Awakened (A Fairy Tales Novel)

by Melanie Walker

  When Briar found the knife, Fil would come at her full swing and knew damn well Weaver didn’t have the power to keep her safe. Fil was more powerful when it came to muscle but Weaver had allies.

  “I’ll pass along your request and we will talk soon.” Tiny said leaving the office. She didn’t need to waste her time or Weavers. He would take the deal she knew it and the thought of Briar at the mercy of Weaver made Tiny sick. Hopefully Weaver would have a plan or else Briar was as good as dead.

  *

  Chapter Ten

  Sitting next to Bri at the little counter bar in Denny’s was by far one of her most favorite men of all time. “Pete?” She shrieked and wrapped her arms snug around the only man she could tolerate for any amount of time. At four foot nine Peter Pan was by far the best dressed man in the place. His Armani suit was double breasted and the dark grey was accented by a very pale pink pin stripe.

  His cuff links sparkled in the dim light the auburn hair he was known for was styled perfectly. Had he been a foot taller and straight Bri would have begged him to run away with her. “How are you?” She asked letting him free of her embrace as the waitress came by and asked for his order.

  With a cough and a sniff he leaned over to get a view of Briar’s coffee. Turning his nose he shook his head no. “Water please, in a clean glass if possible.” He said his English accent demanded its presence and he held that frightening air to him that commands respect. The waitress seemed taken aback by his request but complied with a smile. That was Pete. Absolutely terrifying but impossible not to love.

  “How are you my darling?” He asked kissing her gently on both cheeks, lingering over the scars that the server had certainly taken more than a gander of. To Pete they didn’t matter. “I think I might have missed out on your presence had you been blocking. I’m frightened to ask what the big change in appearance is for.”

  The server dropped his water on the counter and scurried off and he smiled that charming lift of his cupids bow mouth. “I think I scared her.”

  Briar laughed and sipped her terrible coffee to stunned to wipe the smile from her face. She loved Pete but if he was here it meant someone was about to get good and gone. “I am on the hunt. I need all the strength I can get and hiding the scars takes too much out of me so I’m all natural for the time being.”

  He leaned in and spoke softly. “The hunt you say. Do tell?”

  She explained the hunt for the knife and watched as his eyes lit up. “Neverland would offer assistance to you and your team and anything that comes our way, Lola and I will make sure you know about it.”

  Pete was the only thing as equally terrifying as Ezek and ran the broken dreams department of Hell. A harbinger for lack of a better term, of broken dreams, Neverland was the place that you went when all that were left were your broken dreams. And he would surely be able to find something tangible to the search. The world was full of demons and humans alike who died by way of silly pipe dreams. Briar desperately needed to get in touch with Ezek and the girls because with Pete’s help they had a shot in Hell.

  “So tell me are you and the Vampire still rolling in the satin lined coffin or did Prince Charming scurry off when he realized he wasn’t good enough for you?”

  “We are working together but no…we are no longer rolling in the coffin. Good one by the way.” Briar said laughing.

  “I wasn’t sure if you would get the intended pun. I for one roll in the sheets as often as possible but never would I willingly climb in a coffin no matter how great a piece of ass it was.”

  She drew her brows together and looked right at him with a smile in her eyes. “Pete we fucked in a bed and slept there as well. Coffins are a thing of the past, haven’t been used since Ashess’ days.”

  “Oh yes Ash, tell me how is Cinderella- wait don’t tell me I think I know. I hear the souls scream out at night for a single touch of the lovely Succubus. The woman has more deaths on her tally sheet than Hitler.”

  Briar didn’t laugh and simply stared at Pete wanting to tell him that Hitler jokes no matter how funny they could be would never be funny but he caught on.

  “I know, too soon right?”

  She nodded and the two of them laughed and joked when he finally got serious. “So why hang out with a Vampire if you aren’t reaping the benefits?”

  Bri wondered the same thing but Pete already knew. He knew your dreams no matter how frightening or lovely. “You know why.” She said quietly and stared at her coffee as if the thick brown substance would provide guidance.

  Pete nodded. “I caught on when I was in the lot. Why not tell him how you feel? I mean really Briar, he would not deny you. Your beauty will forever be untouchable regardless of those damn scars.”

  “The scars are only part of the problem. I kind of…well I used my powers to appear as human and never allowed him to feed off me when we were together. He had no idea that I am what I am. I walked away from him before he found out or worse I scream the truth in the middle of sex.” Briar drank from the coffee and decided it was just to foul and pushed the cup away.

  “Briar….” Peter said softly and she smiled loving how he used only one of her names, the one he loved best.

  She looked up at him and there was no hiding the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. “I’m sorry to have brought it up love. Perhaps it will all be sorted out in the near future.”

  “Perhaps.” Bri said and shook off the sadness before Fangs came rushing out assuming she was in danger. “So tell me what brings you to beautiful downtown Ontario?”

  She may have been happy about seeing her dear friend but she was no fool. Peter Pan was a force to be reckoned with whoever was on his list had no idea the hell Pete had in store for them. “Well funny you should ask, it seems your Vampire may have a connection to the Vampire I am hunting. He goes by the name Crave and he has been planting ideas in the heads of humans that defy the laws of Hell. Seems he thinks it’s funny to feed from a human and before wiping himself from their memories he fucks with the lot of them. I had an entry two nights ago that pushed my limits. I prefer to deal with the dreams of the innocent but because of this siding lunatic I have an overwhelming amount of tortured souls that have died based on these unreachable dreams. The human from the other night came in after blowing his head clean off when Crave made him believe he had killed his wife and son. The son of a bitch gave him a detailed memory that the nightmares he had stemmed from Craves playing in his mind he offend himself.”

  “Jesus….” Bri said at a loss for words.

  “I hate nightmares, they fuck up the balance. I prefer to keep my Hell cell in running order. The really dark ones go to Ezek, not me, but in this case because the memory is nothing but a farce they come to me instead. So now my Hell cell is overwhelmed by the ugliness of this Craves constant joy in fucking with them. I believe that Kuyper Manna knows the Sire to this Crave character and perhaps I can have him dusted or left for dawn.”

  “Well he should be back in a few minutes he is feeding off a waitress in the back.” She said and pointed toward the closed off section to the right where the lights were dim in an attempt to keep customers out. “So how can you really keep the peace though? I mean I know it’s the land of broken dreams but aren’t the majority of the dreams out right depressing?”

  Peter seemed to think about Briars question for what felt like hours. When he said nothing Bri looked at his face and caught the zoned out glassed over look he had and knew that Lola was talking to him now and he would be tuned out until Lola ended the conversation. Briar sat and waited thinking about what Pete said. His job was simple and perfect for the type of guy Pete was. He basically ran Purgatory, the limbo joint between heaven and hell. He provided them with the one dream they survived by letting them feel the effects of said dream until the makers decided if the final place for those souls was heaven or hell. To have Neverland suddenly overwhelmed by the guilt and nightmares of people or even demons who were in fact innocent would offset th
e balance in critical ways.

  Knowing she couldn’t help him was the biggest let down. Normally Briar would prepare the spirits she saw into the hereafter for Peter and what to expect but the fact that these spirits were not coming to her, well, it irked.

  “No bother worrying about it Briar, you have enough on your plate.” Peters voice interrupted her thoughts and Peter caught everything she was thinking about.

  “Your back.” She said with a smile and looked at him noticing he had a different air to him now; it was almost like she was making him extremely uncomfortable. “You okay Pete?” She asked and rested her hand on his shoulder.

  The flinch at her touch was impossible to hide and Bri suddenly felt very ill. “What is it Pete.”

  “Lola got the low down on some future intakes…..” He didn’t finish however because Fangs came back looking flushed and his raven stare a little glossy. Briar wanted to scream as he got closer and she saw exactly how disheveled he was. So this was more than a simple feeding and a lot to do with fucking. Peter caught the thought and snapped his head to the side hiding his smirk and Bri hoped Fangs didn’t pick up on it.

  “Let's go, sunrise is close.” He said not bothering to acknowledge Pete until he finally was close enough to feel the power surrounding him. Stopping he linked his fingers behind his head and stretched with a laugh. “If it isn’t Neverlands fearless leader.”

  Briar looked between fangs and Pete shocked that they were still enemies. After meeting a few years back before Briar and Fangs … yea. Pete had come to Fangs demanding retribution in Briar’s honor when he caught a few not so sleek dreams Fangs had had of her.

  “Save the witty quips Vampire I’m here to speak with you actually.” Peter said not bothering to stand and show respect to Fangs because in Pete’s eyes he didn’t deserve any.

  “Really, well you got your info wrong Fairy, trust me I haven’t been dreaming of her nor do I want to.” Fangs nearly spat the words at Pete and Bri wanted to curl in a ball at his confession. She had hoped that…yeah she had foolishly hoped.

  “You are very close to a lie Vampire; perhaps you long to dream of her.” Peter said now standing not out of respect but in defense. Fangs knew better than to judge Pete by his size, he was small indeed but absolutely lethal.

  “Perhaps.” Fangs said with a shrug. “But it’s not something I would welcome.”

  Bri hoped that was a lie as well but Pete said nothing more on the matter. “I’m here because I need your help in locating the Sire of a Vampire who is creating dark and disturbing memories in humans and the humans are killing themselves. When they get to NL I have no choice but to deliver the dream in their mind and I don’t like shifting the balance there, feel me?”

  Fangs dropped his hands and scrubbed them over his face. Sunrise was close and this was a conversation for another time. “Come by tonight.” Fangs said and took the pen from Pete’s inside pocket and wrote the room number to the hotel they were staying at. “Come here at sunset and I’ll see what I can do.”

  Pete nodded and leaned into Bri. “Take care Briar Rose and summon me soon for a better cup of coffee minus the rude interruptions.” Kissing her on the cheek Bri nodded and Pete simply walked out the door and disappeared in the early morning air.

  “We need to get gone now Bri.” Fangs said dropping a twenty on the counter and grabbing her coat as they rushed for the car. The Hotel was no more than a mile away but dawn was coming as fast as lightening. “Shit.” Fangs jumped in the driver’s seat and floored the gas.

  “Perhaps next time you won’t dilly dally with the girls and drop a fang and get out.” Briar snapped as he jerked the car to the left and she almost fell from her seat.

  “Whatever Bri. What the hell were you two talking about?” He asked as the lights to the Clarion Inn came into view and Fangs veered right for the hotel turn off calming down tremendously knowing they had made it with a few minutes to spare.

  They said nothing as they entered the room. Fangs brought a set of steel shutters in from the cruiser and paneled them alongside the windows before they headed out to Denny’s so fear of sunlight in the room was gone.

  Bri stepped into the bathroom and locked the door deciding she needed a bath to calm her nerves. As the steam from the hot water filled the room, she watched her scarred reflection disappear behind the fogged glass.

  She leaned back in the tub after it filled and rested her head on a rolled towel. The smell of night blooming roses filled the steamy air and she sighed thanking her damn mind for thinking to grab the bath salts in the hurry of packing.

  She couldn’t wrap her mind around the Vampire torturing humans. The spirits should have been coming to her, maybe not all but at least one or two considering that Crave had been attacking in her general area. She had spirits from Utah come to her for Christ sakes, Oregon was not a stretch.

  But when the weight of freedom sat directly on your shoulders it was hard to add new problems to the mix. For now she had to deal with the searching out the knife and handling the four demons, one in which had the damn thing. She would have to figure out the issue with Crave after she killed Fil. She laughed at the thought. “Who lives like this?” She said with an irritated chuckle to herself. “Just kill my miserable ex then I can handle the spirits.” She was losing her mind.

  A gentle knock sounded on the door and Fangs voice muffled through. “Did you say something?”

  She grit her teeth. “Talking to myself.” She said and dunked her head in the water to avoid his response. She stayed under until she was so desperate for a breath she had to come up for air. Leaning back she closed her eyes to concentrate on the task at hand.

  Tomorrow they would meet with Delkon, a Chaos demon who was over three centuries past his prime and according to Ezek he was more than just a little insane. She was desperate for Delkon to have the original knife so she could be done but the feeling of foreboding was an all too welcome nudge in the back of her mind.

  This was not going to go smoothly.

  The last thought her mind could shuffle through was if Fil had any idea how close she was. Not blocking him, he would know she was in Oregon and it would strike his attention to ask why. She needed to stay awake as long as she could in hopes of warding him off her trail while they found the knife.

  But yeah, that was her last thought.

  *

  Fangs sat on the edge of the bed waiting for Bri. He wished he could have fed from her. That was after all what Ezek wanted and being honest with himself, it was what he had always wanted. Christ, being near her again was going to do him in. When his seethe learned that he was hired to keep her safe they all but groaned at the irony. He had been keeping his eye on her, always near though she had no idea.

  He was forced to watch her walk away from him once before and had he been alive it would have killed him. He wasn’t about to suffer that pain again. The key was to keep her at arm’s length no matter how hard it was to watch her. He thought back to the conversation they had in the car, she was so worried about her damn scars and he could have cared less. They made her seem more desirable somehow, as if she suddenly became more than untouchable.

  She couldn’t see what he could. She was more beautiful with them, with the static in her hair and the natural blush to her cheeks. All the things she had hidden from him he found unbearably sexy now. He had wanted her trust when they were together, thought he had it and never suspected anything less from her. She had played him and he needed to remember that. He assumed all those months not touching her; he assumed that it was because she moved on. Hell she could have a man in her life now and here he sat on the edge of a hotel bed pining like a pansy for the one woman he simply could not contain, keep or touch.

  He thought back to the night that he met Ezek. He had been in Bri's house searching for signs of struggle after having watched to large demons scope her house through closed windows. He understood now that Ezek had been sending guards to watch out for her after she found the con
tract knowing full well she became a target the second the contract was placed in her hand. He had snuck in that night and searched trying to get a trace on who the demons were and what they wanted. After finding nothing he slipped out and ran in to Ezek shortly thereafter. Ezek picked up on Bri's scent and Fangs played along while he started asking twenty questions. The shock came the following night when Ezek let Fangs know he was her father, the kicker in that fun scenario was learning she was Sleeping Beauty.

  God the fight they had had, and the things he said. It was no wonder she didn’t want him around. Especially after learning the hell she faced each time she closed her eyes. Perhaps she had a valid reason in keeping him the dark, but her claim that it was for his safety was a damn joke.

  He could hear her talking in the bathroom and wanted to give her space but fearing she was sleep talking he wanted reassurance. Damn he was scared stupid for her to sleep. He tapped on the door and asked if she said something, her reply a simple short answer before growing silent.

  He looked at the clock, it had been over an hour and she still hadn’t said a word. " Bri?" He called as he stood and walked back toward the bathroom. When there was no reply he debated getting in there and decided that her naked flesh was nothing he had never seen before. Stepping inside he was stopped stupid at the empty full bathtub and not a place for Bri to hide. She was gone, simply slipped out invisible to him.