by Cal Matthews
I heard the hiss of the shower, and gave myself a stern reprimand before rapping on the door.
“Marcus? I'm coming in.”
Steam flooded out the door as soon as I cracked it, and I ducked in quickly to keep the heat inside. Marcus’s silhouette stood behind the plain beige shower curtain, still and unmoving.
“You all right?” I asked in concern.
“Fine.” The spray of the shower muffled his voice, but I heard the warning in it nevertheless.
“I'm just leaving the clothes here. Soap's on the toilet seat,” I said. “I'll be in the living room when you're done.”
“Thank you.”
I bent to gather the pile of bloody clothes, wadding them up into a gory ball. The fine wool coat I tucked under my arm, but I left the shoes, thinking that they could still be salvaged. I ducked back out, feeling foolish and worried and excited all in one messy bundle.
Then I heard the front door open and close, and my heart lurched into my mouth.
Chapter Twelve
Leo stood stock still before the front door, nose up and nostrils flaring. He didn't acknowledge me when I skidded into the room, glancing nervously at the bloody tarp on the floor. I paused, then dumped the ruined clothes onto the tarp. Leo’s eyes flickered up to mine.
“Ebron,” Leo said in a deceptively calm voice. “Explain.”
“Leo-”
“Imagine my surprise, Ebron. I spent all last night and part of tonight trying to hunt down the witches that tried to make me kill you. Guess what? No witches. And then I come home ... and it smells an awful lot like witches in here. Very strange, don't you think?”
“I found one of them,” I said, moving closer.
“Okay.” He waited.
I lowered my voice, though there was no way Marcus could be within earshot without Leo noticing.
“He was dead, Leo. His guts were ripped out.”
Leo looked at me full on, his eyes wide and surprised.
“That's interesting,” he repeated slowly. “And he's here now? Presumably no longer dead?”
“He's in the shower.”
“Ebron! Fuck.”
“What?” I snapped. “You want me to have left him dead?”
“I don't know, but did you have to bring him home? Did it escape your mind that they fucking put a spell on you yesterday?”
“Says you,” I said, and immediately regretted it. His eyes went dark and he bunched up, the way a cat would when it was preparing to pounce.
“Really?” he said in a low voice, his accent thick and guttural. “You think I just decided to attack you last night? Out of the blue? After being lovers for, what, ten years?”
“Okay, I didn't mean that. But listen, Leo, I don't think that he remembers anything. I told him that when I found him he was hurt, and he's confused and -”
“And I'm going to fucking make him remember. Get him out here.”
“No, stop it.” I put my hand on his chest when he tried to walk past me and he gave me an are-you-joking look.
“I can smell him on you,” Leo growled at me. “I don't like having that smell here.”
“I feel like you are ignoring the most obvious question.”
“Which is?”
“Who killed him? You didn't. So who?”
“I don't know, the same person who sliced open that girl from the other night, probably. Perhaps we should ask him.”
“Exactly.” I hissed back. “So don't you think we have bigger problems than one witch . . .” I trailed off.
Leo saw the stunned look on my face and gave me a smirk. “Ah. The dots are connecting.”
“Well, he didn't disembowel himself,” I said stubbornly.
“You said he came with a coven, though.”
“You think they turned on him?”
“I don't know,” he said with exaggerated patience. “We should ask him.”
“I told him that he'd been hurt.”
“Hurt. Not dead.”
“Right. I don't think that we should tell him the rest.”
Leo considered that, chewing on his lower lip. “You're right. Good thinking. We've got enough to deal with without him knowing about you. Hmm.” His head swiveled in the direction of the bathroom. I followed his gaze, and realized that I could no longer hear the hiss of the shower. Leo took a step in that direction and I grabbed his arm again.
“Let him get dressed,” I said, and Leo shrugged. Clearly, making Marcus comfortable was not a concern of his.
“Leo?” I asked.
“What?”
“Cody was with me when I found him. He knows about me.”
He searched my face. “He won't say anything.”
“I know. Just - I have to talk to him about it soon.”
“Agreed.”
“Leo?”
“What?”
“You . . . you called me your lover.” I was not altogether unpleased at how steady my voice sounded.
He looked at me dully. “So?”
“I just . . . I don't know.”
“Oh, Ebron,” he sighed. “Don't be so fucking dramatic.”
I didn't reply, and his eyes softened a little. He lifted his hand to cup the back of my neck, pulling me in for a hard, bruising kiss that left me gasping.
“We are,” he said softly against my mouth. “Don't worry about it. Keep your head in the game.”
And he stepped away from me, shrugging off his coat and throwing it on the couch. He sat, pulling Johnny into his lap. “So you got a deer, huh?”
“Yes.” I shook my head, and looked back down at the bloody tarp on the floor. Sighing, I dropped down to my knees and began rolling it up.
I stashed the tarp on the front porch, and came back in, shivering a little from the chilly air. Leo sat silently on the couch, his eyes hooded and dark.
“Ebron?”
The soft voice brought us both to attention, and I looked sternly at Leo as he leapt up, his hands curling into claws.
“Let me talk to him.”
He growled a little, an unhappy sound deep in his throat, but he settled back into the couch and gave me a dismissive wave.
Marcus peeked out of the hallway, dressed in my clothes and despite the fact that they fit well on his willowy frame, he still looked about ten years old, unsure and terribly lost.
“Hey,” I said, coming up to him in the dark hall.
“Who's here?” he asked, looking past me over my shoulder.
“A friend of mine. Um, let's just go sit down.”
I gave him an encouraging nod, but he still looked suspicious, and followed at a distance back into the living room.
Leo stood up in one smooth movement when Marcus walked in, and they both froze, staring at each other.
Leo sniffed, long and deep, and then his mouth opened, revealing his fangs.
“Leo-” I said in warning, but Marcus moved past me with slow steps, peering at Leo.
“What are you?” he asked in a low, fascinated voice. He raised a hand as though to touch and Leo's eyes flew to mine, looking confused.
Whatever we had expected, it wasn't that.
“Your energy is crazy weird,” Marcus continued, leaning over to examine Leo with interest.
“Ebron,” Leo growled, visibly holding himself back.
“Marcus, please sit,” I said loudly, clasping a hand on his shoulder and squeezing with enough force to make him turn to me with irritation on his face. But he nodded, eyes flicking back to Leo, and sat in the recliner, while Leo and I took the couch. A united front.
“Let's lay it all out on the table,” Leo said, clearly wanting to take charge of the proceedings. “You're a witch, yes?”
“Yes,” Marcus answered, lifting his chin up in a small, prideful motion. Even with his shaking hands and the deep hollows under his eyes, he looked terribly handsome. I glanced at Leo to see if he had noticed, but there was nothing there but low simmering anger.
“A young witch,” Leo said in a vo
ice that could have been construed as mocking, if one were feeling sensitive. Marcus's eyes flashed for a second, but he didn't take the bait.
“What did you do to Ebron?” Leo asked instead, and Marcus looked to me, but his face betrayed nothing.
“I didn't do anything to him,” he said, a little peevishly. “My turn. What are you?”
“A vampire,” Leo said, letting his voice purr and his fangs curl down his chin. I restrained myself from rolling my eyes. Who was being dramatic now?
“Really,” Marcus said in a slightly strangled voice. The line appeared between his eyes again, and something passed over his face. He gave a small, disbelieving scoff. “That's not possible.”
“Oh, okay,” Leo snarked. “You're the expert.”
“Jim would have told me if there was a vampire here.”
“Who the fuck is Jim and why do we care what he says?”
“My mentor,” Marcus snapped back irritably. “Our coven master.”
“Oh, God.” Leo rolled his eyes to me, and shook his head. “Fucking witches. Their whole set up is just so fucking gay.”
“Dude . . . ” I frowned at him.
Marcus looked seriously pissed now. “So you're a homophobe vampire, too?”
“Hardly,” Leo replied. Marcus looked between us for a second, searching for some connection, but neither Leo nor I budged. My heart pounded in my chest, and I struggled for something useful to say.
“You did do something to me,” I protested finally. “I felt it.”
Leo made a small, surprised motion, turning slightly towards me, but I ignored him, focusing only on Marcus. “And then when I got home that night, Leo almost killed me. He was totally out of it. Like possessed.”
“Oh.” A guilty shadow passed over his face and I leaned forward.
“You did! You did do something to me! What was it?”
He couldn't meet my eyes. “I didn't think it would work.”
When he didn't volunteer anything else, I reached over and tapped his hand with my finger, reluctant as I was now to touch him. Beside me, Leo tensed, but this time I felt nothing at all coming off of Marcus.
He glanced down at my hand on his, and then took a deep steadying breath.
“You can't tell Jim, okay?” he said, again sounding like a child. “Technically, I'm not allowed.”
“To do what?” I asked, and heard a bit of steel in my own voice that pleased me.
“I just wanted to see you again,” he said, and when Leo growled, he held up his hands. “I didn't know you were seeing anyone! I just wanted to have some fun while we were here and you're cute and” here his voice lowered, became uncertain. “. . . queer? Yes?”
Reluctantly, I nodded and he forged on. “So I just did a real quick spell. Nothing major. I just wanted you to want me, so that when I came in again you would go out with me.”
“A love spell?” Leo said flatly, disgust in his voice. “Are you kidding me?”
“It's not a love spell, per se -” Marcus trailed off, looking horribly embarrassed.
“How old are you?” I asked.
He looked up. “Twenty-two. Why?”
I shook my head.
“Let's move on,” Leo said, giving me a significant look. “Why did your little spell affect me like that?”
“I don't know. It was supposed to make people, uh, give in to their, you know, basic urges. I don't know how magic affects vampires. I've never met one before,” he added a little shyly. “What's your name, anyway? I'm Marcus.” and he stuck out a hand, giving Leo a small smile.
Leo ignored both the outstretched hand and the attempts at civility. “Why Ebron? If you aren't even allowed to do spells, why risk it on him?”
Marcus didn't miss a beat, switching his gaze to me. “I think that's fairly obvious.”
“So is that why you ended up half dead in the woods?” Leo asked impatiently, and Marcus turned sober again, looking at Leo with calculating eyes.
“I don't remember anything about last night,” he said, and I . . . didn't believe him. Neither did Leo, from the sounds he was making.
“Nothing at all?” Leo said incredulously. “Why were you in the woods? Who were you with? What were your plans?”
“I don't have to tell you anything,” Marcus snapped back. His hands curled around the arms of the recliner.
“Okay,” Leo said, more cautiously. “Why are you in Heckerson in the first place? Seems an unlikely place for a coven of witches.”
“Seems like an unlikely place for a vampire. What's your accent? You sound like the guy from Princess Bride.”
Leo made an undignified, sputtering noise at that, and I turned my face to hide my smile. Seeing my reaction, Marcus grinned.
“Look, I appreciate you helping me out,” Marcus said, making like he was going to stand up. “But I got to go. I need to find my friends.” He pushed up off the recliner, and Leo attacked suddenly, moving as a blur. He collided with Marcus and sent them both flying across the room.
I yelped and leapt up, upsetting Johnny who began to bark furiously. Leo pinned Marcus against the wall, one hand clasped around his throat. Marcus's feet dangled a few inches off the ground, and his eyes bulged from his reddening face, his mouth open and gaping. A gurgling noise escaped his lips. The mounted elk antlers on the wall shook precariously, and I winced.
“You're not going anywhere,” Leo said quietly, relaxing his grip just enough to allow Marcus a sliver of air. He inhaled madly, making a horrible whistling noise that made me cringe.
“You're going to kill him,” I said impotently from behind them.
Leo spared me a glance. “Not really a problem, is it?”
“Leo, my head is killing me.”
Leo dropped him and Marcus crumbled, slumping to the floor with his hands around his neck, gasping for air. I felt torn, glancing back between the fuming vampire and the seething witch. Instead of choosing either, I put my hand on top of Johnny's head, quieting him.
“You're going to talk now,” Leo said, settling himself back on the couch. Marcus knelt on the floor, gasping in ragged breaths. He glared at Leo with venomous eyes.
In disgust, I turned my back on the both of then, suddenly tired and absolutely done with the whole affair. I was still wearing my hunting gear, for God's sake, covered in blood and mud. My head pounded like a jackhammer and I wanted to eat something. The clock on the microwave told me it was nearly nine. I felt ready to drop.
“Look, we need to resolve this,” I said, turning around and standing with my arms over my chest. “I'm fucking tired, and I want this done.”
“Fine,” Leo said, and looked down at Marcus expectantly.
Marcus slowly climbed to his feet, holding on to his throat and exuding an air of extremely wounded pride. His eyes shimmered a bit, and I looked closer in surprise. Tears?
He sat gingerly on the arm of the recliner, keeping an eye on Leo. “I'm sorry I put a spell on you,” he said to me sulkily, without looking at me. He winced a little, and made a show of rubbing his throat. “I didn't think it would work. Look, I'm the junior member of our coven. This is my first time in the field. I've totally screwed it all up. I really need to find Jim and Shaina.”
“Not Corvin?” I asked. “And the redhead, what’s her name?”
“Morgan,” he said sullenly. Of course it was.
“Where are they?” I asked and he shrugged.
“Jim and Shaina should be at the hotel,” he said. “Corvin –”
“Oh, that’s right,” I interrupted. “He has business here, right?”
Leo gave me a quick, worried glance. “What business?” he asked.
Marcus made an exasperated sound. “I don’t know, he didn’t tell me! Like I said, I’m the junior member of the coven, they don’t tell me everything!”
“Where are you from?”
“Colorado. We live just outside Denver, in Cherry Hills.”
“I'm assuming that's a fairly posh area,” Leo said casually.
/>
“Why?”
“You just seem a little soft.”
Marcus bristled visibly, his jaw clenching.
“And why did you come here?” Leo continued.
“There was a Samhain celebration! In Missoula.”
“Of course Missoula,” I said in an aside to Leo and his mouth twitched before he fixed his gaze back on Marcus.
“What did you do last night?”
“I don't remember!” he shouted, then glanced at me, struggling to calm himself.
Leo considered him for a while, and none of us moved, locked in a tense stalemate. Finally, Leo rose and crooked a finger at me.
“Stay,” Leo said to Marcus, and Marcus pulled a face, slumping down into the recliner.
“Christ,” Leo muttered and I followed him into the kitchen.
“How do you propose we end this?” I asked tiredly, aching to just go lie down.
“We have to get these witches out of town,” Leo said in a low voice. “I don't want them here. And there is the matter of who killed that kid.”
“Aubrey?”
“No. Who's Aubrey? That kid in there.”
“Oh, right.”
Leo shrugged. “I guess we let him go, huh? Then we follow him and find the rest of the witches.”
I studied his face. “And then what, Leo?”
“They go away, Ebron. One way or another.”
I ran a hand over my eyes, scrubbing at the grittiness. “Fine. Whatever. You follow him. I'm going to bed.”
“Yeah, you should. You look terrible. And don't forget that deer, Ebron.”
“It'll be fine. It's like ten degrees outside.”
Leo looked at me then, giving me an intense once over. “Ebron . . .”
“What?”
“I'm sorry about all this.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“I just am.” The tender look in his eyes faded and was replaced by his usual brisk, all-business one. “Right. I'll see you tomorrow, then. If any more witches show up, kill them and we'll deal with it later.”
I groaned.
Chapter Thirteen
I got up early again, feeling rather like I hadn't slept at all. My legs and feet ached from the long hike yesterday, and my back and shoulders were burning. Dragging a deer carcass is no picnic, but I was confused at my own soreness until I remembered that I had been hauling around a lot more than just a dead deer.
