“Brandon?”
“Yeah?”
“Are we going in?”
Shit, they were still standing in the open doorway, in minus-twenty-degree weather. The forecast was for snow later.
“Yeah, yeah.” He waited for her to turn and head back into the living room while he closed the door. “Hey, sorry about the interruption. They’re good guys, they just need some guidance.”
Lucy had curled onto the couch, her legs drawn up, her arm on the back of the cushions. She looked too pretty for his dingy apartment. She also had something on her mind, if that expression was anything to go by.
“No need to be sorry. Those boys look up to you.”
“Those boys think I’m a dinosaur.”
She shook her head. “You know that’s not true. They came to you because they knew you’d be able to help them. They’re still so young. You’re good with them. I know you’ve been acting as assistant coach this season. Is that something you want to pursue? Do you want to be a coach?”
Dropping onto the couch next to her, he let his head fall back onto the cushion before he turned to stare at her, trying to understand what she was getting at. Because he knew she was going somewhere with this.
“Sure. Don’t all players wanna coach when they get too old to play? We get to stay close to the ice, still be part of a team. I never wanted to do anything except play hockey.”
“You’ll make a wonderful coach.” She reached out to run her fingers through his hair.
He loved the feel of her hands on him. He wanted to close his eyes, maybe spread himself out on the couch and let her run those fingers over the rest of his body.
Her nails scratched at his scalp, slivers of sensation running through his body. If he was a cat, he’d be belly up, purring and begging her to pet him. His eyelids drifted shut as a wave of tiredness swept through him. When did he get so damn tired?
Not that they’d slept much last night but still—
“Hey!” His eyes flew open and he sat up, grabbing her hand off his head. “Don’t you even think about putting me to sleep and sneaking out on me.”
Her expression showed absolutely no hint of guilt. “Brandon, this isn’t going to work. I can’t stay here with you. You’re at risk every second I’m here. What if the tukhulkha demon had shown up when the twins were here? What if it’d hurt them? What if it doesn’t run next time?”
Then he’d fight the damn thing until he couldn’t fight anymore. He’d held his own against some of the biggest hitters in any league. No, he’d never gone up against a mythical blue creature before but he’d done okay the first time.
And when they found out what the thing had meant about Brand being different, whatever the hell that meant… Well, maybe that was a little freaky, but if it meant there was a chance of him keeping Lucy, then he’d take it. Because he really wanted to keep her.
“I don’t think I can let you go, Lucy. I don’t think I want to let you go.”
She sighed, shaking her head, and Brandon thought he might have to put up more of a fight.
Instead, she said, “Fine. Let me get in touch with Sal and see if he can make a house call.”
***
Sal turned out to be a kid, maybe ten or eleven.
He showed up at Brand’s front door dressed in baggy jeans, a black hoodie, and a knit cap pulled down almost to his eyes.
“Hey, man. How’s it going?”
Brand stuck out his hand to shake, though he knew his eyes had widened at the sound of the kid’s voice. Christ, did he have a two-pack-a-day habit or what? And the accent, pure Bronx. And what was with the kid’s eyes? They looked… Hell, they looked old. Darker than his own, almost black. Darker even than the curly hair peeking out from beneath the edge of the hat.
Brand had barely said hi before the kid walked over to Lucy, seated on the couch, and bowed. Literally freaking bowed.
“Lady, how are you? You okay?”
Lucy’s expression actually eased a little as she nodded. She was glad to see the boy, almost looked relieved, as if she knew he could fix whatever problem she laid at his feet. “Thank you so much for coming, Sal. I really appreciate it.”
“Anything for you, Lady, you know that.” The kid hopped up on the cushion next to Lucy and looked back at Brand. “So, what’s happenin’? Obviously it’s got something to do with the eteri here. Caught some of your games, kid. You’re a damn good player.”
Kid? Had this child just called him kid? “Uh, thanks.”
Sal nodded. “No problem. So, you wanna tell me what’s going on or do I have to guess?”
“One of Charun’s demons came after me last night.” Lucy’s voice almost sounded strangled, as if it was a struggle for her to get the words out. “It never got close enough to do any damage. Brandon chased it away.”
Sal’s eyes widened at that and he took another look at Brand, this time staring until Brand started to feel uncomfortable.
There was something about this boy…
“So, you took on a tukhulkha demon and you’re still here to talk about it. Yeah, that’d make me wonder what the hell was going on with you too.”
The kid sniffed, and not just a normal human sniff.
Brand knew, without a doubt, Sal was trying to pick up Brand’s scent. Which was just too freaking weird to contemplate.
Of course, Brand was sleeping with a goddess being hunted by a blue demon. Why would— The kid took off his hat and tossed it on the couch next to him.
“I don’t smell anything off about you. So—”
“Holy shit.”
Brand’s mouth dropped open as he realized the kid had horns. Short, stubby, black horns sprouting out of the curly black hair on his head.
“Never seen horns before, kid? You must’ve led a sheltered life.”
“Wha— How—” Brand shook his head, his feet carrying him closer to the couch. He wanted to actually touch them to make sure his mind hadn’t just cracked.
Sal laughed and the sound had a definite edge to it. “You think those are crazy, wanna see something really out there?”
“Sal,” Lucy released a sigh, “do you really think that’s necessary?”
“Hell, after battling a blue demon, how bad could he react?” Sal leaned forward, beckoning to Brand. “Shazam.”
In the blink of an eye, the kid was gone and in his place sat a man, if the sideburns and five o’clock shadow were anything to go by.
At least, half of him was a man. The top half. The other half…
Was the lower body of a goat. Covered in rusty brown fur. With little black hooves that dangled a few inches above the hardwood floor.
“Brandon, love, you need to breathe.”
Lucy’s softly spoken words made absolutely no sense.
He heard them, but his brain couldn’t process them because it was busy searching for anything in his brain that even vaguely resembled the thing. A memory popped up out of the depths and through the turbulent sea of his thoughts.
“Pan.”
“No, I’m not Pan,” the thing said on a sigh. “Had some Latin in high school, didn’t you? That little prick is bad for my good name. I’m a salbinelli. And you might want to sit down before you fall over.”
“Shit. Holy shit.” Brand forced himself to take a deep breath, because he finally realized he was light-headed. Lucy reached for his hand and tugged him down onto the cushion next to her. He nearly stumbled over his own feet as did.
“Would you like me to get you some water, Brandon? You look a little pale.”
Tearing his gaze from Sal, he looked at Lucy, who looked worried. Pale and worried. Shit, he’d frightened his goddess.
Pull it together, asshole, or she’s going to think you’re a fucking pussy.
Sucking in a deep breath, he went through his pregame mantra in his head.
Skate fast. Head up. Hit hard. Go deep.
After a few of those… okay, more like a hundred of those, he felt steady enough to try to
speak coherently. And to try to regain some of the ground he felt he’d lost in Lucy’s mind.
She had to be thinking, Well, if he can’t handle a little goat man, he certainly isn’t strong enough to handle me.
Fuck that.
“Sorry.” Brand forced himself to focus on the guy’s eyes, which still looked pretty freaking old. “My mother taught me better than to stare. It’s just…”
Freaky? Terrifying? Trippy?
Sal grinned and waved his hand in the air, dismissing Brand’s bad behavior in a second. “No problem. So, Stevenson, what do you think of this new wonderland you’ve stepped into? Pretty cool, huh?”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, you could say that.”
Sal laughed and slapped one hide-covered knee before he turned back to Lucy. “So, you wanna know what it is about your eteri here that made the demon scurry away like the cockroach it is.”
Since Brand was still trying to get his brain to form a rational thought, if not full sentences, Lucy told Sal about their visit from Tessa and Cal. Then she turned to Brand. “You’ll need to tell Sal about the demon. I don’t remember any of it.”
Sal’s dark eyes widened with surprise. “What the hell happened? Did it hurt you?”
“I’m fine, Sal. It never touched me. I… forgot to shut the skylight shutters last night and had an episode of sun madness. It’s passed.”
Her tone let Sal know she didn’t want him to ask any more questions. Apparently, Sal was one smart… whatever the hell he was.
“Yes, well, that’s part of what we need to talk to you about, Sal,” Lucy said. “Tell him, Brandon.”
So Brand related everything the demon had said, word for word when he could. Sal watched him through narrowed eyes the entire time. By the time he finished talking, Brand felt like the one with goat legs and horns. Sal took another deep breath. Then he shook his head, glossy black curls giving off blue tints from the light. “I’m not getting anything off him, but that doesn’t mean he’s not. What are you thinking, Lucy? Berserkir?”
Lucy nodded. “The heritage would be right, I believe. Your ancestors were Germanic, weren’t they, Brandon?”
Yeah, they were, but what did that have to do with any of this? And had Sal said something about a berserkir? Brand tried to come up with a reference in his scrambled brain for that word but wasn’t having much luck.
So he put that aside and concentrated on Lucy’s questions. “Yeah. My great-great-grandfather emigrated in the 1800s from a small town in the German Alps. Family legend claims he had to travel three days to get to the nearest town. A few cousins tried to track it down years ago, tried to trace our family tree and find that village or even a mention of it. Never could.”
Sal nodded. “Makes sense. The berserkir are notoriously more reclusive than the other versipelli families.”
Brand’s brain went blank except for one question. “Berserkir are shapeshifters?”
“Yes, Brandon.” Lucy’s hand reached out to stroke his arm. “They’re bears.”
“Well, they used to be,” Sal interjected. “The berserkir are kind of special in the world of versipelli.”
Oh yeah, that sounded great. “Special how?” Brand asked.
Sal tilted his head to the side and frowned. “Well, for one thing, they don’t become actual bears anymore. They’ve evolved.”
“Bears.” Holy shit, were they actually saying his ancestors became bears? “Wait, evolved how?”
“Well, now they take on the characteristics of bears—their strength, their claws,” Sal continued. “Their ferocity. They tap into the animal inside without fully becoming the animal. Just one of those quirks of evolution.”
Brand looked down at his hands, imagining claws at his fingertips. How fucking weird was that?
He looked back up at Sal. “As far as I know, no one in my family can grow claws.”
Sal shrugged. “The traits could be latent in your family. Your great-grandfather may have mated an eteri. And your grandfather and your dad. Somewhere along the line, your family lost its mojo.”
Bears. Bears were strong. Really fucking strong. “Is there any way to find out for sure?” he asked.
“Yeah, but it ain’t pretty and it ain’t easy.”
Sal’s tone indicated it would be worse than he could ever imagine. Something to consider at a later time. Right now…
“Okay, we can deal with that later,” Brand said. “Right now, Lucy’s safety is more important than whether or not I can grow claws. What are we going to do about Charun? How much danger is she really in? And how do we get her out of it?”
Sal’s smile widened before he started to laugh.
Brand’s back stiffened and he got pissed off in a hurry. This was no laughing matter, Goddamn it.
Sal must have read his expression because he held up a hand and shook his head as he reined himself in. “Aw, hell, kid, I’m not laughing at you, so chill. It’s just… yeah, sorry. Give me a sec.”
It took another minute but Sal finally got over his laughing jag.
“Lady, I like him. If you don’t mind my saying so, you could do worse.”
Lucy kept her gaze on Sal. “I like him, too. And I don’t want him harmed. Please make him understand that he got off easy this time. He’s not equipped to deal with Charun’s demons.”
“Sounds like he handled himself okay if you ask me.” Sal cocked his head Brand’s way. “But tukhulkha demons are nasty sonsabitches. Their saliva can paralyze, their claws are sharp enough to cut through your chest to get to your heart. Their hair’s as strong as wire. They can strangle a grown man with their bare hands and they can open gates between the planes. If they get you into Aitás, you’re a goner, because no one leaves Aitás alive.”
Well, shit. That sounded ominous as all hell. As his balls tried to crawl back into his body, he swallowed hard. “Okay, I understand the severity of the situation. But that just makes me more worried about Lucy.”
“Brand—”
“Lucy.” He turned so he could look into her eyes. “Come on. You were completely incapacitated by the sun. What if that thing gets to you during the day? You live by yourself out in the middle of nowhere—”
“Not by myself. One of my lucani is always nearby.”
“In your home?” In your bedroom?
Luckily, he was smart enough not to ask that last question out loud.
But she must have read his thoughts. “Not in my bedroom, Brandon. They don’t stay in my home. But the villagers are close enough to come running, if I need them, at a moment’s notice.”
“Why are you so sure you can’t be harmed?”
Her gaze slid toward Sal for a brief second. Then she sighed. “Because I have an advantage other deities haven’t had since we were worshipped two millennia ago.”
“And that is?”
“The lucani. When I moved here two centuries ago, I was much like Tessa. I had lost most of my powers. The lucani were just beginning to organize themselves into the legion they have today and I made a deal with them. A deal that’s been very beneficial to me. They worship me and I give them my protection. By worshiping me, I gain power that I’m able to funnel back to them and enhance their strength.”
Brand could tell there was more to this story. “And this is a problem why?”
Lucy sighed. “It’s not a problem. It’s just… the rituals involve sex.”
His back snapped straight and he swore he got whiplash. “Sex. With you.”
She nodded. “Myself… and other partners.”
Plural.
Brand flashed cold then blazing hot. He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, then forced himself to give this some thought.
And not of the “Damn, I’d like to watch” variety. No, he wanted to rip apart the other men she’d taken to her bed. Intellectually, he realized she’d been around a long time. A really long time. She’d had other lovers.
Still, he wasn’t thinking with his brain at the moment. And that
was ridiculous.
Get a grip, idiot. Or at least ask intelligent questions. And not about the sex.
“So this, ah, power boost, what does it do exactly?”
“For one, it allows me to hide my village from the rest of the world. I’m still not sure how you managed to slip through the boundary wards.”
She shot a glance at Sal, who shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe your desire for him gave him passage through. I don’t know, but it’s something to look into.”
Brand liked the sound of that, but Lucy’s frown made it clear she wasn’t buying into it. “What if there’s a flaw somewhere, Sal? What if the wards are weakening? We’ll need to perform the ritual again—”
“Oh, no way in hell.”
As soon as the words slipped from his mouth, Brand wanted to take them back.
Shit and double shit, you stupid ass.
She caught and held his gaze, hers turning chillier each second. And her expression made it clear she thought he’d overstepped his bounds.
Tough shit. She was his. For now. No other man would touch her.
“Brand, I can’t let—”
“Use me.”
She paused and heat flushed her pale cheeks before she sighed and shook her head. “It has to be someone with arus in their blood. If you’re not berserkir, you won’t do me any good.”
Well shit. That sucked. “Then let’s find out, because I’m really not liking this other men scenario. And you can bitch at me all you want, that’s just how I feel.”
He thought for sure she’d kick him to the curb. Take her little goat man and his memories and walk through the door.
Instead, her lopsided smile made his pulse race. It began to gallop when she reached out to run her fingers down his cheek. “It’s not very appealing to me, either. Right now.”
He wondered what she’d do if he told her he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He bit his tongue so he wouldn’t find out. Swallowing hard, he turned to Sal, his gaze catching on those little black horns, which made him shake his head. “So what do we need to do?”
***
Lucy watched Brand closely as Sal explained the process.
It wasn’t for the faint of heart, but then anything involving running a sharp iron blade through his body wouldn’t be.
How to Worship a Goddess Page 15
