by A and E Kirk
“Hey, why don’t you hold Giselle?” Jaeger offered.
Kiara jumped away from him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Me being Oleander the baby killer and all.”
Jaeger chucked Giselle into the air. She yelped, paws kicking wildly. Kiara caught the puppy and hugged her tightly to her chest.
“What were you thinking?”
“That you aren’t the monster you believe you are.” Jaeger smiled and scratched the puppy’s ears.
Kiara could not fight off the smile. “You’re a terrible uncle.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Kiara huffed a sigh and settled Giselle in her arms as they strolled down the hall.
“How much do you know about Oleander?” Jaeger asked.
“That he — I was a mindless killing machine. Could slaughter armies single-handedly. What do you know?”
“About the same. I’ve been out of the supernatural loop. Spent most of my time with humans.”
“I love humans!” Kiara twirled an excited pirouette. “I just made some human friends. Why would you ever leave the humans to live with shifters again? That’s so boring.”
“I always manage to have fun.”
There was a loud slap, and then a scream. A body toppled over the railing above and plummeted.
CHAPTER 33
The human form hit the marble floor beside Kiara with a wet slap and a crunch of bones. Blood spattered hot on her calves and toes.
Giselle barked, but Kiara paused only a split second before continuing forward and asking Jaeger, “What kind of fun do you have?”
“Son of a bitch!” Jaeger stared at the body in horror. “Is she human or vampire? Do we help her?”
Kiara blinked. “It’s real?”
She could not always be sure. Kiara covered Giselle’s eyes. Blood inked out beneath the crumpled form of a young girl maybe fifteen or sixteen years old. The vampires did like them young. Swee
“It’s a penny,” Kiara said softly.
“What’s a penny?” Jaeger said, placing two fingers to her throat, then shaking his head. “Will she come back to life?”
Kiara could hear several sharp inhales deep within the building, an awakening of undead to the scent of fresh blood. It would not be safe here for long.
“Pennies are the vampire’s cattle,” she said. “Humans for them to hunt or feed off of rather than the blood donations from the VLAAD Institute. She’s not getting back up.”
“Kiara? Hot damn. Took you long enough to get back to me.”
Jaeger and Kiara looked up. Bane leaned over the railing several stories above.
“You killed her,” Kiara said, her voice despondent.
A girl in her late teens with bright copper hair tied in pigtails came bursting through a door behind them. She was pale and thin and looked terrified. When she saw the dead body, her eyes widened and filled with tears.
“No,” she blubbered through quivering lips.
Kiara recognized her as one of Bane’s favorites. The copper penny. The dead girl had also been one of Bane’s favorites. It was not a safe club to be a part of.
“Get out of here before he sees you,” Kiara whispered. “Hide.”
The girl did not seem to hear. Kiara feared she would simply stand there like a deer in the headlights, waiting to be mowed down by the likes of Bane. But then she blinked crying eyes at Kiara and turned away, disappearing into the shadows.
Bane swung over the railing and landed next to them with a grace that was impressive for such a big man.
“She said she’d rather be dead than stay here another minute, and like a benevolent genie, I granted her wish.” Bane nudged the girl’s corpse with the toe of his shoe. “You’re welcome.”
Kiara gritted her teeth. “I liked her. She helped take care of my gardens while I was locked up.”
“I’ll get you another one.” He turned away from the already forgotten girl. “When are we sparring again? Now that you know you’re Oleander, I’m dying to see if you’ve improved.”
Kiara stared at the penny. “I don’t want another one. I want you to stop killing them!”
“Then they should stop whining.” Bane did a double take at Kiara. “What are you wearing?”
“My clothes.” Jaeger slipped in front of Kiara, blocking her from Bane’s view. “Jaeger, shifter prince. Don’t think we’ve had the pleasure.”
Jaeger offered his hand. Bane did not take it.
“Disgraced and exiled prince with no real chance at the throne,” Bane sneered. “Even if your brother and niece were to bless you with the good fortune of dying. Pleasure? Not even close. Why the hell is she wearing your clothes? If you’ve gotten anywhere near her, I’ll break you in two and throw you to the ghouls.”
Jaeger dropped his hand. “So much for pleasantries.”
“Do you have Leontes’ permission to be alone with her?”
“I don’t need his permission.”
“Oh, mutt, you have a lot to learn.”
Jaeger frowned. “Who the hell are you?”
“Bane,” said a small voice.
The crumpled penny’s head flopped around. Her dead eyes blinked and looked at Kiara. Blood drooled from her lips.
“Why didn’t you stop him?” she said. “I thought you liked me.”
“Easy, missy.” A cowboy hat waved in front of Kiara’s eyes as Butch said, “I’m fairly certain that one’s not real. Well, she’s real, but not real alive.”
Kiara gave him a frightened look. “Fairly certain?”
Sudden movement came from all around. A barrage of vampires and ghouls poured from every entrance to the grand room, noses twitching, eyes zeroing in on the fresh corpse. They would be followed by the comically slow zombies whose excited grunts echoed in to announce their impending arrival.
“Help me!” The dead penny reached for Kiara.
“Not real,” Butch repeated. “I think.”
“Kiara,” Bane said. “Come with me.”
Jaeger pushed her back. “Leave her alone.”
“Out of my way, you filthy runt.”
As Bane shoved past to get to Kiara, Jaeger ducked and slammed a knee into his gut. He might as well have been hitting a giant redwood for as much as the vampire did not move.
Bane’s head swiveled to Jaeger. “Cute.”
Jaeger threw a right hook.
Without blinking, Bane caught the werewolf’s fist in his palm.
He gave Jaeger a dead-eye stare. “You wanna play, runt? Fine. Let’s play.”
Bane’s massive fist shot like a cannonball. Jaeger tried to reel back, but caught in Bane’s steely grip, he could not get far enough away. An inch from impact on Jaeger’s jaw, the vampire’s hand suddenly froze. There was a wet popping sound, and Bane’s shoulder became oddly shaped, bones sticking out where they should not.
He grunted and snarled in pain, staring at his misshapen body. “What the—?”
Rusila sauntered into view on the balcony above, her arms folded. A hush fell over the room. She watched Bane for a long moment. Then her cold, black eyes flicked down and an unseen force dropped the big vampire to his knees.
“Alpha’s son is our honored guest,” Rusila said. “He will be treated with the utmost respect. Is that clear?”
The supernatural creatures mumbled their obedience and scuttled away.
Bane bowed his head, gritting his teeth against the pain. “Of course, my queen. I was only concerned he was taking liberties with Kiara.”
Rusila cocked her head, eyes glittering like polished obsidian. “Worry not, Bane. She is my concern, not yours. You do well do remember that.”
Her fingers fluttered softly, sending swirls of magic into the air. More of Bane’s bones popped and splintered. His body spasmed, but he did not complain.
Rusila turned to Jaeger. “I believe Kiara is taking you to your room. Perhaps you should run along.”
Jaeger did not need to be told twice.
CHAPTER 34
As Jaeger led Kiara away, she smiled sorrowfully and waved at the dead girl lying in a pool of her own blood.
“I’m sorry,” Kiara murmured at the corpse.
Jaeger hustled her out of the room. “So, which way? You’ll have to take the lead. I’ll get us lost in the zombie wing.”
As she led him up a circular flight of stone stairs, Kiara became quiet, stopping at every window to look out at the ocean and inhale a deep breath.
“This Bane guy is a nasty piece of work,” Jaeger said, flexing the fingers of his hand Bane had attempted to crush. “Friend of yours?”
Kiara snorted. “He doesn’t have friends. Just victims.”
“Yeah, sorry about the girl. At least Rusila can control him. She’s impressive. One of the few vampires that kept her supernatural powers when she was turned, right?”
“Yes, she was a witch before and now she can do magic and vampire stuff. That rarity makes her extra strong and powerful.”
“That means you’re even more powerful since you’ve got it all.”
“Yeah, right,” Kiara said with sarcasm and suddenly turned melancholy. She quit pausing to enjoy the view.
The stairs kept going and going. Jaeger tried to peek upward to see how far they had to go. They seemed endless.
At the next window that Kiara passed, Jaeger stopped. “Great view. So you like oceans and gardens?”
Kiara came back down to join him, a small smile on her lips as she stroked Giselle’s head. At some point while she slept, the werewolf princess had shifted back into a sleeping infant. “Yes. I created my own garden here on the grounds. It overlooks the ocean. My doctor said it was good therapy and healthier than spending all my time in the caves.”
“What caves?”
“Under the mansion. They open out to the ocean where I can watch the sunset. The tide comes in and out, and there are pretty colors on the walls. Chains, too. Supposedly Rusila used them as dungeons and torture chambers decades ago.”
“Sounds creepy.”
“Even the vampires think so.”
Kiara trudged onward and eventually climbed onto a landing where she walked over and stood in front of elevator doors.
When they opened, Leontes rushed out. “What took you so long? I had begun to worry.”
Kiara shrugged. “You worry too much.”
“Because you worry not enough,” Leontes responded.
Jaeger paused to catch his breath and flicked a weary glance over his shoulder. “There was an elevator?”
“I don’t like small spaces,” Kiara said. “Being stuck in the coffin made me closetphobic.”
“Claustrophobic,” Leontes corrected, struggling to appear casual. “Where were you two?”
“Making out in the garden,” Jaeger said with a grin. “It was hot. Almost got her clothes off. Well, I suppose they’re technically my clothes.”
“Jaeger!” Kiara spun around, partly because she was horrified and partly to hide her blush from Leontes, who choked with fury and would have tackled Jaeger if she had not jumped between them. “He’s kidding.”
Jaeger lifted his palms in surrender. “It’s called a joke. Humor. Look it up.”
“Of course.” Leontes smoothed the lines of his suit. “Your room is down the hall. It is perfectly secure. You have the codes Frankie provided, but I will show you how to change them to something only you know.”
Kiara tuned them out as they arrived at Jaeger’s room and Leontes explained the security measures. Nestled in the crook of Kiara’s arm, Giselle yawned as she woke, her eyes blinking slowly. Kiara ran her palm over the baby’s hair, finer than corn silk, the same pale gold as Jaeger’s but missing the multiple streaks of color. Giselle grasped Kiara’s finger and studied it with wonder.
Kiara smiled pensively. “Leontes, did I have children?”
Metal snapped. Kiara looked up to see the broken door handle wrenched off in Leontes’ hand. His other palm was flattened on the wall for support, his head bowed. After a moment of charged silence, he turned. Jaeger’s questioning gaze flicked between them. Leontes’ mouth opened and then closed, but in the end, he said nothing.
Kiara’s look of hopeful curiosity crumbled.
“I know,” she said quietly. “You can’t tell me.” Kiara brought Giselle’s tiny fingers to her lips, using the gesture to wipe away a tear brimming on her lashes.
“You can’t be serious.” Jaeger said.
Leontes inspected the ruined door handle and pulled out his cell phone. “I will retain someone to repair this.”
“I’m going to bed.” Kiara dumped Giselle in Jaeger’s arms and fled down the hall.
“Kiara, wait.” Leontes waffled, cell phone in one hand, the other shaking with frustration and bending the broken handle into a twisted mass in the process. “You should not be alone.”
“I never am. They’re watching. Always watching.” She left, almost floating down the hall amid an air of despondency.
Leontes cleared his throat. “She may have sounded a bit—”
“Devastated?” Jaeger offered.
“Or, perhaps crazy. But she is not.”
Jaeger stabbed Leontes with a hard look. “Trust me. It’s not Kiara who I think is crazy around here.”
CHAPTER 35
The shimmering orange and gold hues of dawn rose over the mountains and glittered into Kiara’s room. The rising sun activated the automation that set the rotunda of bulletproof glass walls and ceiling to a dark tint. Around the tower, magic floated unseen as added protection.
Kiara left the hatch at the top of the stairs ajar and thrust open the French doors that led to the balcony, welcoming the sound of seagull cries and pounding surf. She put another log on the fire, then flopped on the bed and sank into the thick folds of the silk comforter, snuggling into the copious amounts of tasseled pillows. Her lids fluttered a thankful goodnight.
Until a crash sounded below.
Kiara realized that in her stupor she had forgotten to close the door to Leontes’ room downstairs. Definitely against the rules.
Too many things wanted to kill her. Had Fauxleander returned? Or it could be Bane, angry from the humiliation with Rusila and looking for revenge. Considering their last sparring encounter and her current debilitated state, she would end up with more than a few broken bones this time.
Hoping to scare away the intruder, Kiara growled a warning.
Seemingly unimpressed, the creature growled back and stormed up the ladder to Kiara’s room.
CHAPTER 36
Following several yaps, a bundle of pale fur erupted from the hatch. Pointed ears poked through first, then a frantic scamper of claws scraped the wood floor.
Giselle slid on the smooth surface, bounced off a table leg, and collided into a wall. Tongue lolling in a happy grin, she scrambled forward and pounced onto the bed, flopping her body across Kiara’s stomach. A lamp lost its balance with the still trembling table and clattered to the floor.
From below, irritation raked Leontes’ voice. “How is this my fault?”
“If you’d just answered the question she wouldn’t have run off and Giselle wouldn’t have followed her,” Jaeger said. “All she wants is the truth. Is that so much to ask? Or are the undead incapable of understanding basic human emotions.”
Leontes’ voice lowered to an ominous, warning timber. “You have known Kiara for all of two seconds, and you are going to tell me what she wants?”
“How exactly do you know Kiara? That info’s still a bit fuzzy.”
“Because it is no one’s business,” Leontes said darkly. “Least of all yours.”
“I disagree. Since we’re gonna be partners—”
“Partners! Are you mad? We are no such thing.”
Stairs groaned under new weight. Giselle scurried behind the array of bed pillows.
Leontes appeared and, seeing Kiara, was visibly relieved. “Have you seen Giselle?”
Kiara pointed at the wagging tail sticking out from
the cushions.
Jaeger let out a low whistle as he climbed in, his head swiveling. “This is what I call a room.”
Leontes’ phone rang. “It is Rusila. I will return in a moment.” He headed down the ladder.
“Nice digs.” Jaeger wandered the room and stopped to flip through the book on da Vinci. “I still think it’s crazy that the Leonardo da Vinci was a vampire. Do you remember him?”
“More of impressions than actual visuals.” She closed her eyes. “I know we spent a lot of time in the lab.”
“Right,” he said. “Working on the Midnight Poison.”
“Not just that. He always had da Vinci and me experimenting and cooking up something new.”
“He who?”
“What?”
“You said ‘he’ had you and da Vinci cooking up something new? Who’s he?”
“Did I say that?” Kiara thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I should ask Frankie. We were all friends, but that ended when da Vinci died and I went six feet under.”
Below, Leontes shouted, “He demanded what?”
“And Gramps the Vamp?” Jaeger said.
“A grandpa?” Kiara giggled. “No. He looks much too young and handsome.”
“If you like the high and mighty, grumpy type.” Jaeger shrugged. “So what do you remember about him?”
Kiara rolled onto her back and kicked a bare toe at the curtains of the four-poster bed. “I really don’t remember it, but Frankie said he saved me from the coffin.”
“And she certainly wouldn’t lie,” Jaeger said with skepticism.
Kiara frowned. “You think she’s lying to me?”
“Not necessarily. But if you can’t remember stuff, how do you know people are telling you the truth?”
Kiara’s frown deepened. “But Leontes always keeps me safe. You saw the way he protected me from the fey.”
“Honestly, I think you protected us. And you saved his ass at the shifter compound.” Jaeger shrugged. “Plus, if you really were a big, bad killer, you probably kept some questionable company and if these people were Oleander’s buddies, they might not be the nicest group of individuals. Or that trustworthy. I’m just saying.”
