“They got a call about my grandmother.”
“I’m so sorry Bethany.”
I pull back and wave dismissively looking into his face. He looks so worried.
“Don’t be. She is fine. I think she might have been acting a bit nutty just to get them to call me so she had an excuse to see me in an actual business manner.”
He looks confused, I had been too. My visit with Gram had been weird, to say the least.
“Whatever for?”
I shrug. How much can I tell Brian? He is part of a rival clan; Gram might not appreciate me telling him anything about what went on during our meeting, even if he and I are living together.
“Family issues. Apparently, mom is making a play for the throne, or so Gram thinks. As far as I can tell she’s not being overly paranoid. They did show signs of being eager to get her out to the loony bin, or killed since that’s what we do to the loony ones.”
Brian shakes his head. “Even being a vampire I don’t understand it all. How can people dismiss the ones that raised them so easily? If they are insane I understand the need to make sure they don’t hurt people or expose our existence to outsiders, but if they are healthy and sane you should be glad to have them around for as long as you do.”
I shrug. “Vampires are by nature a greedy lot.”
He shakes his head. “A stupid lot in my opinion. I’d rather keep those I love close to me.”
He pulls me into his arms and I go willingly. I know we still have to talk, but for now I will just bask in the comfort of knowing he loves me and will continue to do so even if I go loony.
We discuss[CB5], and by discuss I mean argue about my behavoir a lot, get nothing solved, have sex, and go to bed. I stay awake wondering what the hell we are going to do. Brian doesn’t even feign sleep, he is on his computer working and has been since our alone time was over. I let him. I can never figure out what the hell he does on there, but I trust him to not be obsessed with porn. He’s not a teen anymore.
Gray light filters through the sheer curtains in the bedroom convincing me it is time to get up. I haven't slept anyway.
"Babe want some coffee?"
Brian nods not actually responding, but at least this way I know he heard me and wants coffee. We have fought about his lack of responses and assuming I can read his damn mind more than once.
I am pouring copious amounts of sugar and cream in mine when our doorbell rings. Luckily I threw on pjs before leaving the bedroom in case Jason shows up early. We are going to be opening presents today. A real Christmas. I am looking forward to it.
I throw open the door and instantly jump back and pull out one of the guns I have hidden around the house.
"Get the fuck out now."
Brian is there in the blink of an eye. Vampire speed is always so useful.
"We aren't here to fight with you miss…"
"The last time I worked with you I was kidnapped and tortured. Whatever you want you can go straight to hell."
Brian is full on vampire now. Red eyes, long ass canines, claws that can shred someone. I am not expecting both of us to come out of a fight with the Fae fully intact, but I swear to myself they will not come out peachy either.
"We need your help."
"I do believe I said get the fuck out. Let me add before I start shooting and we go vampire on your ass and show you what it's like to be a meal…"
"An earth Fae against a vampire? I know who would win."
The bitch from last time. Damn earth whore fairy. Great. Damn fucking secretary. If I had one ever they wouldn’t be nearly as ballsy as this one was[CB6].
"Well, its two vampires against three Fae, but you are right it's not a fair fight. Tell you what, Brian will only stand here looking menacing while I kill you fuckers."
Brian snarls. Huh, he likes that idea even less than the Fae. They are not stupid, the more I have to protect him the weaker I will be. Him being out of the way is far more dangerous for them than both of us together. He has never seen what a Fae can do. I have. Everything and then some.
"Now get out before I load you all with some blessed silver and quickly grab the gun with all the iron bullets."
She snorts, pushes her way in and sits down. Fucking overconfident bitch. One day I will knock her down a peg or two.
"We have a job for you."
"Been there, done that. Now go to hell. I want to open presents and eat cookies. It is Christmas."
"You never finished your job from last time…"
"BULL-FUCKING-SHIT!"
She glares and puts her hand up. What the fuck kind of nerve….is she really an earth fairy? How about a fucking iron one. Balls of steel she has.
"Kyle is not out of the picture."
I almost drop my gun. Because the Fae can deceive, but they can not outright lie.
"I killed him. I wasn’t completely sane, I will give you that, but I know I tore his throat out."
"Yes. You did."
So….how does that work? I nod and the others stand down. Brian pulls out his phone and walks into the other room. That tone of voice is reserved for when he and Jason are conspiring to talk me out of something. Great. Bring my brother into this.
"When a Fae dies they meld back into the earth. Their power is released from their physical forms and returns to the hill as protection for others."
This I know. You don’t have a Fae partner and learn nothing.
"So."
"His remains were not given the proper burial Fae need for everything to return to its proper place. We have since gotten his remains and tried the process, but it has not worked. He is still wreaking havoc."
"Wait, you are telling me he is a ghost? Like poltergeist, possession, moving books off shelves to show displeasure kind of thing…"
"Not exactly, but in essence yes. Just much more dangerous. A ghost, so to speak, with the power of a Fae."
Not fucking possible. If so incredibly dangerous. They are only hindered by their physical forms. Not having one would make him…"Invincible."
"Yes. What you are thinking is correct. We need your help. There is a history of it happening in the library in the palace, however the spell needed to exorcise him, so to speak, has been lost. We have no idea where to begin. Our libraries are so expansive and if they do not hold the information needed…well we do not know where to look."
Doesn’t matter what they do they will fail.
"We have our historians looking into it, but they need protection…."
"Call them back. The last thing you want is for him to kill them while they are outside the hill. If the oldest and wisest go who the hell will rationalize with the rest of you crazies."
"We do not have many options…."
"Call the shifter council first. Brian pack now and bring your laptop with the best protection software you can. If you are still on the phone with my brother tell him to pack now too!"
"What are you doing?"
I glare at them. "My brother has traveled to every continent and studied every religion known to mankind in the history of them. Many of them keep records. They know him so they will give him access to stuff you cannot have. But to work with you he needs to have permission from the council. So call them. Now. I need to pack."
I leave the room sighing. Damn, I am never getting an awesome Christmas.
"What the hell are you thinking helping them? Last time you almost died?"
"And this time the whole world could crash and burn if I don’t. No matter my issues with the Fae I can't say no can I? I have the best contacts. You hit the net, you can find anything. Jason can hit the ancient cultures and religions and keepers of history."
"What are you going to do?"
I have a big ass gym bag, it could fit a body in it, but no clothing goes in. Just guns, knives, my sword, holy water, and everything I will need to make more bullets for any kind of supernatural I might come across. Even the made up ones.
"I am going to be my brother's bodyguard. You work
with the Fae historians in the hill while we travel and find what we need. Anyone says no to him I will make an example of them."
"And if this ghost comes for you? You did kill him the first time."
I smile and finish dressing. Jeans, combat boots, and a tee. The clothing of champions. "I will kick his ass from one end of the afterlife to the other."
I toss the bag over my shoulder like it weighs nothing and walk out of the room. I hear him sigh and grab his equipment. He is not happy, but he does follow.
"You know I am getting really sick of being on a plane with you."
Miss thing sighs and laughs.
"I am good at my job…"
"Yeah like I care. After this job know that if I ever see you again I will kill you. I mean it. I don’t want anything to do with any of you ever again. The next time your leaders want my help they can come to me themselves. In all their wonderful sarcastic full of themselves glory."
She doesn’t say anything, but her lips thin and she gives a quick nod.
"Beth do not piss off the Fae while we are on their plane."
Jason says it but he doesn’t sound like he is worried about the outcome. Then again if they destroy the plane he and I can shift and save Brian and let them drop from high up or kill them. Brian, however, looks like he agrees with Jason's sentiment and not because he is polite. He is actually scared. Tense, red tint to the eyes, a slight growl when we hit turbulence. I didn’t expect it.
"So a team. I have never really had one before. Gonna be weird not being in charge. Up to the task Jason?"
He snorts at me and leans back.
"Of course. Though it would be better if I could be in the hill going over the archives myself as well as going to the places that might have information on this. But I can't be in two places at once."
"Wouldn’t that be useful? Brian up to the task of working with the Fae?"
I am hoping to distract him and impress upon him the need for diplomacy. I’m not which is worse, Jason getting into trouble out and about or Brian being alone with the Fae leaders?
"The sooner this is over the better. If they tell the vampire council there will be war so they would be wise to keep my involvement a secret."
Way to go subtly! And everyone says I am bad at it…
"Okay then maybe you should stay and protect Brian, Beth. Or send him home and you comb the archives while I travel. It's the same as my normal job without the getting dirty part."
"No. You need protection. Brian will be safe with the Fae."
Jason looks almost like a curious puppy with his head tilted and a slightly confused look on his face.
"How can you know that?"
I laugh. "Because they will have no leaders when I am done if anything happens."
The Fae tense even as Brian relaxes. Relaxed, but doesn’t look any happier. Apparently, he doesn’t like thinking of me going on a one-person war against the Fae over him. Well fuck everyone I will do it and I won’t regret anything that happens after.
"Let that be a warning miss reliable. He better get everything he needs. If he even complains on the phone about you being uncooperative or not giving him everything he needs your hill will never be the same. Is that understood?"
She’s not happy, but nods.
"You have my word he will be safe. No one will try to enchant him, harm him or do anything that will cause any effects negative or positive to him."
"Good. I don’t want have to try out my new invention of a fairy hill nuke. But make no mistake, I will."
I don’t actually have one, but I am a hell of a bluff which I know because everyone, including my guys, are shocked and all of a sudden way more serious than before.
"Also, I let my grandmother, the vampire princess, know where I am and who I am with. She will know to look for Brian as my mate and Jason as my family if something happens to me. She will also know I am here in a backup only capacity so if something happens to launch a full investigation."
This time I’m not bluffing. I did send a detailed letter and vials of my blood to her via courier while they were gone to meet with the shifter council. She has everything she needs to start a cure and all the information needs to track us all down. Just in case.
"You all are royal guests. No harm will come to you."
I snort but lean back and close my eyes. I need some rest. "If that were true you wouldn’t need us at all. Do not make promises you cannot keep. Everything you say is being recorded and sent back to my grandmother. She will know any promises you break and will not hesitate to call upon your old gods for retribution."
That is also true. Brian created an app for me to do just that so all I need to do is push a button and away it goes. Usually, it goes to his phone for records, but this time he is coming with so I replaced his number with my Grams.
"You do pay attention to what I say."
I nod and smile his way, but stay relaxed. "Of course honey." Now it is nap time. Who knoes how long it'll be before I can sleep again.
Chapter Four
We disembark and the déjà vu makes me so uncomfortable I want to turn and run. This is forcing me to face parts of myself I have been pushing down and ignoring so hard. So I pull my sarcasm and bad ass weapons closer and keep pace with the others. When in doubt, bury it.
"So where do we start?"
"Meeting the historians. Going into the hill will be…well, none of you are used to it so it will be uncomfortable. We have something to help, but you refused to allow alterations."
"It's ok we can handle itchy feelings and a slight headache. Keep your mead to yourself."
I don’t trust them to help without wanting something. Even though we are helping them. I want as little interference as possible from them. Nothing that will change our state of being. I cannot take the risk it will alter me. I have enough issues already.
The barrier makes me feel like I am going to be squished into a tiny ball. A nice little vampire-shifter ball. Somehow I feel I will still be alive at the end. This is slightly disconcerting to me.
The inside is beautiful and terrifying all at once. I know not to touch; we’ve all been briefed on the flora and fauna that are not harmless. I can see why others ignore the warnings. The trees look like someone has blended caramel and chocolate to make their trunks and the leaves are a deep emerald green. I can picture it being a good place to read and relax with a picnic. Plenty of shade, beautiful scenery, so peaceful. I fire my gun at the tree. I grabbed my iron bullets and I hear the tree hiss.
"Keep your 'come here' projections to yourself or there will be more than one branch missing. All of you keep that in mind."
The boys stop and shake their heads. I was right it had been affecting them.
"Look now boys. That’s the truth of it when they are not spreading pollen all over you to lure you."
This is the terrifying part. As the pollen clears from us the flowers turn into a much scarier version of a Venus flytrap. The tree has a single giant eye on the trunk and mouths that spread over the front and back. Yes, lots of mouths and yes they can all smile and leer. The tree, that beautiful looking maple, is not beautiful anymore. It’s dark brown and black swirled to hypnotize someone into depression. The branches flutter as fluid as a snake's body with tiny hands at the end of every single one. They can grab and devour many people at once.
"That is horrifying. I will have nightmares about forests for weeks."
Poor Jason that won’t leave him with many places to change and run. Then again it will be weeks before we can do that anyway. Brian looks at me. The eyes are red, the nails are starting to elongate and the fangs are showing. When one predator flashes their dick they all have to.
I toss Jason a gun. "Keep that. It's loaded with iron. I plan to leave some with Brian as well. Here in the hill, we will all be armed at all times."
Brian retracts the claws and catches the gun I toss him. At least he is a smart predator.
"Now take us to the council. I do not want
to hear any 'they are not ready', 'you are not allowed', or anything else like that."
"We got here early and…"
I shoot her. Secretary bitch had it coming. So I shoot her leg with an iron bullet. Her kneecap to be specific.
"I said do not tell me that. If you say anything other than this way or they will meet you at the library where we are going there right now we leave. There is nothing else to say. I told you, in the beginning, WE will run this operation if you do not like it we leave now."
She hisses once, I pull up my gun and shoot the ground next to her in warning. Every earth Fae is connected to the section I shoot is now getting iron poison.
"Next one is your head lady."
The key to dealing with the Fae is to realize you can’t make an enemy out of them because they already consider everyone an enemy. So you can’t make it worse. They may hate me, but they will fear me. With the Fae that is even better than liking or respecting me. They‘ve been the world's top predators for so long, hiding in plain sight, using magic to confuse and kill, they are arrogant. If their fear will help the case, they can fear me. To hell with them. I want this job done and to be out of here.
"This way to the council."
I shrug and lower my gun. "Not exactly one of the options I gave, but close enough so I will let it slide."
We continue walking and I see a bunch of healing Fae rush over to the spot I shot. They are trying to pull out the iron bullet and heal the damage before the hill is compromised. The poison will spread and take down the magic keeping them hidden and separate from our world if they don’t. It is a good way to show I am serious. I will doom the entire fucking race to extinction if it measn getting Jason and Brian out safely. I don’t care what I have to do. They will make it home whole.
The council chambers, where the leaders sit waiting for us, is intense. Black and silver marble, which I didn’t know existed, make up the floor, columns that are easily thirty feet tall, and ceiling. The place has tapestries hanging from ceiling to floor of great battle-hardened warriors in the Fae world. Yeah, it is easy to be awesome with magic and near immortality.
Shifting Truth Page 4
