Charisse felt suddenly inexplicably sad for him. “So these hints that Maat drops, any clues?”
Nate laughed. “You’re more curious than I am. Okay, for what it’s worth, Maat sometimes calls me Sheriff… and I do have a very hazy, almost memory, of a gold star.”
“Seriously, you were a Sheriff in the wild, wild west?”
“You said that, not me Cyd.”
“Oh I can totally picture you as Sheriff… riding down cattle rustlers, capturing bank robbers and saving overly buxom school teachers from loneliness.”
Nate laughed again, reaching over to refill both their glasses. “And what about you?”
“What about me what?” She tensed.
“What was it like growing up here in the Sanctuary, surrounded by relatives and all that magic?”
She took a sip of wine and smiled. So this was what a normal conversation with a man was like, it was kind of nice. “My childhood was exceedingly average. When you grow up with magic, you kind of take it for granted. We thought everybody had a Christmas street parade where Santa’s sleigh, in our case, Great-Uncle Kenneth’s tricked out Aston Martin, flew off in the direction of the North Pole as a finale. That every town had a librarian with the ability to zap you quiet for an hour like Aunt Patricia if you made too much noise.”
“When did you begin to realise you were different?”
“For most of us that would have been when our personal magic kicked in to high gear, puberty. Our high school years were kind of challenging. Looking back, I feel sorriest for the teachers… at the time we all thought it was a hoot… well, when it wasn’t our magic doing the wacky.”
“For instance?”
“Have you heard of the Nitro Fire Dragons?”
“The extreme sports team who shoot themselves out of cannons and perform all those aerial stunts jumping though fire on motorbikes, skateboards and stuff?”
“Yes them… well they’re my cousins. Let’s just say when they hit puberty, the High Council decided a new fire station should be built right next to the school.”
“They can create fire?”
Charisse laughed. “You’re forgetting back then the teenage boy factor… they belched it, snorted it, hiccupped it and farted it.”
“Farted it?” Nate looked horrified.
“Teenage boys.” Charisse shook her head in memory. “Their sister, Riya, was absolutely mortified by them.”
“She didn’t inherit the fire ability?”
“Well she is pretty much fireproof, which came in handy with ten brothers creating havoc every time they sneezed. But she takes more after her mother’s side of the family.”
“She has ten brothers?”
“Eleven actually.”
“Twelve kids… that’s… that’s a lot of kids.”
“And to have them hatch all within a few weeks of one another, talk about a nightmare on the nappy front.” Charisse imparted with wry smile.
“Wait, they hatched?”
“Well yes… did I forget to mention that their father, Uncle Kelt, is a dragon?”
“Yeah… you did.” Dragons? There were Dragons? He’d lived over a hundred years and never heard of there being Dragons in the world. “Why is this the first I’m hearing that Dragons actually exist?”
Charisse shrugged. “I suppose because most of them originate from the Asian countries. And they tend to live quite isolated existences until they mate.”
“Isolated… the extreme sports stunt team that travels the world?”
“Oh that lot are just a bunch of show-offs… plus, they’re only half dragon. They get their dare devil tendencies from their mother.”
“Dragons…” Nate shook his head in bemusement. “And what about you Cyd, any siblings?”
“Two brothers…” She stopped abruptly as a loud thump sounded overhead on the roof. “What was that?” She was hoping he’d say possums or knowing her luck, a nesting albatross.
“Sounds like the vamps are here.” Nate cocked his head, listening as the intruders moved around three stories above their heads.
“Umm... shouldn’t you go deal with it?”
Nate lifted his hand, palm up. “Wait for it.”
Charisse rolled her eyes… wait for it… wait for what?
The stomping of footsteps got louder as the vamp strode closer to the centre of the house, suddenly there was a screech of metal, a loud bang and a cry that was abruptly cut off.
“What was that?” Charisse stared upwards, eyes wide.
“One more dusted vamp.” Nate gave her a grin that bordered on gloating.
“Pottering around up there, hmm? What exactly in the Maat warrior handbook constitutes pottering exactly?”
“Oh you know.” Nate finished the last of his wine. “Uncover a stained glass dome… lay a few traps.” From somewhere outside of the house came the shriek of a pissed off vampire Queen, followed by a series of thuds and crashes. “Sounds like Queen D is having quite the hissy fit.” Nate rose to his feet, walked over to the radio and twisted the volume knob higher.
“You don’t think you should check on her?” Charisse enquired dubiously.
“Nah, let her stew a little, it sets a bad precedence if we come running every time she has a temper tantrum.”
“What if she has another innocent in tow?”
“She won’t hurt them until she has an audience. So where were we? Two brothers huh. Older or younger?”
“Umm… older.”
“You close to them?”
“Um, kind of, they swing by and see me when they can.” Charisse jumped and whirled in her seat as a particularly loud crash came from outside.
Nate got to his feet abruptly. “That sounds like the scaffolding I set up today… son of a bitch. Stay here.” He commanded Charisse, scooping up the nearest lantern and striding from the room.
* * *
“Tsk, tsk Destiny… you didn’t just lose another minion did you? What, that’s three out of five gone now… if it was anyone else I’d be accusing them of carelessness.”
“Oh Lover.” Destiny strode over to stand in front of Nate, three feet back from the now open conservatory double doors. Hands resting on her narrow hips, pale breasts thrust forward as the moonlight played over her slicked back white blonde hair as she smiled his way coyly. “You’re like plate glass to me, getting rid of all your competition because you don’t want to share me.”
“Maat, you’re delusional. I understand vampire Queens are usually powerful but maternal figureheads but you… you’ve had too many sips of tainted blood haven’t you. Splitting off from your clan, setting up your little assassin clique to make money… just what drives you?” Nate looked at her speculatively.
“Maybe I just really like to kill people.”
“That I had already guessed. It ends here Destiny, all of it.”
Destiny yawned, patting her hand theatrically over her mouth.
“What you did to Vivian… and all those others you’ve killed for money… no more.”
“Talk, talk, talk.” Destiny tapped her foot impatiently.
Nate shifted his weight on his feet, ready to pounce if he saw an opportunity. “All I ask before I kill you is that you tell me everything you know about your former clients, Sek and Mot.”
Destiny’s silver cat eyes gleamed hard by the moon’s light. “You ever heard of client confidentially? Why would I tell you anything?”
“You can’t play the confidentiality card if you never fulfilled the contract. I’m surprised the Chaos brothers haven’t punished you already for your failure. It must have been kind of embarrassing for you to tell them you couldn’t produce the blood of the ancestor and then to find out the witch’s blood you handed over was a dud.”
“Please, I saw that trick coming a mile away when I realised you’d slipped me a tracker that day at the hospital. Very devious on someone’s part… probably not yours, being all brawn and less brain… just the way I like you Lover.”
&nbs
p; Nate shrugged. “Maybe I won’t have to do anything at all, maybe Sek and Mot are already on your trail intending to exact their revenge and get their money back.”
Destiny laughed, a jarring harsh sound. “Come after me? Those two losers? I doubt they could start a fire right now even if I gave them a match. Hah… exact their revenge? I don’t think so. They’d need to find a power source first.”
Nate gave her an easy smile, praying to Maat that Vampira wouldn’t realise how much she was giving away with all her gloating. “Who’s to say they haven’t?”
“You think they’ll find another long lost relative they can leech off of on the next street corner?”
“It’s surprising they didn’t ask you to kidnap Xander rather than drain him dry.”
“Over-confident assholes, they were counting on his blood to raise Daddy up from his long sleep weren’t they? Never crossed their tiny minds that they wouldn’t be successful. Maat’s warriors interfering in their plans… that’s twice now I understand. Bet you they’re majorly more pissed off at you, than they are at me.” Destiny shrugged her bony shoulders, smiling, her fangs digging deeply into her lower lip. “Why don’t you come outside and we can wait for them together?”
“Because…” Charisse stepped up behind Nate, curling a languid arm around his waist, splaying her hand over his stomach, feeling his muscles jump under her touch through the thin material of his t-shirt. “…Nate’s far too busy…” Charisse moved fully into view of the vamp Queen, clinging to Nate’s side like a barnacle. “…playing with me at the moment to have time to deal with your undead bony ass.”
Destiny hissed.
Nate stared down at Charisse, the look in his eyes clearly stating he hoped to hell she knew what she was doing taunting the vampire Queen like this. Playing along, he dropped a casual arm over her shoulders, noting that before she’d entered the conservatory Cyd had taken the time to muss up her hair and let one of the straps of her dress fall off her shoulder. The woman looked like she’d just risen from bed… Maat, she played hardball… speaking of hard.
Charisse beamed a sultry smile up at Nate before slowly… almost reluctantly, shifting her attention back to Destiny. “You still here? You know, it’s just plain rude to drop by so unexpectedly and not bring a gift. I’ll tell you what, let me kill your last two minions and we’ll call it even.” Charisse glanced past Destiny into the dark shadows beyond the house, only piles of rubbish and building supplies in evidence, no sign of any minions to lure across the threshold.
Destiny tilted her head back smirking. “Those boys are positively gagging to get their teeth into you Cyd. I clawed their eardrums out tonight and I’m more than happy to tear them out at the start of every night until you die pretty one. I’ve always found dismemberment and torture to be great motivators.”
“That’s where you and I differ I suppose.” Charisse slid her hand up over Nate’s washboard abs, across his chest to grab the back of his neck. Going up on tippy toes she pulled his lips down on to her own.
The hunger hit Charisse so hard and fast she almost reared back, until she realised that the hunger didn’t emanate from Bettina but from herself. She’d wanted men before but she’d never lusted after them like she did Nate; the feel of his soft lips against hers, the heat of their skin intermingling, the bone melting strong hold he had on her.
Nate didn’t care if kissing Cyd resulted in every nerve ending he had getting fried. Maat, she tasted like honey, decadent spices and a heady liqueur. He gripped her tighter, grabbing a fistful of her silken locks, worried that any moment she’d be pulled from his grasp. Now that she was in his arms, he couldn’t… wouldn’t, let her go. This was where she was meant to be. She wasn’t just some beautiful complicated woman with secrets… she was his. That knowledge came from his very core as everything suddenly clicked into place.
Charisse blinked, a little dazed and breathing hard as Nate slowly lifted his lips from hers. She wanted to protest, why had he stopped kissing her? At least he hadn’t let her go as yet, she met his gaze, swallowing hard. Goddess help her, he had a look in those whiskey coloured eyes that both delighted and scared the hell out of her. There was promise… intent… heat and desire there.
Oh Goddess, she had to be out of her mind to think she could get involved with Nate.
She felt torn. Part of her was horrified; Nate wouldn’t settle for half-truths, he’d want to strip all her secrets bare. The other part of her, the one that craved his touch, his kiss with an almost scary level of hunger was thrilled, anticipation gnawing at her bones, need pulsing low in her belly.
“Urgh… Urgh.” Sounds of loud choking and gagging filled the air. “Ugh… you blood-bags and your nauseating exchange of every fluid except plasma, gag me with a wooden stake.”
Nate reluctantly released Charisse to turn and stare at Destiny, still pacing outside the double doors, a murderous look in her silver cat eyes as she glared at them both.
“Brr… I’m cold.” Destiny feigned an exaggerated shiver. “You two cold? You know what I think we need right now is a nice roaring fire.” From behind her back Destiny produced a miniature blowtorch. With the click of a button it sprang to life, issuing a small orange-blue flame. “I just can’t imagine seeing out my final days in this house Lover… The pretty one on the other hand…” Destiny smirked Nate’s way. “…I do hope you like your girlfriends extra crispy.”
Nate reacted in one fluid motion, leaping upwards, snatching down a weapon from where he’d hidden it earlier, high on wall above the doorway. Aiming it and hitting the trigger even before his boots slammed back to the floor.
The arrow from the hand-held crossbow hit Destiny high on the left side of her chest… too high to have hit her heart. Destiny shrieked in pain and surprise, dropping the blowtorch even as she leapt high into the air, taking another arrow to the stomach and one to the upper thigh before she flew out of Nate’s range.
“Fuck.” Nate gazed off in to the dark night, searching for any sign of her. “Shit, she’s fast.”
His head snapped to the left as Charisse’s soft hand patted him on the arm in reassurance. “Maybe next time Sheriff.”
“I really hate that bitch.” He stepped outside to pick up the blowtorch and kick some dirt over a smouldering weed.
“Don’t worry she’ll be back.” Charisse absently smoothed down her hair.
Nate turned scowling at her. “You realise you’ve now moved yourself to the top of her to-kill list Cyd? Once again I am forced to ask, what the hell were you thinking? She’ll never stop trying to kill you now.”
Charisse restored the strap of her dress back to the correct position. “I trust you to protect me Nate, but you need to trust me in return. I know obsessive psychotic bitches, it’s important to keep her focused; otherwise she’ll go off at a tangent we could never predict. If she gets distracted, who knows who she might hurt… this way… well we know where she’ll be at twilight tomorrow night don’t we, front and centre here, with revenge on her mind.”
Nate blew out a frustrated sigh from behind clenched teeth. “Let’s get back in the house. I don’t know about you but I could use another drink. And then maybe you could tell me what you meant by that crack about knowing obsessive psychotic bitches? That sounds real personal Cyd.”
Charisse forced a laugh, frantically thinking of a more appropriate answer than; see there’s this bitch she-rock that rides my ass and has me on a tight leash. “You’ve met most of my cousins, right? Pick one.”
Chapter Twelve
It was just after five the next day when Nate stepped under the outdoor shower he’d jerry-rigged using a garden hose. Absently he scrubbed the sweat, dirt and grime from his arms, legs and chest before dunking his head under the stream. It was a bit early for quitting time, but considering how much he had on his mind he was lucky he had lasted as long as he had. As he’d dismantled the traps he’d previously set on the roof and begun laying the new shingles, his mind had been distinctly elsewhe
re, namely on the gorgeous woman who’d high-tailed it off to bed last night, quick smart, after their encounter with Destiny.
Hadn’t he thought from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her that Cyd was the one? But he’d gotten side tracked by the black entity that encased her psyche… her soul. The damn thing had threatened to throttle her if he’d continued to dance with her. So he’d walked away to protect her and because he’d been a little off his game thanks to those weird irritating noises, the grating droning and the resulting headache.
Sounds… seemed to be at the heart of this whole mystery surrounding Cyd. Even Queen D appeared to have come to the same conclusion, commenting on how willing she’d be to tear her minions’ eardrums out at the start of each night. So the droning… the humming, all to do with Cyd, not some weird Southern Sanctuary sound effect as he’d first assumed. So what did that make Cyd?
Maat, if dragons existed… Cyd could be any number of things.
Ultimately, the answer would mean very little to him… she was the one.
But that unknown entity that came as part of the package, well that was a different story. If it could exert influence over Cyd… hurt her, how would he be able to deal with that knowledge? He couldn’t defeat it for her… it was her demon, her challenge. But maybe he could help her find balance… that was ultimately what Maat’s warriors sought in the world after all, balance.
The first step in helping her to reach that medium would require her to be willing to confide in him. Tell him who she was. What she was. Why, whatever it was that had attached itself to her psyche, could zap him fifty feet into the air one day for kissing her, and do nothing to him the next?
His head snapped around as thunder rumbled off in the distance, out to sea. Storm was coming. He had enough on his plate already - a vampire Queen to reduce to ashes and a gorgeous woman with a mystery he needed to unravel - he hoped to Maat, he’d been successful in making the damn roof water-tight.
To Seduce A Siren Page 11
