her power, she added, “Just remember that I’ll be right below you. If you make me regret trusting you, you won’t like how I respond.” Both Blade and Devin jumped as they felt a wave of her power wash over them. Knowing they got the message, she gave Devin a kiss on the cheek and said, “I’ll come check on you in the morning.” She said good-night to everyone and left the apartment.

  After the door closed behind her, Blade said, “You should know that Cassandra’s presence is making everyone else in the warehouse very uneasy.”

  “I know. She and others don’t trust me to control myself around Nikki, so they’re being overly cautious. I’m just grateful that she decided to use the apartment on the floor below me and not setup shop here in my apartment. And given how strong the curse still is, I have no idea how long any of my guests will be here.”

  Blade stood and, after the cat crawled onto his shoulder, he announced, “Let’s go workout to let off some steam and maybe we can come up with some ideas for feeding, curse breaking, and resolving your issues with this wonderful cat.”

  While Nikki slept up in the loft, those downstairs did as planned. And, as promised, Blade and Cupcake worked together on attack patterns using Devin as their intruder. By the time Devin called it a morning, he was covered in scratches and bite marks.

  Cupcake rubbed against Blade’s cheek affectionately to say goodbye and then, after jumping up to the loft, draped herself across Nikki’s neck with a self-satisfied and very contented expression. After Blade left, Devin followed the cat’s path up to the loft and touched Nikki’s hand to appease the curse. He loved watching her unconsciously wiggle into his touch. After he left her side and crawled into bed, he hid under a pillow to muffle the much less intense, but still present, jungle sounds coming from his roommates. He then closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep, finding a much more friendly Nikki waiting for him in his dreams.

  Chapter 10:

  The Night Owls


  When Devin woke for the day, he went downstairs to find Nikki cleaning in the kitchen and Cupcake giving herself a bath while sprawled out on the counter. Although he was disappointed that Nikki wasn’t in her Hello Kitty pajamas, he did like seeing her in another pretty halter dress. Unlike her conservative Human attire she was wearing the night he met her, the more Pixie-friendly wardrobe naturally celebrated her feminine curves.

  As he approached to fix himself his typical type AB Bloody Mary breakfast, he said to Nikki, “I told you that you don’t have to clean while you’re here.”

  “Other than starting on my new creature book, cleaning gives me something to do. I normally work full-time, so I’m not used to just sitting around all day by myself doing nothing.” She scanned the kitchen and asked, “Do you mind if I rearrange things a little in here so that I can start to cook for myself?”

  Realizing that he had turned her life upside down, he decided to let her do whatever she wanted. “My home is your home.” Knowing that he didn’t have any food appropriate for a Pixie, he walked to a drawer and pulled out a small notebook. After placing it on the counter, he said, “In here are restaurants and stores that have connections to our world and will deliver. If you order with my account number, they’ll bill me. Order anything you like.”

  As she flipped through the pages, she asked, “How long do you think I’ll be here?”

  “Since my urge to protect you is stronger today than yesterday, I have no idea. I can sense how hard this is on you and I’m trying to figure out how to fix this as quickly as possible.”

  “I know you are, but we need to face facts. We could be stuck together for a very long time. I currently have a day job that I can’t go to without burning you to death and my ‘I’m sick’ excuse isn’t going to work for more than a day or two. I’m thinking that I’m going to have to quit. And without a job, I can’t pay my rent.”

  Hearing her frustration, he said, “As long as you’re with me, you don’t need a job or an apartment. You’ll live here and I’ll pay for anything you need. It’s the least I can do.”

  She decided to be honest with him and said, “I guess it really isn’t the job or the crappy apartment that I’m mad about. It’s the life I was trying to live and I blew it again. This time I even made a friend. I know that she’s Human, but I really like her. I don’t want to walk away from her too.”

  “You know that she doesn’t fit in our world.”

  “Any more than I fit into hers, right? She’s different and I think she could handle it. Having a friend at my side would really help me through this.”

  “But if she can’t handle it, she could expose us. We can’t risk it.” Sensing her despair, he put down his drink and lifted her chin so that she had to look up at him. Once he had her full attention, he said, “We’ll find a way through this and, when we’re freed from this curse, I’ll do whatever is in my power to make this right with you. I promise.” To Devin’s complete shock and Nikki’s, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek on his chest. She did it not because of the curse, but because she desperately needed someone to hold on to.

  At first Devin remain motionless, unsure if the curse would allow him to touch her. But when he felt her ache, he decided to risk it and gently wrapped his arms around her. When he gave her a gentle squeeze, he swore he heard an inner voice whisper, “Good boy.” It was followed by a pleasant, warm sensation in his chest.

  Although he liked holding her in his arms, he didn’t want to push it, so he released her. Wanting to do something else nice for her to see how the curse reacted, he said, “You know I haven’t done anything to this place since I moved in and it could use a new look. Most likely there are construction companies and decorators in that book. If you want, you can do whatever you want to make this entire apartment more comfortable for you.” In an attempt to make peace with the cat, he quickly added, “...and for Cupcake.”

  Nikki and Cupcake looked out at the apartment and smiles formed as they both envisioned the possibilities. To Devin’s surprise and relief, the curse rewarded him again.

  After a moment, Nikki added, “By the way, I forgot to tell you. Cassandra stopped in earlier to check on me.”

  “You mean to check to make sure I haven’t taken advantage of our situation. She really doesn’t trust me.”

  Nikki shrugged, knowing it was true, and said, “Since she felt it necessary to create the curse in the first place, I’m assuming that her concerns are justified.”

  “I won’t lie to you. Everything that she has said about me is true. What she can’t accept is that it’s just the way I am.”

  “She cares about you and wants you to be happy.”

  Devin shook his head in frustration and said, “But I am happy and I like who I am. No curse is going to change that.”

  “Cassandra doesn’t think that you liking or disliking yourself is the problem. We actually talked for a couple of hours and she’s still convinced that my pain is the key. She has this ridiculous idea that, to break the curse, I have to learn to like the real me.”

  He looked her up and down and said, “I think the real you is pretty damn nice.”

  Nikki finished his thought for him. “...said the spider to the fly. But be careful what you wish for, Spider. The Black Widow eats her mate after she’s done with him.”

  With a wicked grin, he said, “You can eat me any time you want.” After chuckling at her stumbling attempt to offer a proper rebuttal, he said, “Well, if romance isn’t in my cards, what would you like to do tonight?”

  “The last few days have been full of more excitement than I’ve had in the last few years combined. If you don’t mind, I would like to stay in.”

  Seeing the weariness still in her eyes, he said, “You still look tired. Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

  “Actually, I thought I had. I even slept in until after ten o’clock this morning, but I’m still tired. Flying seems to be an issue and, for some reason, I’m still not able to do the magic to make my Human disguise.”

  “How about I help you order some food so that we can cook here? After that, we could just sit around like a normal couple and watch a movie. I have a fairly large digital library.”

  She laughed and said, “A normal couple…that’s us all right, but what about your need to feed? You need fresh blood, unless that book includes sources for blood delivery.”

  “Actually it does. Although I’m well stocked, I’ll call in another order just to play it safe. But as Blade reminded me, I’ll need to feed directly on occasion. He’s already come up with a couple options that keeps us close by the warehouse.”

  After Devin downed the last of his breakfast, he guided Nikki to his computer and they walked through the virtual aisles of a local grocery store listed in his book. Even Cupcake tapped the screen to select a few items for herself.

  Shortly after they placed their order, Blade walked through the door. When he spotted Devin’s house guests, he said, “I see you’re still caught in Devin’s web.” He patted his chest and Cupcake pranced over and jumped into his waiting arms. As he scratched her chin, he said, “Although I’m not going to complain. I would miss my favorite furry girl.” The cat’s response was to rub her face on his cheek affectionately and give him a purr.

  Devin just rolled his eyes at the overly friendly exchange and asked, “What brings you by?”

  Blade replied, “I was wondering if we’re still on for tonight.”

  Nikki asked, “What’s going on tonight?”

  Devin answered, “I told you that Vampires need to let off steam on a regular basis, so Sunday nights are typically when those that live in the warehouse come up here and we let loose a little.” He looked over at Blade. “Since Nikki is here, tell everyone that someone else will have to host tonight’s events. We’re staying in.”

  Nikki interrupted him and said, “Don’t cancel on my account. This is your home and, to keep me bite free, even you said it was vital to continue your n
ormal routine. I can stay up in the loft out of the way and go to bed early. I really don’t mind.” When Devin remained unconvinced, she added, “I may be stuck here for a while, so we might as well figure out how to integrate me into your routine sooner than later. It would also allow me to capture some notes about the realities of Vampires for my book.”

  Devin replied, “It really doesn’t matter if I agree or not. Cassandra won’t allow it.”

  Blade added, “She’s in the apartment directly below you so, even if we tried to keep the noise to a minimum—which would be impossible—she’ll hear.”

  Nikki said, “Leave Cassie to me. I’ll convince her.”

  Just then, there was a knock at the door that announced their food delivery had arrived. Devin looked over at Nikki and said, “I think it’s best if you hide. The fewer who know you’re here, the better.”

  Nikki nodded and said, “I need to call work anyways, so I’ll go up into the loft.”

  Once she was sitting on her love seat bed, she called her manager to let her know that she was sick and would miss a few days of work. Her manager didn’t question her excuse because several others, including herself, were hit with the flu. It bothered Nikki to lie, but it gave her a few more days before she would be forced to quit.

  She then called Cassandra and kept it light by saying, “I was wondering if you would stop by for a visit.”

  Cassandra gasped and asked urgently, “Did something go wrong?”

  Nikki quickly responded to calm her fears, “No. Everything is fine. Blade’s here with Devin and I just need a little estrogen to counter the testosterone.”

  Cassandra laughed and said, “Vampire males can be a bit much to take. I’m in the middle of making a potion, but I’ll stop by as soon as I’m done.”

  “Perfect. See you then.”

  Speaking of estrogen, Nikki had the overwhelming desire to hear Jackie’s voice. She dialed and, when Jackie answered, Nikki said, “Hey girlfriend. Staying healthy?”