Guardian's Joy #3

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  “What’s this? What have you done?” It was Marion, the mistress of the first coven. “He won’t like it if she’s marked with any symbol but his own.”

  Mama never did finish the tattoo. She became too ill and the two of them were rarely left alone together in the small, cell-like room in the infirmary. On those rare occasions when they were, her mother’s words were whispered and filled with pain.

  “He doesn’t want you for his consort, only his slave.”

  “Young Samuel, do you love him? Good, good. Let him free your powers. Let him show you the way.”

  “I love you, sweetheart. I always have. I only wanted what was best. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

  JJ felt her mother’s hands on her face, brushing the tears away with her thumbs. Oh, Mama! This was a pain Faith’s gentle touch couldn’t wash away. Strong arms held her close and rocked her as she sobbed. Manon’s arms, not her mother’s, but at that moment, they were the next best thing.

  The door was wide open and the memories flooded out. JJ wondered how many times she would wish she’d left it locked.

  Chapter 32

  Nardo watched Joy mechanically poke fork holes into her mashed potatoes while she stared at a spot on the tablecloth a few inches beyond the edge of her plate. The slices of roast pork lay untouched to one side of her plate and the broccoli and yeast roll sat half eaten and ignored. This wasn’t his Joy.

  He wasn’t the only one who noticed. Everyone at the table kept glancing her way, their faces cautious and concerned. He almost wished the twins would make some smart ass comment just to attract her attention, to make her smile and take away that faraway look from her eyes. Grace and Hope tried to keep the conversation flowing, but their efforts fell flat. Joy took no notice, not even of Faith’s rare presence at the table.

  Canaan sat back from the table and patted his stomach. “Good meal, my lady, as always.”

  And as always, Grace replied with nod, “Why thank you, my lord. It’s my pleasure to serve.”

  It sounded so formal in a House that was anything but. Nardo wasn’t sure when it started, but it had become the signal for whoever was on dish duty to start clearing. It was Nico and Hope’s turn today.

  “I’ll get the coffee.” Grace started to rise, but Faith beat her to it. She tapped the table lightly and pointed to herself. She smiled when Grace thanked her and sat back with a sigh. “I don’t know where my energy goes lately.”

  Broadbent stood. “Maybe I should help with the coffee.”

  Hope, coming through for another load, laughed. “It’s coffee, Professor. She knows where things are. It’s about time she started pulling her weight and since you’ve lost your partner to JJ, tomorrow Faith can help you clear.”

  Grace and Hope started to laugh at the looks on the faces of the men around the table. JJ blinked at the sound and looked at the table as if surprised her plate was gone.

  “Welcome back,” Nardo whispered.

  “What? Oh, sorry. I was thinking.” JJ shifted in her chair uneasily, wondering what else she’d missed and who else had noticed.

  “Deep thoughts?”

  “Hmmm.”

  Once coffee was served, Grace’s rule of no business talk at the dinner table was suspended and tonight even Grace was relieved.

  “Did you get the camera up?” Canaan asked Nardo.

  He and Dov had installed two cameras at the dead guard’s apartment. They were hoping that sooner or later someone would stop by to clear out anything they didn’t want found. Nardo replaced the laptop he’d taken since he’d made a copy of everything it contained.

  “Yeah,” Dov answered for him. “One inside and one out and the two old ladies next door got free cable.”

  “They came out on their little balcony and asked us what we were doing,” Nardo laughed. “We told them we were cable guys. They wanted to know if we got time and a half for working in the middle of the night.”

  “They kept talking to us while we worked. They were cute.”

  “You think anyone who’s female is cute, bro.” Col rolled his eyes.

  “Well they were. They were wearing those fluffy bathrobes and they looked like little balls of cotton candy. They offered to make us hot chocolate. They said they didn’t have cable anymore because of the expense, so Nardo hooked them up.”

  “They’ll remember you,” Canaan told them.

  “They will,” Nardo admitted, “But they were going to anyway.” He thumbed at Dov. “Neither of us can erase without touching and there was no way to do that. This way, they’ll remember us as those nice boys who talked to them and helped them out. They’ll be less likely to tell anyone we were there.”

  “Nardo told them we could lose our jobs if anyone found out. They thought he was sweet and one of them wanted to know if he had a girlfriend because she had a granddaughter he might like to meet. O’course Geekman told her he had one hot mama waiting at home and then I offered to meet the young lady, but she said she had my number and she wouldn’t trust me in the same room as her granddaughter. Can you believe that?”

  “Obviously a wise woman,” Broadbent commented dryly.

  “So we’re up and running. Let’s hope it pans out.” Canaan looked to JJ. “You got anything yet?”

  “I have two things,” JJ told him. “The first is about the vampire. He was feeding at the docks. I’m almost positive. It’s the only place you haven’t seen a demon and I’m talking in months. It makes sense if you think about it, especially this time of year. There are always a couple of barrels burning, the spaces between the buildings are narrow and it’s easier to block off the wind. If you’re on the streets and you can’t find a bed in a shelter, it’s the place to go. Plus, the cops pretty much leave you alone. They don’t want anybody freezing on the streets, either.”

  “You don’t think it’s too risky? Too many possible witnesses?” Nico asked. He sipped his coffee while he waited for her answer.

  “Not if you time it right. Dead time’s about three in the morning. All you’d have to do is find a spot where only one or two are holed up. Do the deed and disappear the body.” These were the conversations she was most comfortable with. She was a beat cop and therefore had little to do with the detective division, but that didn’t mean she didn’t speculate about current cases. She and John used to sit around and play ‘If I was in charge of this case I’d…’.

  Nico was nodding the whole time she spoke. “I think JJ may have something. It’s certainly better than random patrols where we can only hope to come across our vampire.”

  “Our vampire’s dead,” JJ said, baffled. She was there. She knew what happened to his head.

  “I don’t think so,” Col sang.

  JJ wasn’t the only one confused. “Then what the hell’s in my freezer? Which, by the way, will be replaced. You can’t expect me to keep food in the same place you keep your stray bodies.” This last, Grace directed at Canaan. She had yet to forgive him for commandeering her largest chest.

  “Not at the same time anyway. Those bodies take up too much room.” Dov sounded serious, but the look he gave his Liege Lord was full of devilment.

  “Don’t get her started,” Canaan told him.

  “Not so fun when you’re on the receiving end, is it?”

  Nico left Canaan to deal with his mate and answered JJ. “One vampire is dead. We think we have another. Canaan ran into one of those young demons tonight.”

  “Told ya.” Dov sat back with his arms folded and gave his brother a self-satisfied nod. “Vampire Army. Otto’s old mum hit it right on the money. The Nonveniae are creating an army of bad boys.”

  Nardo sighed. “Someone is using the name, Dov. The Nonveniae are a myth.”

  “No they’re not,” Dov and JJ said at the same time though in completely different tones.

  “What?” Dov clearly hadn’t expected anyone to agree.

  This was the second thing she had to share and she’d been dreading it from the moment she remembere
d. “The Nonveniae are real. I’ve seen one. I saw the markings on his chest.”

  “A human with a tattoo…” Nardo began.

  JJ cut him off. “If I hadn’t met you, I would have remembered it as a tattoo.” She looked at Nardo and down again. She’d inspected the markings on his chest closely, very closely. “He was no human. I know the difference. His markings were the same as yours, but where you have the skull, he had a red sword dripping black blood.”

  JJ reached for her coffee cup, but her hands were shaking so badly she knew she couldn’t hold it. Instead, she balled her hands into fists and shoved them down into her lap. Nardo’s hand slid under the table to cover both of hers, giving them a slight squeeze. At this gesture of support, she almost lost it. He wouldn’t feel so kindly toward her when he learned the rest of it, but she had to tell him. But not now, not here in front of the others. That part could wait until they were alone.

  No one asked how she remembered this or where she remembered it from. Grace and Hope must have spread the word while she was working in the War Room. She wondered how much they’d said.

  Grace could feel the fear and worry emanating from JJ and she started to reassure her, but Hope spoke first. She heard the question in JJ’s mind.

  “We only told them you remembered and that it was hard for you, really hard. We don’t know what you remembered. We can’t see it like Manon and she’ll take your memories to the grave. They belong to you. You share what you choose to and the rest you keep locked inside. No one here has the right to ask more than you care to give, so don’t let them bully you.” Hope glared at Canaan and Nico. “And if the twins get too nosey, just slap them.”

  “Yeah,” Grace agreed, “Because you can hurt them.”

  “JJ hurts,” Col mimicked a whine. “You and your big mouth.”

  “Well, she does!”

  JJ appreciated their attempts to lighten the mood, but it wasn’t as easy as Hope made it sound.

  “He was like you,” she finally told them, “Faster, stronger than human. He could lock and unlock doors with his mind like you do, Canaan.” The words came so slowly, were so painful to say. “The people there, all he had to do was lay a hand on them and they smiled. It was like a blessing. They did whatever he asked. No one ever questioned him. On that little farm, he was king.

  “Some of the men were human and some, I’m sure now, were members of the Race or were like him. The women were witches or Daughters of Man. I don’t know if there’s a difference. But they all, every last one of them, thought he was an angel from God. He wasn’t though. He was cruel and evil. He hurt people.” He hurt my mother, hurt me and because of it, I’ll hurt Nardo.

  She couldn’t get the memories to retreat to the back of her mind. Even while she worked through the early hours of morning, the Paenitentia equivalent of afternoon, the memories kept creeping in.

  Everyone seemed to be talking at once, but JJ could follow none of it.

  “What was his name?”

  “Where was this place?”

  “There were others?”

  “Names?”

  In spite of Hope’s assurances, the questions came faster and faster. She ought to know the answers. She couldn’t think. The shaking in her hands travelled up her arms and into her shoulders until her whole body trembled.

  “Stop it!”

  “She doesn’t know!”

  Grace’s voice blended with Hope’s forming a high counterpoint to the men’s deeper rumblings. JJ had only fainted once in her life and that was from hunger. That same feeling overtook her now. Her head was spinning. She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears. The angry voices around her blurred and echoed inside her head. She was going to be sick.

  “Enough! Enough!” Nardo’s voice roared above the others and the sudden silence was unnatural, like the world held its breath.

  Strong arms helped her from the chair and held her upright as he led her from the room. She held her hand tightly over her mouth, afraid she’d lose what little she’d eaten. Nardo paused in the kitchen. As soon as the door swung closed, the argument roared back to life in the dining room.

  “Do you need to stop?” he asked, referring to the small lavatory off the pantry.

  His voice had a deeper resonance to it, almost a growl and when she looked up into his face, she realized why. Nardo was in full battle rage. She’s seen him like this twice before, once when he thought she was a killer and once against the vampire. This time, he’d turned it against his friends in defense of her.

  Her stomach settled and she placed her hand on his chest. “No, I don’t need to stop, but you do. Let it go, Nardo. They didn’t hurt me. They didn’t mean to upset me. I should have waited until things were more settled in my mind. I didn’t think it through.”

  His face transformed. The glistening fangs retracted and JJ stretched up the few inches she needed to kiss him. The door behind them swung open as Dov pushed through with the sugar bowl and creamer in his hands. Angry voices followed him through the open door.

  “Looks like no nookie gonna happen in this house today,” he said, grinning as if this arguing was a regular occurrence. “Damn, you were fierce, Geekman. Didn’t know you had it in ya.” He suddenly remembered his manners. “You okay?” he asked JJ.

  “I’m fine now.” She pointed with her chin towards the door. “I’m sorry I caused all that.”

  “I’m not.” He gave her a wicked grin. “Does my heart good to see Canaan and Nico gettin’ their asses chewed by the ladies.”

  Col came through with a stack of cups and saucers. “Has anybody noticed that when the fur flies, we always get stuck cleaning up the shit. It’s not our turn. We need to get some new recruits. I’m tired of being low man in the House hierarchy.”

  Dov snorted. “Word of the day?”

  “You betcha. Didn’t think I’d get a chance to work it in.”

  “I love you guys.”

  Dov grinned at Nardo. “You see? Women just can’t help themselves.

  “It’s a gift,” his brother added.

  They thought she was playing into their foolishness, but JJ meant what she said. They were trying so hard to make her smile, to make her feel like everything was all right. She had to turn away while she choked back the emotion that was filling her throat.

  “We’ll see you guys tonight and thanks.”

  Nardo put his arm around her and steered her toward the family room at the back of the house. Joy was falling apart in front of his eyes and he felt powerless to stop it. He’d encouraged her to unlock the secrets she held in her mind. No, he’d pushed her and this was the result.

  She was pulling away from him. He could feel her attempt to gain some emotional distance from him and from the House. Her words to the twins had sounded too much like goodbye. She’d been happy here, happy with him. Even during their argument, he’d felt her love. When she said she was going to Manon’s, he had no fear she was running away. What had she learned about her past to cause this sudden reversal?

  Nardo was determined to find out.

  Chapter 33

  Nardo’s rooms; the two room suite that was his private domain. Lying beside him while he’d dozed in her guest room bed, JJ had envisioned this place and had played with a little scene in her head, one where he asked her to move into these rooms with him. She would no longer feel like a guest in the House. She would be a part of it. A part of him. It was where she belonged. With him. A fantasy unfulfilled.

  She tried to take in every detail of Nardo’s most private place. When their short time together was over, as she now knew it would be, she wanted this place, this day, to be imbedded in her memory forever, the dream that almost came true.

  The living area looked like Nardo, lean, spare, comfortable. Floor to ceiling bookshelves lined one wall; one section devoted to books, mostly manuals and non-fiction; another section filled with a massive collection of music; vinyl, CDs, tapes and a short row of old eight tracks, all neatly arranged. The cent
ral section held a complicated looking stereo system and a flat screen TV.

  A desk holding the expected computer sat against another wall and sharing the space, three photographs in silver frames; one each of his parents, his beloved grandfather and his much younger brother, Tony.

  The sofa and two chairs were nondescript, serviceable and comfortable looking. It was the coffee table that drew attention. It was made of industrial looking metal, more trunk than table. The lid of the trunk was made from glass and designed to display a collection inside its lid, except Nardo’s held only one item. It was a leather jacket, ripped and torn and folded to display the powdered print of a long fingered hand.

  “It’s yours,” Nardo said from behind her, “Your print, my jacket. It’s the jacket I was wearing the first night we met. I had a wild idea I could trace you through your prints. By the time I figured out how to lift them, the twins had brought you home.”

  “Grace says they saved my life.”

  Nardo laughed. “You probably saved theirs. I can’t very well turn the two now, not after they brought you home to me.”

  Her back was still to him and he saw her stiffen slightly and then deliberately release the tension and relax.

  “Do you want to talk,” he asked quietly.

  “No. Not now. Later,” she said softly, almost sadly. And then she turned to him and he saw the sadness in her voice reflected in her eyes. “I want to make love to you.”

  She raised her fingers to his mouth and slowly traced his lips. “Close your eyes,” she whispered and waited until he obeyed.

  Feather light touches skimmed along his hairline, starting at the center of his forehead and moving down along the sides of his face to his ears, outlining their shells with the tips of nails. From there she followed the shape of his jaws. Fingers never stopping, she spread them wide down the length of his neck and up again over his Adam’s apple. From there, she returned to his face, her ever moving fingers played in the hollow of his cheeks and lingered over the bones above.