by Sharon Green
"I'd forgotten about that," Oldon answered with his own chuckle. "When the waiter comes back we'll get you your fix."
"Speaking about beings who like coffee, I couldn't help noticing that Grail and Jaril haven't made an appearance," Freemont commented, just about reading my mind. The idea of vampires and coffee had sparked the thought, probably what had brought the same to my partner. "Are they busy in another part of the hotel?"
"Grail and Jaril left a few hours ago," Mio answered with a shake of his head. "They got an emergency call from the States, after which they gathered up their people and left. They'll probably be annoyed that they missed all the action."
"At least we'll be spared a different kind of action," Amiol put in, a trace of satisfaction behind his words. "If Grail had tried to bother Taz again… I don't think Grail really understood how serious Taz was about shooting him."
"What's this?" Felippe asked, looking at both Oldon and Mio. "Why does it sound as if Grail has been stepping over the rogue line?"
"Grail has developed an … attraction for Taz," Oldon answered slowly while Mio simply smiled. "His feelings aren't returned, but he doesn't seem to care about that. I heard Jaril say he would talk to his brother about the matter a second time, but the talk didn't seem to do any good either of the times. In case you weren't aware of it, pushing Taz isn't at all a smart thing to do."
"I've gotten that impression," Felippe answered with amusement dancing in his eyes. "But even so, I'd still like that introduction I asked for earlier."
"In a way you've already been introduced," Oldon said, leaning back just a little after tasting his Whippe. "Taz Bell already knows your name, and she asked me a question about you that I couldn't answer. Have you ever visited an expert in cosmetic surgery, Felippe?"
"Why, no, I haven't," Felippe responded, now looking confused. "Why would I do that, brother? I don't need my face changed, just … kept out of sight."
"That's the point, brother," Oldon said, speaking gently to the other vampire. "Cosmetic surgery doesn't just change faces, it also repairs them. If they peeled off the layers of your damaged skin until they reached an uninjured layer, then –"
"Then the skin might grow back without the damage!" Felippe exclaimed, now looking stunned. "I don't believe I missed seeing that! Taz, I think I'm about to give Grail a run for his money, so to speak."
"Don't do it, Felippe," I advised gently, knowing the being wasn't entirely joking. "I really hate being crowded, and Grail has managed to sour me toward most males of all sorts. Taking Grail's place would not be a … healthy thing to try."
"I would take her advice if I were you, Felippe," Mio said, and his amusement was now a bit on the wry side. "I felt the temptation myself, even without perceiving her with her inner protection pushed aside. I got a glimpse of her whole being during the fight with Verna, and afterward was delighted she can shield herself. I don't know if I'm strong enough to resist her… But I'll have to ask all of you to excuse me now. I need to speak to one of my associates."
He nodded to all of us before getting up and carrying away his Whippe, which he'd only half finished. Felippe watched him go in silence, but I had the feeling I'd see the masked vampire's eyebrows up high if I could have seen his eyebrows.
"I don't know if I ought to ask this, Oldon, but can you tell me what he was talking about?" Felippe said, finally turning his attention to his "brother." "I'm perfectly well aware of the draw Taz projects, but what was that about a shield?"
"Taz has somehow learned to shield her inner being where vampires are concerned," Oldon answered, his amusement on the odd side. "She isn't completely shielded, something I know you can tell, but when she drops the shield she's strong enough to hurt one of our lesser brethren. But since the one she hurt was a rogue, all I did was enjoy seeing it done."
"So you've seen her without the shield," Felippe said, leaning forward over the table after glancing at me. "Do you feel the same way about that as Mio does?"
"No argument on that point," Oldon assured his friend, a sardonic twist to his smile. "If I didn't have complete control of myself at all times, I'd probably be full of bullet holes right now. Or gone, considering what kind of ammunition she sometimes keeps in her gun."
"Then I'd definitely better keep my distance," Felippe said, sending me the kind of grin Oldon usually showed. "I do owe you, Taz, so I'm going to pretend that you're no different from any other human. And as soon as I finish this Whippe, I'm also going to excuse myself. I have an appointment with a cosmetic surgeon to make. I'll call you later or tomorrow, brother."
His grin widened for a moment, then he applied himself to finishing what was in the bowl in front of him. It didn't take long, so he was able to stand, bow to all of us, and then leave.
"Now that we're essentially alone, I have a major favor to ask," Oldon said once his brother was gone, his own Whippe mostly finished. "I wasn't sure I'd have the nerve to ask this, but the situation is your fault."
"What situation?" I countered, completely lost as his grin took on a strained look. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the way you say nice things about me and try to protect me," Oldon came back, and it looked like he was forcing himself to meet my gaze. "I haven't felt so safe and wanted since my early days with Fleur, and if you want the truth I find all that even more appealing than your inner attraction. You've hooked me, Taz, so I'm asking if I can join your team for a short while."
I wondered distantly and in passing if I looked as wide-eyed as I felt, and then Oldon smiled gently.
"You probably aren't considering the point, but I won't have to be paid, you know," he told me just as gently. "I think I mentioned that I need to get out into the world more, not just concentrate on rogue vampires. I can get that experience with your team while adding my own small abilities to your efforts, so I won't just be hanging around and annoying all of you. If you all agree that I can join you."
At that point I noticed the amusement Amiol was trying to swallow, a reaction I didn't need to have explained.
"My partners and I will have to discuss this, Oldon, but there's one side of the arrangement we'll probably have to argue with you about," I told him then. "Amiol said the same thing about not being paid when he joined us, and that argument has just been put off, not settled. If we do agree to let you join the team, we'll have to have a similar arrangement with you."
"Whatever you need," Oldon conceded happily, looking more like his usual self. "Generally speaking, I'm easy."
So said one of the strongest, scariest vampires I'd ever run into. While we all stared at Oldon he finished his Whippe, patted his lips with a napkin, then got to his feet.
"I can see a number of people in the pool, so I'm going down to my suite to change into a bathing suit," Oldon told us with a pleasant smile. "If you feel like joining us you'll be welcome, but if not then I'll be in touch again tomorrow."
He held his hand up for a moment before heading for the hotel, and then he was gone.
"Looks like we have another group decision to make," George observed into the silence the rest of us were coming up with. "What were we all saying a little while ago about living in interesting times?"
"The offer is more than just interesting," Freemont put in, now sounding and looking thoughtful. "If we agree to let Oldon join us, we'll be increasing the team's effectiveness by an incredible amount. How many of the rogue vampires we've tangled with were stronger than our new applicant? Not many, if any at all."
"And he isn't hard to get along with," Amiol added, his own tone just as thoughtful. "He's gone out of his way to keep from making us feel inferior. Not many vampires are willing to do that."
"What impresses me the most is his reason for wanting to join us," Eric said slowly, his gaze looking distracted. "He feels safe and wanted when he's with us, which has to mean he usually feels just the opposite when he's with others. If I don't know what being rejected feels like, no one does."
Every
one made a noise to show they agreed with that thought, and the everyone included me. For some reason I was almost able to feel Oldon's remembered pain when he was with us, and that pain tasted much too familiar…
"I think we just discovered the reason Oldon wanted to have dinner with us and the Hunters people," I commented, as though thinking out loud. "He was trying to show he's able to mix with humans without much trouble, something he'd have to do on a regular basis if he joined us. So… have we come to a decision, or are we just talking?"
"My guess is that we've come to a decision," George answered after looking around. "We'll be having a new team member, and we can announce that decision when Oldon comes up to join the pool party. Waiting until tomorrow to tell him would be … cruel."
It was perfectly obvious that George was right, so I waved my hand to get the waiter's attention. If we were going to wait, I wanted more coffee to help the process along. My living teammates agreed that more coffee sounded great, and once the waiter left to get our lifeblood George looked at me.
"Taz, please give Aurella a call for me," he asked, something he'd never done before. "I'll be joining her later, after the rest of you go to bed, and she'll be happier if I don't have to wake her."
"That's right, you have to tell her about the card," I remembered aloud, reaching for my cell phone. "Yes, she won't mind losing the sleep when she hears why, but I won't say a word beyond alerting her. Passing on the good news ought to be part of your reward."
George smiled as I selected Aurella's number and chose it, and two rings later I heard Aurella's voice. She was glad to know George would be coming by, and promised to stay up reading until he appeared. We exchanged goodbyes after which I switched off, but before we got to talking about anything else Elaine and Todd and their team got up and came over to our table.
"Hey, you guys," Elaine said with an odd kind of smile. "We have some news, which we were half hoping would take longer to come. We've been asked to tackle a situation some people have, so we'll be leaving tomorrow for home. It was great meeting all you folks, and I hope we run into each other again sometime – when we can visit for longer than a few minutes."
"I think you know we feel the same way," I said as I got to my feet. Elaine and I exchanged hugs, and the rest of both teams shook hands with those of us who actually had hands. It took a couple of minutes, but then all the Hunters were gone and we were able to go back to our coffee.
"Our vacation would have been more fun if they stayed, but at least we did get to know them a little," Freemont said once we were all seated. "And I've gotten the impression that we won't be here for the entire week either."
"If for no other reason than we've got about seven days before the next full moon," Eric put in after swallowing what was left in his cup. The waiter was on his way to us with another pitcher of coffee. "Personally, I'd rather go back to the Atlanta area before then than go looking for a safe place here in Mexico."
"And Art might even have some headbands made up," I agreed after emptying my own cup. "Let's talk to Oldon when he gets back and find out if he can leave when we want to go."
Everyone agreed that that was a plan, so we accepted the fresh coffee, poured cups for ourselves, then leaned back to wait for Oldon. It didn't take long before the vampire appeared, now wearing bathing trunks and rubber sandals, also carrying a towel. I waved to get Oldon's attention, which brought him back to our table.
"What's up?" he asked, looking around at us. "Have you made up your minds already?"
"As a matter of fact we have made a decision," I confirmed for him, adding a smile to keep from digging a knife into the being. "We've decided to let a complete amateur join our team, but only because he has such a great personality. Aside from that, we can't picture him being of much help."
"You're teasing me," Oldon stated, looking shocked instead of amused. "Do you have any idea how long it's been since anyone but my brother teased me? I knew my instincts were right about joining you, I just knew it!"
At that point he was grinning so wide that it wasn't possible to miss the sight of his fangs. The waiter who had served us had started over to see if the new arrival wanted anything, but sight of Oldon's fangs stopped the man dead in his tracks.
"That's not all we have to tell you," I said, ignoring the waiter while hoping Oldon didn't see him. "We also need to get back to the States, sooner rather than later. Eric and I have only about seven days before we run smack into another full moon."
"You know, I'd almost forgotten about that," Oldon said, his grin turned into a thoughtful expression. "I don't know how Mexico handles these things, and there's no sense in asking when we can fly home tomorrow night. I'll have the plane readied, but it will help to know where we'll be going."
"We've decided to accept the offer to make Atlanta our permanent base," I responded. "That means it's Atlanta we'll be going back to, but exactly where I don't know. Probably to that hotel we used the last time."
"You might want to call tomorrow to find out," Oldon suggested, nodding in the same thoughtful way. "It will save some time and effort if you know in advance. If we know in advance. If that's all you need, I'm heading to the pool."
I assured him we had nothing else to discuss at the moment, then we all watched him hurry away toward the waiting water. Calling Atlanta tomorrow was a good idea, but I couldn't help wondering if we'd be able to live with whatever idea they came up with…
Chapter Seven
Waking up the next morning was odd, but not because I hadn't gotten a good night's sleep. What I'd also gotten was a speeding up of Mykel's life, a time during which nothing special had happened. Days went by during the one night I slept through, days in which Mykel helped out in the community with nothing unusual happening. The men of the community built what looked like a large barn, putting up the structure in what seemed like a very short time. But I knew less than nothing about building barns, so the effort might have just been ordinary.
It didn't take long to get ready for the day, and when I came out into the living area I found breakfast already being delivered. Everyone else had gotten up earlier than I had, which meant that no one had to rush or end up eating cold food.
"Morning, Taz," Freemont said with his usual smile when the waiter had left the suite. "I knew you would be up in time to join us when the food came, so I ordered it. Did you sleep well, I hope?"
"Very well," I agreed, noticing that Eric and Amiol were listening for my answer. "Nothing new happened in my dreams, but other than that everything is fine. Except that I seem to have been sent a text message."
I added that last after looking at my phone, a habit I'd developed months earlier. Usually there was nothing to show I'd missed a call or a message, but this morning…
"The text is from Oldon," I told the others after calling up the message. "He says the plane will be ready to take us back to the States around noon, so we need to pack – and decide where we'll go after we get back. I think I'll get a cup of coffee and make the call before I sit down to eat."
"We'll be going during the day?" Eric asked, looking as puzzled as the others did. "What about Oldon? Isn't he going to be leaving with us?"
"Oldon has a day coat and hat, don't forget," Freemont put in as Amiol agreed with Eric's question. "He probably has those things with him, otherwise he would have arranged for our departure after dark."
"Yes, that has to be the answer," I agreed as I found the cup of coffee Freemont had already prepared for me. My partner had most likely known I'd need the coffee already waiting even if he hadn't known exactly why I'd need it. I took a good swallow of the coffee, letting it help me wake up all the way, then gave my attention to the phone again.
Finding Allison French's number and selecting it didn't take long, and then the phone was ringing. Allison was the official from the Georgia government who had passed on the request for the team to make Atlanta our permanent base, so she was the one who would be able to tell us where they wanted us to go – a
ssuming they'd already made some arrangements.
"Taz, hi!" Allison's voice came after the second ring. "I hope you're calling to say you and your team have made a decision about our offer. We've been all but holding our breath waiting to hear from you."
"Hi, Allison, and yes, we've made a decision," I said, smiling at the way she dove straight to the point. "Now that we've closed the book on the one responsible for the attack we stopped in Atlanta, we're ready to come back and settle down for a short while. We'll be at the airport this afternoon, so if you don't have anything else planned we can go back to the motel we stayed at last time."
"Using a motel again won't be necessary," she answered with what sounded like delight in her voice. "There's a small residential hotel that's been newly refurbished, and we're ready to take rooms there for your team. After that we can see about more permanent lodgings, but the first step is getting you folks back here. You need four apartments, right?"
"Actually, we need five," I said, half tempted to tease her and say George needed his own place. "We've just added a member to our team, and he'll need vampire accommodations."
"Really…!" she exclaimed, sounding both fascinated and very curious. "A vampire… That ought to make your team even more formidable than it was, as if you needed anything else to make you great. What time will your plane be landing?"
"We'll be leaving at noon here and it's a three hour flight, so – " I broke off when Freemont waved at me, a note he'd written held up so I could see it. "Hold on, Allison. My partner tells me we're in Central time here in Mexico, and you guys are in Eastern. I guess that means we'll be coming in at about four your time."
"Don't worry, we'll get it figured out," Allison reassured me, and I could hear the sound of a pencil writing something. "We'll have someone there to meet you and your team, so don't worry about transportation. Just give me a call once you get to the hotel."
"Will do," I promised. "Right now my breakfast is waiting, so we'll talk again later."
