“Temporal multi-verse, remember?” He slid off his stool and hurried toward the dining room. “I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t eat all the pizza.” And then he was gone.
I stared after him. Very articulate for a nine-year-old.
In the back shadows of my mind, golden eyes opened, my inner dragon chiming in. You’re wondering where he’s from?
“Yeah.”
I think a better question is when is he from?
“When? Yeah, Colt keeps mentioning the temporal multi-verse, whatever the hell that is.”
You know, after Selene has our child…
“That child might not be bound by linear time, either. That would mean…”
You might have just met your first-born son.
“Even though he’s not born yet.”
He would have the power of the Red Lady, her dragon-goddess nature, combined with dragon-Villager DNA from you.
“How much dragon would he be? Never mind. I’ve got another question.” I pulled the pizza box closer and grabbed another slice, having finished off my last one. “Pizza is such a comfort at a time like this.”
My dragon asked: What other question?
“If he’s Selene’s kid, why didn’t he know her name?”
To a kid, Mom is Mom, and Dad is Dad. Parents don’t have names. You notice, he didn’t call you by name.
“Yeah, you’re right. Do you think the Selene upstairs knows her nine-year-old son is wandering around in this time zone?”
She might not unless she’s actively looking for him.
“Then we just may have a ride out of here she doesn’t know about.”
You’re in a hurry to go?
“Think of the danger if I really have knocked her up!”
What danger?
“She’ll drag me off to shop for nursery furniture, stuffed bears, and stuff. She’ll want to buy baby name books, and clothes. She’ll keep asking my opinion about things. She’ll want to know if I still find her sexy when she gets fat.”
My inner dragon settled down, closing his eye. Dangerous, indeed. Wake me when it’s over.
I finished two more slices of pizza and went to the fridge for another soda. I opened the door and found the shelves had vanished. A shaft lay inside. I stuck my head in and looked down. There seemed to be a dumbwaiter coming up, one that moved without pulley and rope, or electric motor. I pulled back and waited. Moments later, a platform arrived. It went up, showing a box underneath. Inside the box, Chrys and Izumi huddled. They stared at me.
I stared back. “Planning to get out?”
They pried themselves out and stared past me.
I turned to see what had their attention. Colt stood there, waiting. He had the pizza box under an arm.
“It’s that boy again,” Chrys said.
“I noticed.” Izumi looked at me. “Caine, who is this, and why does he call me his aunt?”
“Sorry,” I said. “I can’t tell you without destabilizing the temporal multi-verse. Let’s get out of here while we can.” I faced the boy. “Colt, do you think you can send us back to Earth?”
The light of greed shone in his eyes. “Cost you. Big time.”
Definitely my son.
EIGHTEEN
“A few times in a man’s life, he’s
permitted to cry. This is one of them.”
—Caine Deathwalker
“She’s waking up,” Colt said. “We need to go—now! I can’t hide all of us for long, not from Mom.”
He whipped a hand through the air. The gesture left a copper-red disk in the air. The glowing disk widened, becoming a tunnel with swirling walls. It slanted into the floor, boring into other realities, a portal that looked like a water slide, but without the water.
I pushed Izumi into the hole. Chrys jumped in. I followed. Colt came last. Gravity collapsed. The walls swept us along, cupping us from behind, taking us to the forward end of the tunnel. The sensation wasn’t much different from a regular magical portal, except it wasn’t being used. Instead, it acted like a living thing, upchucking what it couldn’t consume. The end result was mounting velocity that flung us out of the corridor. We crashed and rolled in a tangle.
Except for Colt. He managed to land lightly on his Sketchers, unaffected by the transit, a soft shimmer of copper-red energy surrounding him as he closed the portal down. “That was close.”
My bathrobe had opened a little from the crash landing. Izumi closed flap on me, covering up my manhood. “A kid is present,” she said.
“I’m pretty sure he’s got one himself.”
I picked myself and looked around to see where we’d come out. A hotel suite. The place looked like my own suite, but some of the details were a little different. Instead of white leather seating, I found myself staring at black. The rug was Atlantic blue, the walls a soft cream. The bedroom and kitchenette were in the same place, same floor plan.
“Whose room are we in?” I asked.
The hallway door opened. Imari stepped in and came to a jolting stop as she took us in. The flames on her head danced a little higher. “Caine, what the hell? This is my room. And what the hell are you wearing? You just decided to break in here and have an orgy?” Her eyes were red coals.
Colt took a step toward her. “Auntie Imari!”
She blinked at him. “Do I know you?”
The joy crumpled off of Colt’s face. “Oh, no, not yet. Sorry.”
I leaned back against a chair. Chrys and Izumi joined me, one to each side. Chrys dug her fingers into her pockets, quiet, taking it all in. Izumi grabbed my arm possessively, staking her claim—not that I’d managed to sleep with Imari yet.
My ice queen and fire demon minion studied each other careful, both suspecting a threat. Their tension was palpable, but then fire and ice were opposites.
Chrys on the other hand sighed and shot me a sidelong glare. “Just how many women are you sleeping with?”
“Good question.” Izumi growled, her breath white, the air around her spiking with cold. Frost crept up my arm from her touch.
Imari closed the door behind her. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m head of clan security. I don’t sleep with the boss.’
“Not yet,” Colt muttered.
We all looked at him.
He noticed and shrugged. “What?”
Chrys tugged on my sleeve. “Who’s the kid? I mean I appreciate the ride out of that hellhole, but…”
I sighed. “He hasn’t said, but I have the feeling he might be my kid—from the future.”
Imari staggered toward us, laughing so hard she snorted fire. She straightened, grinning at me. “You finally got someone knocked up—you’re a family man now! Oh, I pity the kid.”
Colt sniffed dramatically, wiping a crocodile tear from an eye. “It’s been hell! Can I have some ice cream?”
Chrys went over and circled Colt, staring him up and down. “Hmmm. Caine, he does look like you, the shape of the face, and the texture of the hair. Who’s the mother?”
Where Izumi gripped my arm, the frost thickened to ice. The air grew even colder. She said, “Tell me it’s not that red-headed bitch.”
Colt came over and tapped the ice on my arm. The ice shattered and fell to my feet. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to need that arm to play catch with me.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Staring up earnestly, Colt leaned into Izumi, forcing her catch his hands. The intimate gesture widened her eyes. He said, “It’s alright, Auntie. Colin will be along soon after I’m born.”
“Colin? Who is Colin,” she asked.
“My brother. Half-brother, really.” He whispered. “Don’t tell anyone I tipped you off.”
I felt myself growing lightheaded. “Two kids? It’s too soon. I’m just not ready.”
Colt pulled back and fished a kid’s wallet out of his back pocket. “Hey, I got a picture of him and me. Wanna see?”
“Yes!” Izumi yelled.
“No!” I yelled.
She gave me a dirty look.
I glared at Colt. “What happened to destabilizing the temporal multi-verse?”
He shrugged. “As long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine. Probably.”
Damn! This really is my kid.
“Come along.” I grabbed Colt and turned him.
“Where,” he asked.
I guided him past Chrys and Imari, to the door. “My place. I need fresh clothes. Something less blue and fuzzy.”
“God, yes,” Imari said. “Then give me the robe and slippers so I can burn them.”
We went out the door and down the hall. Orienting myself on the door numbers, I soon found my suite. The problem was, I had no keycard to get in. It had been destroyed along with my suit. I gestured toward the card reader. “Do you mind?”
“Huh? Oh. Sure.” Colt tapped the reader. It exploded. The door opened.
“Not quite what I had in mind, but it works.” I wrangled Colt inside and closed the door behind us. The Old Man sat on my white coach, reading an issue of Guns & Knives. The cover had a picture of a hot babe with a machinegun, a Bowie knife strapped to her thigh. He lowered the magazine, looking up.
Colt flung himself across the room. “Grandpa!”
The Old Man stood just in time. Colt launched himself into a flying hug. The Old Man revolved, swinging the boy in a complete circle, tossing him up next to the ceiling, catching him on the way down. A goofy smile on his face, the Old Man set his grandson on the coffee table and patted him on the head like a dog. “Stay. Good boy.” He shot me a glance. “Grandpa? Is there something you need to tell me?”
I passed the island of white leather furniture and paused in the doorway to my bedroom. “Sure. Who cares about the stability of the temporal multi-verse anyway?” I pointed at Colt. “That’s Colt, your grandson. I just knocked up Selene, and he will be born in nine months. Nine years after that, he will push himself out of linear time to come pay us this visit.”
The Old Man looked from me, back to Colt, and smiled at him in an even goofier way. “I have a grandson!”
Colt stared back at him. “Can I get off the table now?”
The Old Man picked Colt up, sat back down on the loveseat, and set the boy on his knee. “So, Colt, got any stock tips for me?”
“You always ask me that.” Colt pulled out a folded piece of paper from his hoodie pocket. He handed it over. “Five percent goes into my college fund.”
The Old Man nodded. “Deal.”
“I’m going to take a shower and get dressed,” I said. “You guys can bond.”
“Love the robe,” the Old Man said.
“You would. It goes with your skin color.” I left them, closing my bedroom door for privacy. I got three steps before a starburst of bloody red light blocked me. The dazzle went away, leaving Selene in its place. She wore a filmy red bodysuit that hid pretty much nothing. The downward point of the vee-neck collar almost reached her navel—which cupped a large ruby. Her hair coiled in braids on top of her head, leaving her neck bare, begging for the caress of lips.
She draped her arms around my neck and kissed me soundly. I squeezed her ass in self-defense as her tongue flicked against my lips. I parted them and she slipped her tongue in to wrestle with mine. A long time later, she broke the kiss.
“I thought you were going to be miffed with me,” I said.
“The other ‘me’ will be. This version has had nine years to get over you running off with your whores.”
“Your honorary sisters,” I said. “At least that’s what Colt says. You do know he’s here?”
“Certainly. He’s not nearly as elusive as he likes to think. Have you had a nice visit with our son?”
“He really is then?” I was ninety-eight percent sure, but wanted the confirmation.
She gave me a wicked smile. “Would I lie to you?”
“That aside, I’m taking a shower. Want to scrub my back…or something?”
“The something is why I’m here.”
“And Colt?”
“His grandfather can keep him occupied while we play.” She unbelted my fuzzy blue robe and slipped it off me. It pooled on the floor as I kicked off my slippers.
I dragged her to the en suite. It didn’t matter I had no protection. The damage was done; fatherhood had arrived whether I liked it or not. Colt was a cool kid. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I could take him to the landfill to shoot rats with me and my adopted daughter, Julia.
Under Selene’s stare, the shower turned itself on. Warm water steamed the air. She pushed me, separating us. Wiggling seductively, she slowly eased the red body-stocking down her shoulders. Her breasts bounced free. The material slid down to her hips. She turned her back and spoke over her shoulder. “Like what you see?”
My cock stood at full mast, swelling with excitement. He said: Hell, yes!
I echoed him. “Hell, yes.”
She shimmied, sliding the body-stocking lower. Bending away from me, she worked the stocking down her legs, to her ankles. Straightening, she stepped out of the feet. Selene turned and came into the shower in all her naked glory.
Knocking sounded from my bedroom door. The Old Man hollered in. “Hey, the kid and I are going to catch a movie. See you in a couple hours.”
I yelled back. “Fine! Don’t hurry.”
Selene leaned in and nibbled my neck.
“The Old Man just happened to think of that?” I asked her.
Selene plucked my body wash off of a shelf and poured a handful into a palm. I took the bottle and put it aside. She grabbed her breasts, getting them thickly lathered. “Turn around. I’ll scrub your back.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” I turned.
She pressed up to me, rubbing, reaching around me to soap my chest as I leaned against the shower wall, the spray dampening my hair.
A new voice came from the bedroom. “Caine, what’s keeping you?”
Izumi?
I turned and wrapped my arms around Selene, but I knew there was no way I’d be able to restrain her if she went homicidal.
Izumi’s steps grew closer. “Caine? You’re in the shower? Why don’t I join you?”
Really, everyone should just take a number. Or do me all at once. Now there’s a thought.
“Caine, I…” Izumi came into the en suite and stopped dead, staring at Selene. “You again!”
Selene shrugged me off and held out her arms in invitation. “Izumi, love, come give us a kiss!”
Izumi stood there, stunned. “W-what?”
Took the words out of my mouth. What’s going on here?
“Oh.” Selene pulled her hands back into the shower. “That’s right, this is the early you. For a moment, I forgot about the time shift. We’re not friends yet.”
“Not even close.” Izumi shifted her stare to me. “Caine?”
I explained. “This is the Selene from nine years into the future. Apparently, eventually, we’ll all be one big happy family.”
“Our kids play together,” Selene said.
Izumi said, “Our kids? Colt and Colin.” I could see she was still struggling with the reality of her kid already existing in another temporal locus.
Selene turned to me, sticking a finger under my nose. “It’s all your fault he calls himself that. I gave him a proper dragon name, but does he use it? No! You and your stupid Mustangs. Other kids want a pony. Or a unicorn. He wants his own muscle car.”
I snapped at her finger, making like I was going to take a bite.
“Hey, behave.” She jerked her finger back and turned toward Izumi again. “Are you sure you don’t want to squeeze in?”
My cock said: Please do!
His voice was muffled because he was happily wedged in the crack of Selene’s perfect ass. My hands crept around her, one around her waist, one groping a soapy tit. Sure, Izumi was right there, all icy indignation, but a naked woman should never be wasted. Fatherhood be damned. I was done fighting it.
I said, “Izumi, get naked an
d in my bed. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Izumi backed up. “Not both of you. I’m particular about who I sleep with.”
Selene cooed, “Oh honey, you’ll love it. You always do.”
“In your dreams!” Izumi stormed out in full retreat.
“No, don’t go!” Selene stepped out of the shower, dragging me along. “I’ll be gentle. Just this once.”
My dragon-born hearing picked up, Izumi’s flight through the bedroom and into the living room. The hallway door slammed soon after.
My cock wailed. My precious dream of two bitches at once. It’s slipping away!
He wept.
No, that’s just precum. My mistake.
NINETEEN
“I’ve found if I wait long enough, answers
seek me out. Not always good answers.”
—Caine Deathwalker
It was early morning of the next day by the time Selene took a break from ravishing me. We’d done without Izumi’s icy participation, but I had other company.
Darkness gathered, a hovering disk of shadow magic. Chrys popped out and approached the bed. “You still owe me.” She held a handful of plastic sample containers. “I’ve come to collect.”
I mock sighed. “If you must.”
She crawled onto the bed, not at all dissuaded by Selene’s keen interest in the proceedings. I leaned back, enjoying the warm sensation of Chrys’ mouth.
Selene said. “Have you tried sticking a finger up his ass while doing that?”
Chrys pulled off of me, her voice bright and chipper. “Fuck off, bitch. I still haven’t forgiven you for dumping me in that dungeon. And pissing gargoyles? If it wasn’t for Izumi’s ice shield, they could have ruined my complexion.”
Selene smiled, dredging up a pretense of sympathy. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
They seemed to be bonding. At least no one died. Chrys got what she wanted, licked me clean, and left the way she came, by shadow-portal. She must have snitched on me because—hearing I was entertaining an insane goddess—Imari showed up, actually using the door to my suite. She barged into the bedroom. Her obsidian skin flickered with pale orange wisps of flame. She wore a Kevlar vest, an armored thong, and carried a machine pistol. A cursed demon sword was strapped to her back. Somehow, the combat boots weren’t out of place.
07- Black Blood Brother Page 14
