Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3)

by Julie Wetzel

  “No.” She shook her head. “I was out of my normal stuff this morning and had to call to the local grocer to get some more. I ordered my regular beans, but they sent this instead.”

  “What happened to your normal coffee?” Darien asked, looking at her. With as much coffee as Sue made, it was inconceivable that she would’ve run out like that.

  “I supply the grounds for several of the departments in the building.” Sue shrugged and looked down at the counter. “It’s not uncommon for them to come get what they need before I get in.”

  “So you leave the cabinet unlocked?” Darien gave her a pointed look.

  The barista cringed and nodded.

  “Well, that stops right now,” he said firmly. “It’s fine if you supply the coffee for the different departments, but they will have to get it when you’re here.”

  Sue nodded, ready to start crying again. She flinched, expecting pain when he reached out and touched her shoulder. When nothing happened, she looked up into his face.

  “If anything like this happens again, please let me know.”

  Sue just shivered for a moment before nodding her agreement.

  “Do me a favor. Get rid of that garbage and go get the right stuff.” Darien patted her shoulder one more time before moving past her.

  Sue stared at him, surprised that he was being so lenient after his words in the office. “Yes, Master.” She clutched the top of the coffee machine to her.

  “Come on, Miss Westernly. I still have files to get through, and I may need your help with them.”

  Vicky touched Sue’s arm reassuringly before turning and following Darien back out of the café.

  Sue watched the pair leave before turning her attention back to the bag of mystery coffee. She was sure she had Vicky to thank for the drastic change in Darien’s mood, but she wouldn’t be happy until she found out where the blessed coffee beans had come from.

  “Darien?” Vicky looked up from where she was curled on the couch, pulling on a few of Zak’s tentacles. The hellhound had wiggled into her lap as soon as she had gotten home and changed into her yoga pants.

  “Hmmm?” Darien looked up from the files he was working on. He had tried to go over the coffee-soaked files at the office, but the stains kept burning his fingers, and he could still feel the holy energy coming from the top of his desk where the coffee had soaked into the wood. After about twenty minutes of trying to ignore the angry bite from the desktop and the stings from droplets of coffee on his clothing, Darien had given up and announced that they were going home early. He had Vicky collect the personnel files so he could take them home to read in more comfort.

  “Why would anyone want to bless coffee?”

  The same question had been running through his mind since they found the bag of beans. Letting out a deep sigh, he sat away from the glass table to look at her. “I have no idea.” He shook his head and took off the gloves he was using to look through the files. Darien leaned back against the couch and tilted his head back to contemplate the ceiling for a while. Maybe, if he let his thoughts drift, he could come up with a plausible answer.

  “Do you think someone is out to hurt you?” Vicky asked.

  Darien let out a sickened chuckle and closed his eyes; she had just asked the second question swirling in his mind. “I can’t think of anyone that wants to hurt me.” He lifted his head so he could look at her. “And the coffee wouldn’t have killed me, even if it had been made with pure holy water. It would have just put me down for a few days while I healed.” He paused as he thought about the consequences of drinking holy water in a public place. “And it would have been interesting getting out of work with half my face missing.”

  “Maybe that was the whole point.” Vicky’s eyes held concern. “Something that would have exposed you for what you are.”

  Darien considered this angle for a moment. “That is true, but I still can’t think of anyone who could have switched the coffee.”

  “What about Jack?”

  Darien snorted in disgust at the idea. “Something like that takes time, planning, and connections.” He shook his head again. “Jack hasn’t had the time to come up with something that elaborate. And I seriously doubt he had the ability to get someone to bless coffee beans. You can’t just soak them in holy water and expect not to ruin them. Someone’s been working on this for a while.” Darien leaned his head back on the couch again to think.

  “True.” Vicky turned her attention back to the fay in her lap. She rolled the events of the last few days over in her mind. “I wish Mom would have taken you up on the offer to stay a few days longer. She really could have used the company after he broke her heart like that.” She sighed, thinking about the way her mother had smiled when she left on Sunday. Ann had insisted she needed to get back so she could be on time for work on Monday. She had, at least, called to let Vicky know she had made it home all right.

  Darien looked up at the forlorn note in Vicky’s words. “She’ll be fine.” He smiled at her. “I’m sure Jack won’t give her any problems.” His attention was pulled away from Vicky when the elevator door opened in the foyer. “Hello?” he called to whomever had just invaded his home.

  “Hello,” Rupert’s voice echoed from the other room.

  Darien sat up when he heard the click of claws on the wooden floor. Rupert and Elliot came into the living room and looked at Darien.

  Rupert turned his attention back at the opening to the foyer. “Come on,” he said, patting the denim over his thigh. A tawny wolf slunk into the room and bumped into his leg. He sunk his fingers into the whining wolf’s fur.

  Vicky sat up when she recognized Sue’s wolf form.

  “Good evening, Master Darien, My Lady.” Elliot nodded his head and moved over so he was leaning against the wall, leaving Rupert and Sue standing in front of the fireplace.

  “Elliot, Rupert, Sue,” Darien greeted his unexpected guests.

  Sue cringed when he said her name.

  “Have a seat.” Darien moved to the far end of the couch and waved for Rupert to sit.

  Rupert stood, unmoving, next to Sue.

  “And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this evening?”

  “I heard about the incident at the office today,” Rupert said carefully as he studied Darien’s T-shirt and loose, cotton pants. He had changed out of the soiled suit as soon as he had gotten home. “We are here to offer you our most sincere apologies.”

  “There’s no need for that.” Darien waved the apology away. “It was a simple misunderstanding.”

  Rupert scoffed at him.

  “But, if you insist on an apology.” He turned his attention to the wolf hiding against Rupert’s leg. “Come here, Sue.”

  Sue whined loudly and pressed into Rupert’s side harder.

  “Go on.” Rupert leaned over and whispered to her. “It’ll be okay.” He patted Sue, and she slunk over to the vampire waiting for her.

  She held her head down, groveling as she came.

  “Look up here, Sue.” Darien caught up the sides of her face and raised it until she was nearly eye level with him. “If anyone owes anyone an apology, it is me. I let my pain and anger get the better of me in the office and snapped at you. I’m sorry.”

  Sue’s eyes widened in shock.

  “You have worked for me for a long time, and it was wrong of me to think you would have put holy water in my coffee. Can you forgive me?”

  Sue whined again and dropped her head down to bump it into his chest.

  Darien chuckled and scratched his fingers into the fur around her neck. “All right, I will accept your apology, too.”

  Sue stepped back from him and wagged her tail slightly.

  “Just be careful with your coffee stash.”

  Nodding her head, she went back over to rub against Rupert’s leg again.

  “See.” Rupert slapped Sue on the hip, “I told you he wasn’t unreasonable. Now cut out the sulking.” Pulling off his coat, Rupert dropped it over
the arm of the couch before taking up Darien’s earlier offer and sitting down next to the vampire. “She’s been upset since she got home. It was all I could do to get the story out of her before she shifted.” He watched as Vicky patted the sofa next to her and Sue hopped up carefully to lie down. “I called Elliot and asked if he would be willing to come help me check out the grocer where Sue ordered the coffee.”

  Elliot pushed away from the wall and came over to sit in the loveseat between the couches.

  “And?” Darien looked from one man to the other.

  Rupert sighed. “The grocer had never heard of that brand of coffee before.”

  “I even walked the shelves to see if I could find anything.” Elliot tried to keep the smile from his face. “But there was nothing unusual.”

  “You find this amusing?” Darien asked, a little offended.

  “Actually,” a grin broke across Elliot’s face, “I do.” He snickered.

  Darien smiled and shrugged. “Well, yeah, I guess the idea of attacking a vampire with blessed coffee is kind of funny,” he admitted.

  “Well…” Rupert went back to his story. “We talked with the grocer about it. His normal delivery boy didn’t show up today, so he called a courier service to deliver the four packs of coffee.”

  The whine Sue let out drew the man’s attention.

  “If you want to join the conversation, you will have to shift back.” Turning back to Darien, Rupert ignored his sister. “I haven’t been able to locate the courier he used and don’t have any way to check into what happened after they reached your company.”

  Sue snorted her frustration and lowered her head to the couch.

  “I’ve already called security to look into who might have taken the stock from the café, but the cameras there focus on the area in front of the counter, not behind,” Darien answered. “I’ll look over the tapes tomorrow to see if I recognize anyone.”

  “And you didn’t do that today?” Rupert sounded shocked.

  “There are about twelve hours’ worth of tape to go through.” Darien shrugged. “I’ll let security go over them.”

  “Someone makes an attempt on your life, and you’re going to leave it to hired hands to find the culprit?” Rupert said, exasperated.

  “I trust my security personnel,” Darien replied. “Besides, a little holy water isn’t going to kill me.”

  “No, but it can make life miserable,” Elliot pointed out. “I’m surprised you’re already healed up from it.” He leaned forwards to get a better look at Darien’s mouth. “It took me two weeks to heal the last time holy water was spilled on me.” He gave Darien a sharp look.

  Darien glared right back at him. “And you shouldn’t have been poking around in my cabinets.”

  “You’re a vampire!” Elliot rolled his eyes. “Why do you even have holy water?”

  Darien turned to Rupert. “Do you have silver bullets?”

  Rupert’s brow wrinkled at the question. “Umm… yes,” he answered, not sure he wanted to know where Darien was going with the question.

  “See, I’m not the only one that keeps deterrents around.” He nodded at Elliot.

  Rupert just laughed and shook his head.

  “Three bags.” The scratchy voice sounded from one end of the other couch.

  Vicky gasped when her eyes landed on Sue, curled up, naked, on the couch. She had been so caught up in the men’s conversation that she had missed her friend shifting next to her.

  Sue sat up and cleared her throat.

  “Nice to see you’re joining us,” Rupert smiled at his sister. “What did you say?”

  Sue tucked her legs up under her in a more comfortable position and went on with her story. “There were only three bags delivered.” She pushed her short hair back from her face as she talked. “I was delighted when Howard brought the shopping bag up from the front desk. He said he was coming up to get breakfast for Lucy and thought he would save me the trip down.” She looked over at Vicky to explain. “She’s pregnant, and her stomach has been bothering her lately.” Sue looked back at the men sitting on the other couch. “Anyway, he dropped the bag off and left with a muffin before I had the chance to open up the sack to see what was inside.”

  “Who’s Howard?” Vicky asked, pulling the throw from the back of the couch and handing it over to Sue.

  The naked werewolf gave the blanket an odd look before taking it and wrapping it around her shoulders.

  “Howard’s the security guard from the main lobby,” Darien explained.

  “Do you know everyone who works for you?” Elliot asked, surprised that Darien would know the little people in his company.

  “Not everyone,” Darien sighed, “but I do know the ones that I’ve give positions. Howard is one of Rachel’s long-term pets.”

  “Do you hire a lot of the people from the kisses?” Vicky asked. After the way Clara’s menagerie had talked about him, she didn’t think Darien had anyone from that world besides Sue working for him.

  “Only a few,” he admitted. “Rachael, Lillian, and William have all asked if I could hire some of their people desperately in need of jobs. I have no problem helping out as long as they are willing to work.” Darien looked over at Rupert. “A few of your wolves are in my security, and some vampires works in the janitorial staff.”

  “Vampires work?” Vicky questioned. She knew Darien ran his company, but he was special. How does someone who can only be out at night hold down a regular job?

  “Of course we work.” Elliot laughed. “Being turned doesn’t mean we automatically become rich and can lounge around like some people I know.” His eyes twinkled as he looked over at Darien. “We still have most of the same problems normal people do, we just have a different diet and more limited hours.”

  “If anything, vampirism makes life harder these days.” Darien sighed. “It used to be much easier to raise fledglings.”

  “Yeah,” Elliot laughed. “You just took over a large house on the outskirts of some town and stayed until the townspeople drove you out.”

  “And if you were careful,” Darien added, “that would take a while. But, it’s not the same now. Hiding isn’t easy with all the governmental rules and regulations. Miss just one payment on anything, and everyone comes knocking on your door.”

  “Oh, and the identification thing is murder.” Elliot dropped his head back to stare up at the ceiling. “Getting a driver’s license after dark is next to impossible, and then you have to worry about your two forms of ID.” He sat up and looked at Vicky. “You’ve got to keep up with your paperwork. It’s rather entertaining trying to explain why your birth certificate and social security card are ninety years old, but you only look twenty-five.”

  “And cameras,” Rupert piped in. “Everyone has cameras now. One wrong shift, and it’s all over YouTube.”

  Darien shrugged. “To be honest, I’m surprised we’re still hiding.”

  Elliot raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Maybe you’ve forgotten about the last time someone found out we were vampires.”

  “Oh, no,” Darien reassured him. “I still have a pitchfork from one of the villagers.” He grinned.

  Elliot rolled his eyes at him.

  “What are you going to do about the coffee?” Sue drew the boys out of their rant and back to the subject at hand.

  Darien sighed. “I’ll have security check out the tapes and see if they can find who switched them.” He shrugged and looked down at the stained files he had been going through. “There’s not much more I can do until I find out who switched the bags.”

  Rupert asked the question everyone wanted an answer to: “Who would want to hurt you?”

  “I have no idea.” Darien sighed. “I don’t think I’ve upset anyone in the supernatural community, and I don’t think any of my business associates know what I am.”

  “Do you think this has something to do with your car accident the other day?” Rupert tried connecting the two incidents.

  “Maybe,”
Darien said quietly as he thought. “But, again, I can’t think of anyone who would want me dead.” He looked up at the alpha. “Someone is going to pay for that wreck when I find out who is responsible.”

  “Any luck on that?” Elliot asked.

  Darien shook his head. “Other than the stolen van, there’ve been no leads.”

  “I think you might need some more security,” Rupert added. “I’m sure these attacks can’t be random.”

  “Point.” Darien sighed again. “I’ll have management change the code on the elevator here. Victoria,” he turned his attention to Vicky, listening on the couch, “remind me tomorrow to have security tightened at work.”

  Vicky nodded.

  Darien turned his attention to Elliot. “Have you told the Vampire Council about this?”

  Elliot shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “Let’s wait until we find out what is going on before sharing this news,” Darien said softly. “I would like to keep this quiet, in case someone is after me.” Elliot and Rupert both agreed it was for the best. Darien turned his attention to the two girls watching him. “Victoria, why don’t you take Sue upstairs and find her something to wear? I’m sure she would rather not shift again so soon.”

  “All right,” Vicky agreed and stood up from the couch.

  Zak grumbled at being moved from her lap.

  “Come on, Sue.”

  Sue looked at the three men for a moment before following Vicky out of the room.

  Zak wobbled after the girls.

  When they topped the steps, Vicky turned to look at the woman wrapped in the blanket. “I’m worried,” she admitted.

  Sue just smiled at her. “So am I,” she agreed. “In the forty years I’ve worked for Master Darien, no one has ever made an attempt on his life.”

  Vicky stopped and stared in shock at the werewolf.

  Sue paused when she notice Vicky’s shock. “Are you okay?”

  “Did you just say forty years?” Vicky asked, questioning her own hearing.

  Sue nodded.

  “You’ve worked for Darien for forty years?”