by Nina Bangs
“Why didn’t you—”
“Impenetrable shields. You’ll have them too in another thousand years.” Ganymede nodded toward the church. “We attack now while the harpy’s distracting him.”
“Harpy?” Declan’s attention snapped to where Fenrir was leaping high into the air trying to snag a furious Daria out of the air. She was a little too fast for him.
Fear wrapped icy fingers around Declan’s throat. Not for himself, but for Daria. He hadn’t felt this particular emotion for centuries. He’d carefully nurtured the attitude that it was all about looking out for number one, or number three if Fenrir was to be believed.
Giving up on the high jumps, the werewolf threw power blast after power blast at her.
Agilely dodging the blasts, she beat her wings madly as she waved her arms at Ganymede and Declan. “Hey, guys, now would be a good time to do something.”
Declan glanced down at Ganymede. The cat nodded. Together they launched a wave of energy that would have reduced most things to a dust cloud. But when the air cleared, Fenrir was still standing. The only positive was he didn’t look quite so confident.
Daria kept the werewolf off balance by hefting huge chunks of stone from the crumbling church and dropping them onto Fenrir’s shield. They didn’t penetrate, but they had to be rattling him.
Declan felt a ridiculous pride in her strength. After all, what should it matter to him if she could bench-press a thousand pounds?
Once again Declan gathered his power and this time flung it outward in a blazing ball of destructive energy. It exploded against Fenrir’s shield, and Declan had the satisfaction of seeing ripples appear in it.
Ganymede was working a different angle. Suddenly the earth beneath Fenrir began to crumble away, leaving a hole that grew ever larger. Never taking his eyes off the werewolf, Ganymede explained. “He didn’t shield the ground beneath him. Not smart. He can do it now, but it’ll stretch his power a little thin.”
Just when Declan thought they might have a chance at Fenrir, he was hit by a force that felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to his whole body. Ganymede took the same hit, but it bounced off his damn shield.
Declan barely had time to recover before what looked like an arrow whizzed by him. Only his preternatural speed kept him from going to that big blood bank in the sky.
“What the…” Those last two attacks hadn’t come from Fenrir. Declan glanced around. They’d come from opposite sides of the forest.
“Time to get our butts outta here. The wolf has help.” Ganymede faded into the woods.
“Daria, get out of there.” Declan only waited long enough to make sure she’d obeyed his shout before following Ganymede.
Once hidden by the forest, Declan moved swiftly toward the spot where he’d seen her enter the tree line. He couldn’t picture her running naked back to the inn, so she’d be trying to dress. Fenrir was still bound to the church area, but his two friends weren’t. Even now they could be stalking her.
When was the last time he’d felt this kind of urgency? He couldn’t remember. Reaching out with senses tuned to the smallest of sounds, he listened. There. Heavy breathing, the sound of a heart pounding. Slowing down, he moved silently until he was close enough to see.
Daria had pulled on her jeans and shoes. She wasn’t bothering with her bra. He watched as she shoved it into her pocket. Then she yanked the T-shirt over her head. Once she was done, he stepped up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and whispered in her ear.
“Don’t say anything. It’s me.”
Too late. She was already past the point where she could stop her motion as she slammed her elbow into the gut of the man behind her.
Daria winced. “Me should’ve said his name instead of creeping and grabbing.” She kept her voice to a whisper as she turned to face him.
He grimaced. “My mistake. I didn’t want my voice to give away our position. If we get separated the next time we do this, drop your shields and I’ll talk mentally.”
The next time? He was kidding, right? She was so not ready to do battle with a homicidal werewolf again. “How many are there? I saw the arrow almost get you.” She didn’t think she’d share her feelings about that.
“Two as far as—”
A terrified screech interrupted him. She met his startled gaze.
He cursed. “Just before all hell broke loose I thought I heard someone in the woods. It could’ve been the two working with Fenrir, but I don’t think so.” Even as he spoke he was moving toward the scream.
“It could be a trap.” She didn’t really believe that. The scream had sounded very human and very scared.
Declan didn’t answer as he moved with the silence and speed she’d expect from an ancient vampire. She, on the other hand, moved with the silence of a stampeding water buffalo. Damn. She should’ve stayed in harpy form. In the air she was a formidable force.
He held up his hand and she stopped. She remembered to lower her mental shields.
“I see one person. Human. Looks like that Walt guy, the one you said you took care of. I don’t sense any danger near him” Declan paused to listen. “Nope. I hear a few sounds, but they’re moving away from us. He’s lying on his stomach with his hands over his head. Looks like whatever he was trying to debunk got a little too real. Guess we need to take him back to the inn “ Declan sounded regretful.
Daria nodded. Amazing. A vampire and a harpy agreeing to help a human when there wasn’t anything in it for them. There must be some deadly kindness germ at the Woo Woo Inn, and they’d both caught it.
“I’ll go see what his problem is. You stay hidden just in case there’s something wrong and I need you to bail me out” Declan didn’t wait for her agreement.
She smiled. He was learning. He hadn’t made the mistake of telling her to stay here where she’d be safe. Smart man.
Declan reached Walt, crouched down, and tapped the man on the shoulder. “Do you need help?”
Walt came up swinging. Declan leaped away from the panicked human.
Finally Walt’s frenzy burned itself out and he stood panting. “There was a snake, a freaking snake as big around as a barrel and at least fifty feet long. It had glittery black eyes, and when it opened its mouth I saw fangs that must’ve been six inches long. It stared at me with creepy hooded eyes as it slithered past. I would’ve been dead meat if it wasn’t looking for someone else.” He glanced around frantically.
Since nothing had attacked Declan, Daria edged from behind her tree and joined them. “Hi, Walt.”
The debunker’s eyes grew wide. “It was hunting for you guys. That’s the only thing that makes sense. You were trying to take down that werewolf or whatever it was, and the snake was helping the wolf. They must’ve come from the same corner of hell, because what’re the chances two things that big would be hanging in a forest in New Jersey?” He pressed his palms to the sides of his head. “God, is this all real or am I having a psychotic meltdown?”
Daria sighed. “Why did you follow us tonight? I thought we got things straightened out.”
“You told me not to take any more pictures, so I didn’t. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know what’s going on.” A little of his courage was coming back.
She glanced at Declan, who’d wandered over to a break in the trees where everything was flattened. It looked like something enormous had passed by.
“Let’s get back to the inn, Walt.” Daria figured Declan would have to wipe the guy’s memory clean this time.
Declan joined her. “I’d take us back the quick way, but I expended most of my energy on Fenrir. If it’s any comfort, I think the immediate danger is over. I’d guess the snake has returned to human form. Something that size would have trouble forcing its way through the trees. It’ll regroup and try to get us next time out.”
“Next time out?” Of course there’d have to be a next time. They hadn’t solved anything tonight. Did harpies throw up? She was thinking that might be a yes.
“The snake’s a shifter. The flattened trees and brush back there ended a few hundred feet in. That’s where it must’ve changed.” Declan turned to Walt. “Hate to do this, buddy, but I’ll have to take all those great memories of tonight away from you.”
“It was you.” Walt looked outraged. “You were the one who took away my memory of what happened with the harpies and the werewolves.”
“No. Not Declan, someone else.” Daria didn’t see any reason not to tell Walt. He wouldn’t remember for very long. “Declan isn’t the only one who can wipe memories.”
“Wait. Wait. Don’t do it yet.” Walt looked longingly in the direction of the inn. “You don’t have to make me forget. I mean, who’d believe me anyway? Besides, I can help you.”
“How?” Daria glanced behind her. With the full moon, the woods didn’t look as sinister as usual. But the big bads were still out there. And they were scary enough to make even a harpy nervous.
Declan started walking, and Walt tagged along, babbling as he went. “You want to kill that werewolf thing. What’d you call it? Fenrir. Anyway, I’m an expert researcher. Debunking is my business, so I have lots of contacts and research skills. I have sources you’d never imagine. If there’s a way to destroy the monster, I’ll find it.”
“Why should I trust you?” Declan seemed to be considering the idea.
“What do you have to lose? I don’t have any pictures, any proof what I know, so I can’t expose anyone. And from what I saw of the battle, you don’t have a clue how to waste this Fenrir.”
When they reached the inn, Declan stopped at the bottom of the steps. “I’ll give you three nights.” A smile tugged at his lips as he glanced at Daria. “Hey, three’s my number, what can I say?”
Walt nodded before taking the porch steps in one leap and yanking open the door. Daria watched until he’d slammed the door shut.
“Can you trust him?”
He shrugged. “He’s right. What do I have to lose? I’m betting he’s too scared to cross me right now. And once he leaves the inn, no one will believe his story. If there’s even a tiny chance he might come up with a way to defeat Fenrir, I’m giving it to him.”
She turned her head to study Declan. He sounded matter-of-fact and way too casual. Anyone who only
checked out his gorgeous face and body would miss the real Declan Mackenzie, the vampire whose nine hundred years of life lived in his eyes. The moon cast his face in light and shadow. But even though she couldn’t read his expression in the darkness, she was willing to make a stab at what he was feeling.
“It must’ve hurt to know how Fenrir felt about you.”
“Yeah.”
She hadn’t expected that admission. Good for him. “We can’t make people love us any more than we can choose our parents. And sometimes the ones who love us the most come to us in unexpected ways.” A prophecy? Who knew. This was all too deep for her right now. He chose not to comment on her insight. She didn’t say anything else until they’d entered the inn. “What’s with the snake? And who checked into the fight on Fenrir’s side?” Once again she saw that arrow whiz past Declan’s head. And with the memory came a return of the rage she’d felt. It was an attack on someone she cared about, and the caring part scared her witless.
They stopped at the registration desk. No one was there, a silent condemnation of Daria’s managerial skills. “I need to get to work.” She didn’t look at Declan as she shuffled some papers around. “So, how’s your compulsion? I assume Fenrir took a shot at one.”
“Yeah.” He frowned. “For a while there all I wanted to do was find you so we could roll around in the underbrush.”
“And?”
“It went away. I guess Fenrir couldn’t control it once the battle began.”
“Oh.”
“The compulsion went away. That doesn’t mean I still don’t want to roll around somewhere with you.”
“Oh?”
“Believe it.” She was smiling as she watched him walk away.
Chapter Thirteen
Memo: To All Harpies
Subject: Downsizing
Costs of operation have risen dramatically. The price of torture implements alone has quadrupled in the last century. And we won’t even talk about how much brimstone costs. Regretfully, we’ve decided to downsize. We would suggest that laid-off harpies find employment as really ugly fairies. Those harpies who remain must shoulder the extra load. Your weekly quotas are now four victims rather than the previous two. Your glorious CEO will receive a bonus for thinking of this wonderful cost-cutting plan.
Remember, we want you to think of Tartarus as your home. (Unless profit margins drop. Then all bets are off.)
HADES THE LOYAL
Daria needed advice. Her brain cells were rioting in the street. She wouldn’t get anything coherent from them. This was a job for The Advice Book. Everyone else at the Woo Woo Inn would be working an agenda. The book was neutral. Talking to a book was weird, but she was desperate. Head bent, she was deciding how to word her question as she entered the library.
“Shut up, you yellow-paged loudmouth, or I’ll break your spine.” The snarled threat sounded serious.
Daria recognized that snarl. She looked up. Eris had The Advice Book clutched in her hands.
Muffled shouts came from the closed book. “Bad things happen to people who steal books. Help!”
A feeling of inevitability settled over Daria. “Let me guess. You plan to take the book back to Tartarus so you can pass the test.”
Eris bared her teeth. She looked beautiful doing it.
“What’s it to you, swan butt? Hades’s memo said he’s downsizing. This book can replace his demon advisers, and it’ll work for free. Hades will love it.”
“Swan butt?”
Eris attempted a sneer but her lips would only form a sweet smile. “You have a white girlie ass. There’s not even one hair growing on it. What’s a butt without hair?” Obviously smooth butt cheeks were major DNA flaws.
“It takes a white girlie ass to know one. Have you looked in a mirror since your Sparkle makeover?” Daria winced. Her maturity level regressed to about ten years old when she was around Eris,
Eris chose not to comment on that. “Move outta my way, daughter of Apollo’s bitch. The book’s mine.”
Daria thought it would be fun to punch Eris, but she didn’t want the book to get torn in the scuffle. Words would work. “Hades doesn’t respect a coward. How much courage does it take to snatch a book that can’t fight back? Let me think. Oh, none.”
The book interjected a thought. “I won’t give advice to Hades, but I will give some to you, potty-mouthed thief. You will not achieve your dream. Na, na, na, na.”
Eris’s beautiful cheeks flushed. She raised the book over her head. “Let me pass or I’ll trash your precious book. See if it can still give sucky advice when it’s in three pieces.”
“Put the book down, Eris.” The voice of reason spoke from the doorway.
Daria turned. Kal stood there, feet spread and gimlet stare firmly in place. She sucked in her breath. He wasn’t wearing his harpy face. And from her changing perspective of their world, she was able to admit he looked damn good.
Eris stared at him. “What is it with both of you? Harpy faces not good enough for you? Real harpies wouldn’t let the outside world corrupt them.” She zeroed in on Daria. “I’ll get you right after I get Sparkle—”
She was in the middle of her rant when he moved. Eris stared blankly at her empty hands.
Kal put the book gently back on the desk. “I wouldn’t try snatching it again. I’m going to tell Ganymede…” He smiled. “No, I’m going to tell Sparkle what you tried to do. She likes taking things away. Make her mad again and you might end up as the wingless wonder of the harpy world.”
Eris paled. With one last vicious stare for both of them, she left the room.
Kal looked at his sister, daring
her to say something.
“Thanks for helping.”
He nodded, then followed Eris out of the room.
Sighing, Daria opened the book. “Are you okay?”
“Did she bend my pages? Is my cover torn? Do I still look pretty?”
Good grief, Sparkle in book form. “You’re fine.”
“Thank you for helping me. I knew a book reviewer once. And when she had PMS, she got vicious just like that.” The book seemed to gather itself. “Now, you came here to ask me a question?”
She nodded and then realized the book couldn’t see her. “What should I do?” About everything. About Declan, about the test, about life.
“The universe gives us what we expect from it. Expect the best and it’s yours.” The book paused to ponder. “What is the best for you? You already know, and so does the universe.”
“Uh, thanks.” She closed the book. “Well, that was suitably cryptic.” Now she just had to make sure the universe survived to give her what she deserved.
With all the secrets of life revealed, she headed back to the registration desk.
Sparkle was waiting for her. She clapped her hands, but her enthusiasm didn’t reach her eyes. “Tonight is all new and shiny. Enjoy. And even though everything looks bleak and slightly sucky, a great orgasm with a gorgeous vampire will cheer you right up. Do you think Fenrir will give the compulsion another shot?” Sparkle sounded hopeful as she sat on the registration desk, legs crossed, swinging one foot back and forth.
“I don’t know. It didn’t work last night. Besides, Ganymede’s compulsion doesn’t include pain. Without the pain, Declan can concentrate on resisting it.” Did she want him to resist?
A great big neon no. Okay, all emotion and no brain involved in this one. She wanted him: mind, body… heart? Not ready to go there yet.
Putting aside conjecture about Declan’s power to resist, Daria stared at her to-do list for the night. The problem was her priorities were all screwed up. Managing the Woo Woo Inn and passing her harpy test—which should be numero uno on her list—had fallen behind her current favorites: making love with Declan and saving the universe. Sparkle looked puzzled. “Why would he want to resist it?”
