by Lexi Blake
The baby hadn’t cried or wanted food, which was good because all I had were a few Tic Tacs and a can of Red Bull. She’d smiled and gurgled and tried to put lots of things in her mouth but not a single tear yet. She even allowed me to take a shower after calling the troops. It had been cooler than I would have liked, but I was clean and she was clean, and that was what mattered.
Daniel would probably be pissed I’d given away our location, but I trusted these people, and I needed help. I couldn’t believe that anyone on our crew had betrayed us. Lucas Halfer might have betrayed us but not Dev or Sarah. Daniel was going to have to understand why I’d called in the cavalry. He was dead to the world until eight thirty p.m., and I had a baby to deal with. I was so not cut out to be a single mom.
Dev smiled as he walked in, but the minute he surveyed the room, I watched a dark look fall across his face. His jaw clenched, and I realized that he was going to take this harder than I’d bargained for.
“Well, that was inevitable. I guess I should have gotten into the car after all.” He let the bag drop to the floor. He glanced at the bed where Daniel lay, still as death, and I didn’t like the look on his face. I remembered what he said to me earlier. He would stake him if he thought Daniel was seriously trying to make me a companion. I’d made myself a companion last night, but I doubted Dev would see it that way. “You were forced to feed him, I suppose.”
“He was dying.” I tried not to really think about what happened. I’d been able to put it out of my mind the night before, but it would catch up to me eventually. I would see him again and again, so pale and close to dying.
“He died a long time ago, Zoey.” Dev stared at Daniel for a moment and shook his head. “I’ve got another bag in the car. I’ll be back.”
Neil whistled. “He’s going to be bitter, that one. Oh, well, he’s the ex now, so who cares? You’re back with Daniel where you belong, and Dev just has to deal with it. Okay, so baby? Anybody gonna explain little Miss Sunshine here, or do I get the speech? You know the one where a mommy and her vampire love each other very much…”
“Neil, obviously she found a baby,” Sarah said with a hint of annoyance. “The question is why hasn’t she turned the baby over to the authorities yet?”
She looked down at Daniel and studied him for a moment. He wasn’t like a human sleeping, as Daniel didn’t move at all. There was no restless movement or squirming. He was just there.
“Was he really dying?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, he was,” I replied. “That damn demon kept switching bodies. Daniel got shot full of silver and one of the bullets was close to his heart. He managed to hold on long enough to save us, but I had to haul him into the car. The bullets came out, but the silver was in his blood. It was terrifying. I did what I had to do to save him. He needed blood, and I couldn’t trust anyone else. And I didn’t find the baby. She was in the box.”
“What?” Sarah turned pale. It was odd to see Sarah scrubbed clean of all makeup. It made her look younger than her years and easier to read emotionally. She was tired and shocked at the prospect that the baby had been in the box we stole. I was with her on that one, but I’d had hours to get used to just how screwed up the whole situation was.
“She was in the box. I know it sounds crazy, but that damn box is magic. It was bigger on the inside than the outside. It was kind of cool,” I explained as I patted Baby Girl’s backside.
It seemed to soothe her. Her little bottom was covered in a pillow case I ripped up and tied off. The motel was going to need to rethink that whole “no credit card on file” allowance. I hunted through the first bag and pulled out a package of diapers.
“She’s the Light of Alhorra?” Sarah asked, her voice sounding shaky.
“I guess.” I settled her on the bed next to Daniel. She tried to turn around and climb on him. I pulled her gently back and wrestled with her to get her into the diaper. She kept twisting and turning and trying to look back at Daniel.
“That baby came out of the box?” Dev asked from the doorway. He set down the car seat he was holding. “The faery box?”
“Yep.” I finally fit the diaper around her little bottom and got the sides to close. Now random urine was one less problem I needed to worry about.
“You idiots.” Dev walked over to the box and examined it. He looked at it for a moment, his eyes going over the inscriptions. They were in some form of Gaelic. Not being able to read Gaelic myself, I’d ignored them. Dev seemed to think they were important. “Let me guess the sequence of events. You fed him. You fucked him. Then the box pops open and suddenly there’s a baby. Did you not notice when the box started to glow and move around on its own?”
I stood up and settled her on my hip again. She tried to wriggle toward Daniel. I was a little fed up with the attitude I was getting from Dev. It wasn’t like we had a commitment. “Sorry, I wasn’t really looking at the box. My mind was on other things.”
“I bet it was.” He walked up to me and touched my neck. He examined it for a moment, running his thumb up and down the skin. “Doesn’t like it from the neck, does he? What part of you did he tear up, Zoey?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but he did bite my neck. He’s gentle about it.” I felt the need to defend Daniel. What we’d done together last night had been beautiful, and I wasn’t going to feel bad about it.
Dev caught his breath and took a step back. He looked horrified, and I tried to think of what I said to put that look on his face. “Zoey, I need to talk to you in private.”
“This isn’t the time or place to have this conversation. I have things I need to get done.”
Time was getting away from us. Halfer would be coming for the baby in a couple of hours, and I needed to do something about it. There was also the little thought in the back of my head that if I pushed it far enough, I would never have to have this conversation with Dev. I would be in Hell, but at least I would avoid the awkward discussion about my sex life. There was an upside.
“Now, Zoey.” Dev said firmly. His face was set. “Or I’ll just have it out with you in front of everyone, and this isn’t a conversation you want made public.”
“When will Daniel rise?” Sarah asked as though she hadn’t been avidly listening to Dev and I argue.
Neil looked at her curiously. “Sunset, of course. I think it’s eight-something tonight.”
“So he’s out of the picture for another hour or so.” Sarah seemed to be talking to herself. I wondered if she’d seen more than she let on. The cameras had probably been active when Neil and Daniel dealt with our attackers. I wondered if the violence had affected her.
“It’s all right, Sarah.” Neil gave her a half hug, and I realized he was worried about her, too. “Everything will happen after the sun goes down. It always does. Daniel will be back in fighting shape, thanks to our girl. If we have to leave, I’ll go get the body bag, and we’ll shove his hot bod in the trunk and take him with us. We won’t leave our badass vampire behind, I promise.”
“Why don’t you get him ready while Dev and I have this conversation he seems intent on having with me,” I said through clenched teeth as I walked into the bathroom. “And don’t forget to put the car seat in.”
Dev followed me and shut the door behind him. The minute I turned to look at him, he sighed. “Did he force you?”
“Of course not.” Baby Girl tried to pat my face, and I hugged her. There was something infinitely lovable about the child. She calmed me. “I love him, Dev. I’ve loved him since I was a girl. You just don’t understand what it’s like between us. He would never force me.”
Dev rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean the sex. Did he force you to take his blood? It’s the only explanation for your neck being soft and smooth after an evening’s romp with a dying vampire. Now that I really look at you, I can tell. You look healthier. It’s from the damn blood you drank. Don’t try to deny it.”
I felt myself blush. Somehow the exchange of blood seemed more intimat
e than the sex. “He took too much, and I needed it.”
“Oh, I bet that’s what he told you, that bastard.” Dev laughed, a bitter little sound.
“It wasn’t like that.” I didn’t owe him any explanations, but I seemed compelled to give them. Or maybe I felt the need to explain it to myself. Even as I spoke to Dev, some small part of me said it was all too good to be true. “Being that close to death made Daniel realize how stupid it is to keep us apart. He loves me. He wants to be with me, and I want to be with him. I’m sorry if I hurt you, but I can’t help how I feel. I never meant to…”
“Shut up, Zoey.” There was at least a small bit of maliciousness in his voice. “Everything you say right now is just the ranting of an addict.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, indignant.
Dev shook his head and looked at me with what I could only interpret as pity. “Was it good? His blood, I mean? Did it make you feel good? Was it just as good as the sex?”
“Yes, and I’m not ashamed of it. He’s a vampire. There’s always going to be blood involved.”
Dev ignored me and went on with his point. “However good his blood felt to you, magnify that a thousand times and that’s what you taste like to him. One taste is all it takes. I bet it took him years to detox from the first time he tasted you. He’s stayed away from you because he was on the wagon. He’s not in love with you, Zoey. He’s addicted to you.”
“He told me he loved me. He told me he was wrong to have left me,” I said, but inside I was thinking different thoughts. He begged me not to do this to him. He fought so hard to not let me feed him, and at the time, I hadn’t understood. He hadn’t said it was wrong to leave me. He’d said he was wrong to deny us.
“He was high, Zoey,” Dev said.
“That’s not true.” I tried to believe my own words. My hand caressed the baby’s soft back, and I was the one taking comfort.
“You made love for hours and hours in this room without ever thinking to call your friends.” Dev spoke more quietly now. “We thought you were dead. Your soul is on the line and you screwed for hours. You don’t even remember when the box was primed. It wouldn’t have been quiet. You were not yourself. You were drugged. His blood lets you feel a small piece of what he feels. You’re an obsession to him, Zoey. In the end, that’s what a companion is. I don’t understand everything about it, but I know a true companion is very rare. I don’t know who sold you the story about a companion being a vampire’s pure love, but it’s a lie. A companion is a vampire’s addiction. I’m sorry to be the one who has to tell you this, but my god, Zoey, he has you so far in you made a baby. Do you know what that says about you?”
“How did I make a baby?” I was shocked at the suggestion.
Dev shoved his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t recognize the name of the artifact, and maybe the name changes depending on the tribe, but I know that box. A faery tribe uses it as a gift to another tribe, probably a tribe on another plane. The faery tribe fills the box with pieces of their personal magics and sends it to another friendly tribe. The tribe receiving the gift then ruminates on what form the magic will take. Usually it’s a tree or a domestic animal, and the magic brings luck and keeps the tribes together. When you made love to Daniel, you had to have wished for a baby with him. You had to have put your heart and soul into the wish. That desire had to be overwhelming to work on the box. He’s pulled you in so far, all you want to do is have his baby.”
I pulled that small, sweet baby in close and tried not to sob into her shoulder, so great was the emotion that swept over me. Dev, I’m sure, thought I was overwhelmed with disappointment at the thought that Daniel tricked me, but I knew something Dev didn’t. I looked up at Dev through watery eyes. “Not once in all our time making love did I think of a baby. It never crossed my mind, Dev.”
“Then what…” Dev closed his mouth when he hit on the answer.
Daniel wanted the baby. Daniel wanted a baby with me so much that his desire had filled the box and caused the change. We could have many of the things we dreamed of when he was alive. We could be together. We could love each other. But we could never have the babies we dreamed of. I knew that the baby I held in my arms was something magical and didn’t belong to me, but in some small way she was mine and she was Daniel’s, and I had to do right by her.
“I need to get her home.” I wiped my eyes with my free hand. “Will you help me?”
“What do you mean?” For the first time since he’d walked into the room, he seemed unsure of himself. “Halfer wants that child. You have to give her to Halfer, or he’ll take you. If you don’t give her up, your contract is broken.”
“I need to find the faeries,” I said, smiling sadly. Those faeries were going to be pissed. I could only hope they would let me live long enough to explain who she was. “They can take her to where she belongs. They can take her where Halfer can’t touch her.”
Dev was silent for a moment. “Are you telling me you’re willing to go to Hell for some faery child you don’t even know? Please think seriously about this, Zoey. If you do this, you’ll go to Hell, and there is no coming back.”
“I don’t have to think about it.” I was going to give her back before I knew where she’d come from. Knowing she was a piece of Daniel’s desire did nothing but make my will stronger.
Dev frowned as he studied the child. “Do you really think Daniel is going to let you do this? He’ll move heaven and earth to make sure his prize doesn’t get taken away. You’re saying you can make that decision for both of you?”
“I’m saying that I know Daniel Donovan, and I know what decision he would make.”
Dev came close, and before I could do anything about it, he kissed me. Even having experienced what I had last night with Daniel, I have to admit Dev’s kiss was sweet. He put his forehead to mine, and I felt a connection. “I wish we’d met some other time, some other place, because you’re really one hell of a woman, Zoey Wharton. While the thought of helping out faery kind goes against my nature, if you want this, I will help you. I’ll do it because it pleases you.”
He took a small step back.
“She didn’t make any mistakes.” I looked into her big green eyes as she tried to eat my hair. I pulled it out of her mouth. “She was just waiting to go somewhere and be something good. She didn’t ask for me to steal her. The truth of the matter is I’m not a good person, Dev. I’m a thief. If I got the chance to do things differently, I probably wouldn’t because it’s all I know. So don’t waste any tears on me. Let me do my good thing before I go out.”
I didn’t realize we weren’t alone. I was caught up in the emotion. It was a mistake I’d been making over and over again since the day I met Lucas Halfer. When I saw Sarah come through the door, I knew I’d made the same mistake again. I really should have listened to Daniel because he was right about one thing. Someone on our crew had betrayed us.
She stood in the doorway with her pink bob and sad eyes, and she held a gun which she pointed straight at my head.
“I’m so sorry, Zoey,” she said. “But I’m not going to be able to let you do that.”
Chapter Twenty-One
I remember vividly the day I met Sarah Tucker. I’d known Neil for a couple of months, and we’d run two small-time jobs together. They were what I like to think of as starter jobs, or auditions. They were little jobs for chump change that didn’t involve much risk. I certainly didn’t want to go into a big, dangerous job with someone I didn’t know, but Neil had been a natural. I realize now that the strength and agility were a gift from Daniel, but the inherent knowledge of what to do and when had come from Neil himself. It was fine with me and Daniel and Neil for several months. We were comfortable and happy. Then we were offered thirty thousand dollars to steal an amulet for a witch. It was a good wage, and we needed the money. We found ourselves quickly out of our league as the amulet was protected magically.
It was then that Neil mentioned a girl he’d met at a clu
b. Her name was Sarah, and she was a witch.
In my world, witches tend to come in two varieties – the “crazy bitch” kind and the “bunnies, kitties, duckies” kind. The first you really don’t want to mess with because they WILL cut you. The second tend to love nature and be concerned about their karma banks. While crazy bitch witch might not have any problem with stealing, she also probably doesn’t play well with others. Someone on the crew will more than likely try to kill her. The white witch usually doesn’t want to have anything to do with thievery as they expect it to come back on them threefold.
Sarah was different. I knew it the minute she walked into the restaurant with her electric blue hair and bright smile. There was nothing of the pretentious “I am one with the goddess crap” I’d come to expect from the witches I’d known. Witchcraft was just part of her world. She had grown up with it all around her.
Sarah was the first woman I ever spent hours shopping with for shoes and clothes. She was the first one I talked to about how I felt when Daniel died.
Sarah was my first real girlfriend, and that night she was my first real backstabbing bitch.
“Subsisto!” Sarah commanded as she looked at Dev, and I watched the way her eyes flared as she spit out the spell. Dev didn’t have a chance. His body jerked, every muscle tensing.
“Zoey.” Dev’s face was a mask of frustration. He spoke through gritted teeth. He could blink, but otherwise not a muscle moved. “I can’t move. You need to…”
“Silentium,” Sarah said, and Dev went silent.
Sarah is a strong witch. Many witches are what I call technical witches. They know the craft. They study the spells and can do a serviceable job when it’s required. It’s the difference between book knowledge and street smarts. Sarah had street smarts in spades. She was born a witch, and there was no way to teach what her body knew instinctively. Another witch might say the proper words but get only half the effect. When Sarah started a spell, the room was filled with it and the air around her crackled with magic. She once described it to me as pulling energy she needed from the space around her.
