He jerked into motion to answer it, utterly confused because there was no caller ID. “Hello?”
There was a deep, relived sigh in his ear. “Odin’s balls, man! Where in Valhalla have you been?”
Tristan flinched. He’d heard the Viking curse using his ancestral mythology before, but never to this extent. The kodaijin was worried.
“M-me?” he stuttered. “Where’ve I—Where have you been? Ash and I have been trying to reach you.”
Netty huffed. He was grumbling under his breath and it might have had something to do with confusing technology. “Never mind that, Tristan. We’ve got a problem. Several problems, actually.”
Tristan let go some of his tension as he snorted a laugh that Ellie echoed. He glanced at her and winked, making her giggle.
“Story of my life, Netty. Okay, what’s the biggest problem?”
Ellie made a sudden disgruntled noise and before Tristan knew it, she was struggling out of the cart. She promptly lost balance and was laid out flat on the grocery store floor.
Speechless, Tristan gaped before he remembered himself and tossed the phone in the general direction of the cart, kneeling at Ellie’s side. “Elinore?”
She blinked, looked at him and burst into hysterical laughter. She poked him on the nose, blew a raspberry and jumped to her feet, laughing still.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Tristan hissed, picking up the phone again. On the other end, Netty sounded panicked. “Calm down and repeat everything after we have a problem.”
Netty took in a deep breath and said in a much calmer tone than before, “We were wrong. Whatever… self-preservation we were clinging to in the thought that it couldn’t be more than one mother per race—It’s.” Netty’s voice sounded far away as he pulled the phone from his ear to curse. “Tristan, there’s more than a few divine pregnancies.”
Fear trickled up Tristan’s back. “How many?”
“I don’t know,” Innokentiy answered in a whisper. “I’ve found dozens already.”
Dozens. In mere days, dozens.
“Jesus…”
“It’s not just a single mother from each race, but many. And, there’s another thing.”
“Yes?” Tristan snapped after Netty paused too long.
“Pythia are going missing. And there’s been talk amongst the vampires about… coming out.”
He swallowed hard. He wasn’t really sure which bothered him more, because obviously “coming out” didn’t mean defining their sexuality but rather showing the world of their existence.
Netty made a rude noise. “There have been several fights already over those who wish to remain hidden and who wish to tell the world of vampires. There’s strife in everywhere I’ve been to so far. It’s madness, man.”
“The pythia, define missing.”
The phone left Netty’s immediate vicinity again as the vampire cursed up a Nordic storm. “Missing, man! Gone to places unknown by their loved ones and comrades.”
“I—I’m half pythia.”
The silence physically hurt.
“Innokentiy?”
The vampire coughed and when he spoke again his speech was drawn in a heavy accent Tristan had never heard from the man. “Impossible.”
Tristan actually laughed, feeling a bit manic. “My mom, she was Uruwashi. But I’m telling you, Netty, my old man is—was, whatever—a pythia.”
“Tristan—”
“Confirmed, Netty. It’s confirmed.”
The vampire sighed and was about to say something but there was a sudden shout that Tristan instinctively knew was Ellie. In fact, it was Ellie and from the sound of it, someone was murdering her.
“Shit, I got to go. I’ll call you back.”
Tristan barely heard Netty say, no, I’ll call you again as soon as I can before he hung up and ran off to find his screaming ward. Two aisles over he found Elinore on the floor with several open cracker boxes around her. There were several people standing around her, most of which looked like they worked there. One in particular was trying to get Ellie to stand up and had taken a box of crackers from her. Must have been what prompted the meltdown.
“What the hell is going on?” Tristan demanded as he came up and helped Ellie to her feet. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
Ellie stopped screaming bloody murder, looked up at him, let out a sob and buried her face against him to cry.
“She was opening all the boxes on the shelf. She has to pay for it.”
Tristan sneered. “She’s mentally disabled, okay. She doesn’t understand. It’s my fault, I got distracted for a second and she ran off. You’re just upsetting her by snapping at her and taking things away.” He snatched the box away from the man. “I intend to pay for whatever she opened.”
The staff seemed to understand then and with a few embarrassed apologies and Tristan gathered up his snotty kid and rushed them out of the store with four bags of various opened cracker boxes. But hell, Ellie was happy, shoving the bright orange fish into her mouth, all over her face. If only it were that easy for everyone.
23: Devil’s Haircut
THE moment he turned down his long ass driveway, he felt them. Vampires. Ash and Wren, plus four others who he couldn’t identify. Three of the “others” had a minty taste, for lack of a better way of describing what he felt—faerie, he guessed, though he had no objective argument for his guess. The last he wasn’t sure what it was, that he was too far away to accurately say if he even felt… anything.
He booked it down the driveway a bit faster than he should have, hitting one of the potholes the construction and fire crew had dug out. His little car bottomed out and he cringed when he was left with a new rattle. Ellie squealed in delight. Asked to do it again.
He sighed, rolling his eyes but grinned at her enthusiasm.
He got the car into the garage and parked properly before rushing upstairs, leaving the car full of Ellie’s stuff and the groceries. He stopped inside the door to the kitchen and proclaimed, “Oh shit.”
Behind him Ellie gasped as though she were affronted before falling into a fit of giggles and proudly marching off with several boxes of crackers clutched to her chest, dropping crumbs along the way. He didn’t think she even saw the others.
“Evenin’, mate,” the big man sitting on the barstool grinned and waved.
“But…” Tristan stuttered around his shock. “Dude… I, I don’t feel you.”
Desmond grinned, obviously thinking something inappropriate in response. But Ash came into the kitchen, saying, “Neither does anyone else.”
“But—” Tristan stopped, taking in all the faces in his kitchen, all watching him, their expressions mirroring his confusion. The usual crowd was there: Ash, Wren, Kiba in his human skin and a surprisingly lucid and super bald Desmond. Lance was also back with a woman who had about foot on him in height, but then, she was most definitely an elf. Simon’s voice drifted from the other room along with Elinore’s and another male voice Tristan didn’t recognize.
Closer now, he realized what those other presences he’d felt from the driveway where. The fae were definitely the minty tasting ones. And, god, up close now, they felt good. Full of life, abundantly so. It almost hurt to be near them, they felt so fucking alive.
And the other was a bit startling. Coming up the drive, he wasn’t sure he felt anything at all. But up close, the elf woman was a charged presence, like electricity, and only touched him in drips and drabs like arks of lightning striking the ground. Or a plasma globe.
Tristan glanced at Ash and let her know with a quick thought that he felt the non-vampires. She smiled proudly and came to put a hand on his arm. The sensations lessened immediately, making him sigh in relief.
“What’s going on?” He turned suddenly to Lance. “If you’re back does that mean Yuki’s here too?”
There was a collective groan and Ash’s fingers tightened on his arm.
Lance smiled. “Erm, yes. She’s not here here, but in Maryland.”
&nb
sp; “Great,” Tristan groaned. “We moved halfway across the world just for her to follow us here.” At least she wasn’t in in his house. “Desmond?”
“Aye?” the man asked with a big grin.
“How are you?”
“Oy! Goin’ soft on us, now?”
Tristan chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, man. Just happy I didn’t have to bother with a bonfire to burn your nasty carcass.”
Desmond laughed heartily. “Aye, good to be well again.” He rubbed a big meaty paw over his bare head, his eyes fixed uncomfortably on Tristan—Yeah, the guy noticed his very mismatched eyes but thankfully had a sudden attack of tact. “Not sure aboot me new look, though.”
Tristan snorted. “That’s going to take some getting used to, yeah.”
At his side Ash sighed, but she was looking at Desmond with affection and relief.
“So, what’s happening here?” Tristan asked, looking around at the grim-faced crew.
No one said anything, everyone looking uncomfortable as they avoided meeting his eyes. It was Lance who finally sighed loudly. “Master sent me to um…” He coughed, looking uncomfortable.
“Yes?”
Ash huffed. “A thinly veiled guise to spy on us. On you, as an awakened Uruwashi.”
Lance shrugged non-apologetically. “What she said.”
“How in the hell does she know already?” he directed at Ash.
Wren cleared his throat, looking ashamed as he looked at his feet. “My deepest apologies. As Desmond’s scion, it was my duty to notify his Master of Desmond’s dire health. She ordered me to tell of her of other recent happenings. I had no choice.”
Ash and Tristan shared a sigh. Anyone else they would have crucified for giving their secrets to that meddling child vampire. But not Wren, he meant well and was literally powerless to nearly all other vampires.
“It’s fine, man,” Tristian said, “don’t worry about it.” He huffed. “So, what are you going to tell her?”
Lance looked at Ash then back to Tristan. The fae shrugged. “That you are doing well.”
Tristan snorted a laugh. “That’s not going to pacify her.”
Grinning, Lance shrugged. “No. But she’s too busy getting settled into her new place right now. You probably have a week before she shows up herself and demands answers.”
Tristan sighed, looking to Ash. She looked equally dismayed. But a week was a week and that gave him time to mentally brace. He didn’t owe Yuki shit and would gladly tell her as bluntly as possible. Still, he had to work up to it.
He suddenly frowned as a thought occurred to him. He looked to Wren. “She’s not going to come for Kiba, is she?”
Wren’s eyes widened as his expression turned to horror. He wiped around to look at the Were. “Kiba, I—”
Kiba put down the beer he’d been taking a drink from and sighed, getting up from his seat. “It’s fine. If she wants me, she can have me. It’s the least I owe for all I’ve done.”
Desmond’s eyes narrowed on the wolf but he didn’t say anything.
Ash took a step forward, looking outraged. “Absolutely not. You are our friend and therefore under out protection.” She glanced at Desmond, challenging him to argue. “If she wants you then she will have to go through Tristan and I first.” Ash rolled her shoulders back and smiled proudly. “And I think I’ve proved to be more than a handful for her.”
Tristan smiled, his own pride swelling. He missed the main act, but he got a pretty good recap hitchhiking in on Ash’s mind later that night she and Yuki had it out. So much had kept him busy since, he hadn’t a moment to stop and ask Ash about it. He was dying for the details.
Kiba dipped his, shuffled his feet. “I appreciate it but I wouldn’t want you to be harmed on my account. I’m the one who did those bad things—” He looked up, met Tristan’s eyes. “Your parents.” He glanced at Desmond before looking at Ash. “Biting Desmond.”
Desmond growled.
Kiba looked down at his feet in shame. “So many things to regret.”
Ash went to him and put a hand on his arm until he looked up at her. “I have seen your life, Trevor. You did what you had to to survive. My sins are not unlike yours and I hold nothing against you. You live on a clean slate in this home.”
Tristan grunted, “Yeah. What the amazing lady said.”
Kiba looked at a loss for words and Wren, taking pity on the man, went to him, put an arm around his slumped shoulders and guided him out of the kitchen. Desmond watched the pair leave, eyes narrowed and jaw set hard. The elf woman who’d yet to introduce herself, or say a word, glanced at Lance and at his nod, she followed the others out, leaving just Lance, Tristan, Ash and Desmond.
“Okay.” Tristan scrubbed his hands over his face. He was tired and stressed out. “Desmond.”
The man turned slowly to look at Tristan, anger still clear in his expression.
“What about you? We gonna have a problem with you and the wolf?”
The vampire stared at him a long time, real hard. Finally, he sighed, shaking his head. “Kid did what he had to…” He glanced at the offending wolf. “Yew is a stubborn son of bitch, mate.”
“Sure, blame it on the Uruwashi.”
Desmond grinned fang at him. “Aye. Won’t kill the kid, but we don’t have to bloody like him.”
Tristan nodded his understanding. “Fine, I get it. So… Really, are you okay now? Are you back to normal? I mean, you’d gone pretty damn feral there for a while.”
The vampire thought about it moment and then relaxed, putting on a sly smile. “Normal as we can be, mate.”
“Okay. Any idea on why no one cans sense you then? I felt you while you were still hulking out in the basement. What happened after…” He glanced at the others, unsure of what they knew about him but knew they’d find out eventually, especially with the evidence right there on his face. Tristan sighed. “After Nastasia attacked me?”
“That whut happened to your eye, mate?”
Tristan scowled but nodded.
Desmond grunted. “Woke at dusk today, same as the wee lass. Same as always.”
“Just like that? Like nothing had happened? Right as rain?”
The big vampire shrugged. “Felt bloody brilliant. Like… like I slept, truly slept for the first time since dying. Were no pain, no dreams, no nothing, just a heaviness and warmth I hadn’t felt in decades.” Desmond’s intense green eyes fixed on Ash. “Were bloody beautiful.”
Tristan frowned, not realizing that was even a thing for the vampire.
Ash tangled her fingers with Tristan’s. Even without her squeezing, he could feel her confusion and fascination.
Hissing out a breath, Tristan ran a hand over his hair. “Jesus, Desmond. Do you know how… terrible you looked? We thought you were done for.”
“Aye. Me memory’s good too. Remember every ache and stab of pain of dyin’ up in that bed. What we don’t bloody remember is anything after we took that spell, had me a nice fag—and don’t mean Wren—”
Tristan snorted at laugh despite himself, rolling his eyes.
“—and fell asleep. Next we ken, we’s waking up locked in the basement. All me hair were gone and I weren’t no fooking wraith no more. Wren and me had a nice long chat before he let me out, like I didn’t know me own bloody mind and now here we be. Right as bloody rain. And fooking grateful for it.”
“Okay…” Tristan drawled.
Now it was Desmond looking down at his feet in shame. “Ken what we did to that girl. I’m sorry fur having at her like that, but I weren’t of me own mind. Don’t even remember doing it.”
“I know. She… Pollux hurt her first. You just…” Tristan shrugged. “Made it more complicated.”
“Aye, and your blood saved her.”
“Yeah,” Tristan said, still shocked himself over his heritage.
Desmond snorted a laugh. “Bloody insane, it is. Half heikō, half shinwa…”
“No arguments there.”
Ash sighed. �
��Best I can guess, our inability to sense Desmond has more to do with the bite than the spell Lilith made. However, I need to speak Lilith to confirm.”
Lance was nodding. “I’ll be sure to let her know as soon as I see her.”
“Did she come with Yukihime?”
The fae shook his head. “She insisted on staying behind. She said there was something to do first, that she’ll join us when she’s ready.”
Ash nodded, chewing her bottom lip in thought. “Lance, will you go check on the others?”
The fae flinched but then seemed to realize he was being gotten rid of. Regardless if he promised not to tell their secrets Yuki could still get them out of him without his permission.
“Of course,” Lance said, lowering his head and leaving the room.
“What’s it then?” Desmond asked.
“The spell I gave you after you were let out of your cell… Do you remember Greece now?”
Desmond groaned and let out a husky, “Aye.”
“And?”
Desmond sighed, not meeting their curious gazes.
“What is it?” Tristan asked.
The big vampire sighed again, rubbing a hand over his bald head. “Chrysanthe is dead.”
Tristan frowned. “You saw it happen?”
Desmond shook his head and paused, giving the other room past Tristan a look when Ellie squealed with glee. The others joined in laughter. Such a contrast to the serious conversation in the kitchen. Tristan envied them.
“Ran into Silas the night after you buried Mamoru and his tree. Fooking bawsy elf jumped ship in the middle of the Mediterranean to flee his own death. Doris—erm, me, erm… fish wife—”
“Your what?” Tristan asked surprised and amused.
Ash looked put off but Desmond seemed… embarrassed. This tickled Tristan more than it should have and he wondered what that was all about.
“Never you mind, mate. Doris picked up Silas, helped him to the mainland. Silas meant to ambush the man who killed his beloved, ran into us along the way. Being the nice man we be, offered me help—”
Tristan harrumphed and Ash nodded her agreement with a shrewd smile.
“But the man knew we was coming—aye, dinnea stand a chance.”
Primal Burdens: (The Uruwashi Series #5) Page 26
