“Who is Cooper?” he asked as he followed her to the stairs.
“An old friend and a doctor. We’ll be back in a bit,” Trinity called out as they left the room.
***
Felicity stood in the room, alone with her father for the first time, feeling more than a little nervous. She liked him well enough, but …she didn’t know him. She knew of him, knew the things Rajana had told her about her beautiful son—and now Felicity knew what she meant by his beauty. Still…she didn’t know him.
“Your mother told me stories about you as a child,” she began, taking a deep breath and telling herself to relax. “She said you were a precocious child.”
Basil smiled and the beauty of him shone even brighter. “That I suppose I was.”
“Did she enhance your age as well?”
His face took on a sadness. “No, I aged as most regular vampires age. I am so sorry she did that to you, Felicity, and trust me when I tell you she will pay for what she’s done to you.”
“My mother said as much as well. She longs for the child she never had.”
“As do I. We had so many plans for you.” He took her hands in his, gently holding her in place. “It wasn’t so long ago that I touched you for the very first time, and now you stand before me, a young woman. A beautiful young woman. I had a wish for you when you were born. I wished for you to grow to see the sunlight. That is a wish I mean to keep. If all goes well, Dusty will help us with that.”
“Does that mean you like him now?”
Basil smiled again, one side of his mouth curving up a little more than the other. “Like? Let’s say I tolerate him.”
“He is a good man. He has done nothing but treat me pleasantly.”
“I was a young man once as well and I know very well what thoughts he has. Young men, men in general, can be very persuasive when needed. If he’s persuaded you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, I want you to feel comfortable telling me.”
“He has persuaded me to do nothing I did not want to do.”
“Okay.”
“He treats me very well, Father—Dad,” she amended, remembering what he’d asked of her. “Do not worry.”
He chuckled once, tipping his head back. “That’s impossible.” He looked her in the eyes. “I’m a father of a very beautiful young lady whom any man would die to have.”
“I do not wish anyone to die for me.”
“It was just a figure—”
“Of speech. Yes, I know. I wish people would just speak clearly so I would be less confused.” When the front door opened with several people rushing in, she jumped, diving behind her father in protection. Then she saw that it was her parents’ friends, and she relaxed.
“We came as fast as we could,” Jonah said eagerly. “What’s the emergency?”
“I’ll explain it when Trinity comes back down here. In the meantime, anyone want a drink?”
She watched as her father mingled with his guests, wishing with all her heart she could have grown up with him as her father.
She had most definitely missed out on a great deal.
***
“There, that should help.”
His skin felt oddly cool and as Dusty looked into the mirror, he saw the shimmer of the ointment Trinity had applied to his sore flesh. His face looked red and raw but at least it didn’t burn like fire any more. “That is some powerful ointment. It’s like it numbed my face but not so much that I can’t feel it.”
“Cooper is a god with medicinal stuff. What did you and Basil discuss before you came home?”
He glanced at her, then pursed his lips as he replied, “If I tell you, he might kill me. I think it would be best if you let him tell you.”
“Trust me when I tell you I am a more powerful being to be afraid of than Basil.”
Great, now he had two powerful parents to worry about. “I just can’t win.” Throwing his arms in the air, he paced the large washroom, and that was an understatement. A queen-sized bed and dresser could fit in the washroom, along with the tub, toilet, and sink. “If I tell you, he’ll string me up; if I don’t, you will.”
“I know, we’re not being fair to you, are we?”
“No.”
“Sucks to be you. Spill.”
He was spared by a knock on the door. When Trinity opened it and he saw who was on the other side, he tilted his head in recognition. “I know you.” The gentleman before him had come to him some time ago and had promised to save him.
“Sweet heaven. I thought I would never see you again.”
“You two know each other?” Trinity inquired.
“This is the young man I instructed you and Basil to rescue.” The gentleman turned to him, a smile wide on his face. “It eases my heart to know you were saved.”
“Thanks to Felicity. Long story. What a small world. I don’t even know your name.”
“Cooper Hawthorn. You are the young man our Felicity found to protect her. How wonderful is that?” He beamed a smile that lit his eyes. “Basil asked me to come up and hurry you along,” he said to Trinity.
“We were just finishing up.”
Saved by the bell, indeed. Dusty exited the bathroom. At least now he was safe. As he came down the stairway he saw a room full of people. Most of them were vampires and he was a little unnerved by that. Despite the fact that he was one too.
He hoped whatever they were going to discuss wouldn’t take long. He really needed to get back to his prisoner before the guy woke up.
“You look shiny,” Felicity said as she came up to him.
“Trinity put ointment on me. My face doesn’t burn as much now.”
“Wonderful.”
“Let’s get this ball rolling.” Basil did a quick introduction and Dusty hoped he got everyone’s names straight. While Basil explained to the crowd why he had called them and what part Dusty played, Dusty did his best to memorize the names.
The middle-aged-looking, dark-haired man’s name was Dante, beside him was Gypsy. Odd-looking hair color, but he wasn’t overly fond of green. Then there was another dark-haired man who looked about Dusty’s own age whose name was Danny, and the woman beside him with red hair was Starla. To her left was Jonah and his girlfriend, Raven. Out of all of them, Dusty felt most at ease with Jonah. There was something kind in his eyes. Of course there was Cooper and his wife, Gabriella. Basil seemed very interested in the fact that Dusty and Cooper knew each other.
“When we went in looking for you, you were gone.”
“Yeah,” Dusty responded to Basil. “I was moved shortly after Cooper showed up. Go figure.”
“The place they took you to was the place where Chaos came into play?”
Dusty nodded at Basil. Beside him, Felicity sat quietly. “Yeah, at the warehouse.”
“When was the last time you saw him there?”
“The day I was taken out to be initiated by some of his men.”
“Initiated?” Dante inquired.
“To prove my loyalty to him I was supposed to hunt down this kid they let loose and turn him into a vampire. I’m pretty grateful Felicity showed up when she did.” He squeezed her hand.
“Okay, so I gather the plan is to go check out this warehouse?” Danny asked.
“Yes, but first,” Basil turned his attention to Dusty. “Have you fed off anyone since you last fed off of Chaos?”
“Yes.” Please don’t ask me who.
“Damn it. How long ago?”
Crap. Why couldn’t he just let it go? “Yesterday.”
“Damn it—wait…”
Here it comes. Dusty cringed.
“Who did you feed off of and you had better not say my daughter.”
“We fed off of each other,” Felicity stated boldly.
Was there a hole he could crawl into?
“It was very stimulating.”
Quite a few of the guests in the room chuckled at Felicity’s comment but Dusty wished now that instead of crawling into a hole, one would swallow him up. Especially when Basil narrowed his blue eyes on him and growled. Were his eyes glowing?
“On that note,” Trinity began, pulling Basil up with her when she stood. “You boys should get going.”
At that moment, Dusty was mighty glad for the interruption. Until he realized he was one of the boys.
Chapter Twenty
Felicity found herself surrounded by women. Though she had been reluctant to let Dusty go, she’d been reassured by her mother that he would be fine and that they would occupy her time with some girl talk.
What in the Realm was girl talk?
“So what was it like living in the Realm?” Gypsy asked in what Felicity came to recognize as her usual exuberance.
“It is bright, warm, quiet…and lonely.”
“Aw…” Gypsy sighed.
“Did you have any friends in the Realm?”
“I was not allowed to communicate with the others,” Felicity explained to Starla. “I was kept in a secluded area of the Realm.”
“That is just downright depressing. Well, you’re among friends now,” Gypsy reassured her with a gentle pat of her hand. “None of us really had any real friends either, until we met each other.”
“We have cake, cookies, and potato chips to go with the wine.”
Raven and Trinity entered the room with two trays of food that looked both tempting and intriguing. “What is wine?”
“Oh lord, she was deprived.” Gypsy grabbed a glass. She handed it to Felicity. “This, you poor girl, is the drink of gods.”
“Sip it slowly,” her mother advised as she took a seat beside Felicity on the sofa.
The liquid in her glass was red and smelled faintly of berries. With trepidation, Felicity lifted it to her lips to taste. As she took a tiny bit into her mouth she felt the sting of it. But when she swallowed it, she tasted the smoothness and the ripe taste of some sort of fruit. It was interesting to say the least. So she took another sip.
“Careful. Too much too fast will get you drunk,” her mother advised while handing her a dish with cake.
“What is drunk?” Felicity took the cake, eager to sample it. If it was as tasty as the last one she’d sampled, she was in for a treat.
“Getting loopy, hammered.” Gypsy gulped down half of her glass.
“I don’t understand those words.”
“She means you’ll feel high, your eyesight will blur and you’ll have this euphoric sense that makes you feel good,” Raven explained, taking her own slice of cake.
“Oh, like when I orgasm.” Her mother spat out the wine that was in her mouth and began to choke. “Are you all right?” Felicity stroked her mother’s back as she fought to calm her cough.
“She’ll be fine,” Gypsy reassured with a smirk. “You get to have sex in the Realm?”
“What did I say to you, Gypsy?” her mother stated with a raspy voice. “No talking about sex with my daughter.”
“You said that was when she was little and since we never got to see her little I see no reason why we can’t discuss it now, given the fact that she’s an adult.”
“I did not have sex in the Realm,” Felicity informed Gypsy, not understanding much of what was being discussed between Gypsy and her mother.
“But you know what an orgasm is?” Gypsy pursued.
“How do you think the guys are doing?” her mother interrupted, then swiftly lifted her glass to her lips.
“I assume they are doing fine,” Felicity remarked to her mother before turning back to Gypsy. “I had sex with Dusty. He was my first sexual partner. I quite enjoy having sex with him.”
“A woman after my own heart,” Gypsy quipped with a broad smile, touching her glass to Felicity’s.
“Oh man…”
Felicity didn’t understand it when her mother lowered her head to her knees. She thought perhaps she was ill.
“Can we change the subject?”
She realized her mother wasn’t ill, but instead, did not want to hear about Felicity’s sex life as Dusty had explained.
“I like cake. I think I would like to eat this every day.” With that said, a new conversation began and as the talks continued, Felicity noticed her mother felt more at ease.
Perhaps Dusty was right. Parents didn’t like hearing about their child’s sex life after all.
***
Dusty was beyond relieved for the conversation that had gone on while they drove to their destination. Though the evil looks Basil kept sending him were enough to make him wither. He feared if the rest of the men hadn’t been there, Basil would most definitely follow through on his threat to have him drawn and quartered.
He was too young to die.
“Is this it?”
Turning his attention away from Basil, Dusty looked out the car window at the big building to his left. “Yep, that’s the place.” When Basil stopped, Dusty grew worried. “Um…we’re not going in there, are we?” He really didn’t want to be seen by those animals again. Not after the way they’d treated him.
“Not we, me.” Basil slipped out of the car.
Before he knew it, everyone else was exiting the car. Not wanting to seem like a ’fraidy cat, Dusty followed.
“What are you planning, Basil?” Dante asked, leaning against the car beside Basil.
“I’m going to go in there and have a look around.”
Dusty laughed, which had everyone turning to him. “You’re just going to walk in there and look around?” The guy was scary but Dusty doubted very much Basil could manage alone against a dozen or more like him. He was nuts if he thought otherwise.
“Trust me, boy, they won’t even know I’m there.”
Dusty’s jaw dropped when, before him, Basil shrank into a…rat. He actually turned into a rat. “How the hell? Did he just… I think I need to sit down.”
“Kid’s gonna black out on us.”
He wasn’t sure which one of the men said it as he slid down the car to land with a hard plop on the cold gravel road.
“Stay with us, kid.”
He shook his head clear and looked up at Jonah. “Did he just turn into a…rat?”
“Yep.”
“A rat?”
“He likes to change into the canine persuasion, but in cases like this, a rat is best. He can go unnoticed easier.”
Dusty stared at Dante with his jaw, once again, dropped. “How is that possible?”
“Basil comes from two of the original vampires who also possess those abilities and a few more. He can transport himself anywhere he wants just like this.” Jonah snapped his fingers.
“Shit!”
“Hey, does Felicity have those abilities too?” Danny inquired.
Dusty had no idea. “She can incinerate a person just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “And I’ve seen her make things disappear, but I have no idea if she can change into…things.” How weird would that be?
“I’m guessing she can. She’s Basil’s child after all. How long do you think we’ll have to wait for him to come out?” Dante asked, picking up a handful of gravel and tossing it in his hand.
“With Basil, it could be minutes or hours. Might as well make ourselves comfortable, boys.”
Beside him, Dante, Danny, and finally Jonah, sat on the ground and stared out into the darkness across the field to where the warehouse sat.
“He can change into anything?”
“Yep,” Dante responded.
“And you won’t even know it’s him,” Jonah added. Leaning real close, he spoke in
a lower tone. “So I’d watch what you do with his daughter if I were you.”
Great, now he had another thing to worry about. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Basil appeared before them. “Jesus!”
“Well?” Dante asked as he, Danny and Jonah got to their feet.
“No sign of him and damn that place is disgusting.” Basil waved a hand in front of his face.
“Yeah…I don’t think any of them know the meaning of ‘pick up after yourself’,” Dusty supplied, still eyeing Basil skeptically. “You can change into anything?”
Smiling rather deviously, Basil came right up to Dusty’s face as he spoke. “Anything. Scared?”
“Hell yeah.” Dusty swallowed the bile threatening to rise.
“Good. Remember that the next time you think about putting your hands on my daughter.” He turned to the rest of the men. “I want a daily guard set up here. Just because Chaos wasn’t here now doesn’t mean he may not show up at some point. Danny, you and Dante can take the first shift. Jonah and I will relieve you in four hours.”
“Aye aye, Captain.” Danny saluted him.
“I’ll take these two home, then come back with the car. Come on, kid.”
Reluctantly, Dusty went with Basil. What other choice did he have? But the instant he had a free moment, he was going to head back to the clinic.
He only hoped his prisoner was still there.
***
Dusty had made up his mind on the drive back to the castle. He was going to explain to Felicity that he felt more comfortable staying at the clinic than in her parents’ home. He knew she was going to either beg him to stay or insist she go with him. Though he wasn’t sure how he was going to do it, Dusty knew he had to make her see that it was better if they stayed apart for the time being. They could see each other still, he’d tell her, but living together just wasn’t going to work. Not until her father felt more at ease with the man her daughter was involved with. Dusty could only hope that it happened soon.
Relieved that Basil wasn’t coming into the house, Dusty hurried inside to tell Felicity he couldn’t stay. When Jonah clamped a hand on his shoulder, stopping him at the door, he fully expected the lecture he was about to get.
Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 06] Page 13
