All Hellos

by Michael Barnette

  Published by Mojocastle Press, LLC

  Price, Utah

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  Mojocastle Tricks: All Hellos

  ISBN: 1-60180-011-8

  Copyright ã 2006 Michael Barnette

  Cover Art Copyright @ 2006 Mojocastle Press

  All rights reserved.

  Excluding legitimate review sites and review publications, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Copying, scanning, uploading, selling and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without permission from the publisher is illegal, punishable by law and will be prosecuted.

  Available online at:

  http://www.mojocastle.com/

  Also By Michael Barnette:

  Mercykill: Shattered Melody

  Through Neon Eyes Series

  GameNet Series

  Legend of the Autumn Wind: Wind of Change

  Dedication:

  To Anna Fallon

  This one is for you.

  Thanks for cheering me on.

  And to Stefani Kelsey

  My all time favorite Editor.

  And to all my fans on the Immortal Heroes newsgroup.

  You’re the best!

  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/immortal_heroes

  Chapter One

  Thump. Thump.

  The wedge-shaped head came around, butter-yellow eyes narrowing to peer through the trees. A soft growl rumbled in a massive chest.

  Thump. Thump.

  Scent on the wind. Familiar. Enticing.

  A fanged mouth grinned, the smile hungry, needing, wanting.

  Thump. Thump.

  Heartbeat.

  Human.

  Close.

  Drawing the scent deeper.

  Muzzle quivering at another scent.

  The scent of something even better than a lone human.

  Magic on the wind. Sweet, enticing.

  Innocent in the ways of power.

  Fresh and untainted by the knowledge of what she was.

  She. The best Prey of all.

  The creature laughed, the sound a deep coughing growl.

  Time to have some fun.

  Time to hunt.

  Why was it that a car tire always went flat at the most inconvenient time, in the worst possible place? Here she was, miles from the nearest gas station, her cell phone forgotten on the kitchen counter and dressed to the nines for the All Hellos October Fling Singles Weekend at her friend’s campground. Even worse, the trunk was loaded with crap for the weekend, crap she’d have to get out in order to find something with which she could even nominally repair the tire.

  Adding insult to the injury of the tire, she was pretty sure she’d taken the wrong road off the state highway. If that was true, she had a flat and she was lost.

  Okay, maybe not lost, just misplaced, she thought.

  Sighing, Iris kicked the tire in annoyance, almost falling on the train of the long black dress she was wearing when the toe of her high heels caught it. She felt like an idiot standing there in her vampiress getup beside a battered late-model car that was both missing its hubcaps and sporting a flat. Shoes clattering loudly in the cricket-drone silence, she made her way to the trunk, wondering if her roommate had stolen her can of flat fixer again. Popping open the trunk, she peered into the darkness, feeling the thigh high slit in the dress creep even higher.

  She’d never been fully comfortable with her body, despite the slinky dress she was wearing. If she’d been born in the nineteen-forties she could have been an actress; she had the look that would have won her fame and fortune. Thick, curly blond hair, a perfect mouth and an hourglass figure. Add to that violet eyes which rivaled a certain actress very popular at the time and she would have been a star. At least her mother always said so and as a child, she’d wanted more than anything to be an actress.

  Genetics and the movie industry had other ideas.

  She had great tits, and lush hips that flared out from a classically narrow waist. Unfortunately only stick-figure women who wore a size zero, or at most a two, could make it in Hollywood these days.

  Like most little girls, she wasn’t ever going to realize her childhood dream.

  Instead, she was a waitress at a chain restaurant and had to listen to pick-up line after pick-up line, none of them very inspired, some of them downright crude.

  At least she was assured of finding companionship of some type for the weekend. I wonder if Karl’s going to be there, he’s always up for a good time. She giggled at the double entendre as she rummaged around under her suitcase, trying to find what she needed. Unable to immediately feel the can of flat fixer, she tried moving her suitcase and still had no luck.

  It’d be nice to meet someone new, though. Someone a bit more adventurous than Karl. While the man was a good lay, he was hardly inspired, and his idea of foreplay typically consisted of removing his glasses. Not very romantic. Neither was the fact he usually kept his socks on. Sighing, she lifted a box of snacks and drinks out of the way, wondering where the milk crate of her car repair stuff had gone to this time. Bet Holly took it out and put it in her car, dammit.

  Holly was always taking her things. She supposed it was the price one paid for having a roommate, but it was really getting on her nerves. It wasn’t just little things like the flat repair stuff or the odd piece of costume jewelry, either. Last week, Holly had taken her tickets to see a local production of Taming of the Shrew, which she hadn’t noticed until she’d arrived with her date and not had them. James had been a dear and gotten them tickets, but they hadn’t been for seats as close to the stage.

  The thing that most annoyed her about the stolen tickets was that Holly hadn’t even used them.

  Maybe you’ll get really lucky and that cute blond guy will be here. Then she wondered if she really wanted to deal with—what the hell had his name been? Sure, he’s a pretty boy, but jeez, talking to him’s like having a conversation with a fashion doll. She chuckled again, Body by god, brains by Mattel. But what a body. She shook her head and smiled feeling a flare of heat low and deep inside her. Yeah, he was a good time. But what the hell was his name? Cory? Corwin?

  It irked her that she couldn’t remember his name, since he was awfully pretty and he really liked women with dangerous curves. She still had the T-shirt he’d bought her that said so. Unless Holly had taken that too, when she wasn’t looking.

  Headlights painted the darkness and she turned her head in time to be half blinded as a car went speeding by, not even stopping to help a lady. Typical.

  Then again, did she really want anyone to stop?

  Probably not. With her luck, they’d turn out to be some kind of perv.

  Sighing, she went back to her search.

  She heard a sound and looked toward the trees. There was no sign of anything. Not that she was able to see in the gloom, anyway. Frowning, she decided it was probably a deer and went back to what she’d been doing.

  Well, it’s got to be here somewhere.

  Another noise, and she looked up a second time, peering into the darkness. Something was out there. Something big enough to break a branch from the sound of the loud crack she’d just heard.

  Just a deer, she reassured herself as she resumed her search.

  Another loud crack, a crash.

  The hair on the back of her neck stood up, goose-bumps rising on her arms, sending a creeping chill down her spine.

  Deer, she told herself firmly. Just a deer. Flashlight first, then the stuff for t
he tire.

  She was just leaning over the back of the car to check toward the front of the truck, trying to find her big flashlight, when headlights played across her for a second time.

  Great, I’m ass up in the trunk, scared half out of my mind and someone comes by. Bet they’re laughing themselves silly right now.

  The vehicle slowed and she pushed herself upright, the feathers on the décolletage of her dress tickling her as the turned to see who or what had driven up.

  It was a very expensive SUV with tinted windows. The passenger side window slid down as the driver stopped it directly beside Iris.

  Dark eyes regarded her from above a thousand-watt smile that made her heart melt, her brain turn to mush and something much lower down her body flutter in a jolt of pure lust.

  The guy was glossy-magazine-ad gorgeous, with dark wavy hair, soulful chocolate eyes and a face starkly masculine. From the way his polo shirt clung to his body she could tell he kept himself in good shape, and she found herself wondering exactly what he’d look like out of the shirt.

  “Need some help?” the man asked as he very blatantly studied her from head to the fluffy tips of her too-high-heeled shoes.

  “I, umm...” Well, you won’t get labeled an intellectual, she told herself. The man’s smile was devastating, and the way he was looking her up and down told her he liked what he was seeing.

  Eat your hearts out, stick-figure girls, she thought as her mind tried to find the right gear to make her mouth go.

  “Let me guess,” another rich masculine voice said from beyond the dark haired god in the passenger’s seat. “You’re going to the All Hellos thing at the campground, right?”

  The driver leaned forward, and Iris could see the he was just as shockingly handsome as his passenger. A frosted moonlight sort of blond, where the other man was dark as a night-robed forest. She found herself staring at eyes that were somewhere between lapis lazuli and turquoise in color. Stunning. Mesmerizing. Dampness flooded her panties and she struggled to catch her breath, feeling like a total idiot.

  She nodded, then wondered what she was doing talking to a pair of strange men on an otherwise deserted road in the middle of the night. Well, maybe middle of the night was a bit of an exaggeration. Last time she’d looked it was just nine, but they were the only traffic on the road at the moment.

  “We don’t bite,” the dark haired man assured her. The door of the SUV opened and he stepped out, his head topping the roof of the vehicle.

  His companion chuckled and said, “Not unless we’re invited to, of course.”

  She blinked. “Really, I...”

  The darkly attractive man stuck his hand out, “My name’s Adrian, and that,” he gestured with his head toward the driver, “is Gabriel.”

  Iris took the proffered hand and they shook like business associates, but the contact sent a delicious shiver through her. This man is just too handsome to be real. So’s that friend of his. Come on, Iris, wakey wakey, you have no chance with either of them. She looked at the other man in the SUV. I bet they’re gay. The gorgeous ones always are, she reminded herself, somewhat cynically. She blinked, snapping out of her reverie when she realized Adrian was trying to regain possession of his hand, which she’d neglected to let go of. “I’m Iris, and yes, I was on my way to the singles weekend. You know about it?”

  “We should, that’s where we’re going,” Adrian told her as he headed for the front of the car and the very apparent flat tire. He turned. “Gabe, do you have any of that spray they use to fix tires?”

  “Let me get this beast off the road and I’ll look,” the blond driver replied.

  Adrian smiled at Iris. “So tell me, what is an attractive woman like yourself doing going to the Singles Meet? I’d think you’d have all sorts of beaus flocking around you.”

  She stared at him. Had he actually just used the word ‘beau’, or was she losing her hearing? Maybe the lust heating her body was interfering with her higher brain functions.

  Adrian, you are showing your age again, Gabriel warned, speaking directly into his companion’s mind.

  Old habits, Gabe, you know how hard it is for me.

  Let’s discuss hard, shall we?

  There was a sharp sound, the mental equivalent of a snort at the double entendre. I can’t help what she does to me. You know I’ve always loved a good set of tits.

  That isn’t the only good set of something you get distracted by. He put the car in park, turning off the ignition. Don’t give me excuses, Adrian. I’m older than you are and I can manage not to sound like a walking anachronism.

  The problem here is that you’re an ass, Gabe.

  I love you too, Adrian.

  You’d better be willing to back that statement up with action later. Just looking at this dame has me hard.

  Dame? There was a mental equivalent of a sigh. Believe me on this, we are going to have a grand time.

  And he calls my word usage anachronistic.

  Saying you will have a grand time is not nearly as out of date as ‘beau’, I’ll have you know. Dame is hardly any better.

  Bully for you and your command of the modern language, my bonny laddie.

  Gabriel couldn’t help chuckling as he got out of the SUV and headed for the back of their vehicle. While he rather enjoyed having the gas-guzzling thing, he felt a pang of nostalgia at the thought of carriages and horses. Things had been so much easier for them both then. There were fewer people, and ones with rare gifts were easier to track down because they didn’t move around as often, and not nearly as fast. Unlike the lovely lady they were currently conversing with, who they’d been trying to track down for the better part of three months. Only when she’d left the static buzzing of the big city had they finally gotten a solid lock on her unique signal.

  Nice to find a woman for a change. There are so few females among us that she’ll be very popular.

  He’d no more than opened the back of the SUV when he sensed something nearby. Something that carried a taint of corruption, of power gone awry.

  He glanced in Adrian’s direction and found that the other man was standing by the front of Iris’s car. He too was staring into the darkness.

  Let’s make up some excuse about not being able to fix the tire, shall we?

  Adrian turned and nodded slightly—too slight a motion for the woman to see, but Gabriel caught it. Adrian crouched down as if inspecting the tire to determine where the damage was, but he was really making sure the knife he carried in his boot was ready to be used. I think a bent rim is in order. From what I saw of her trunk, she doesn’t even have a donut spare back there.

  Good enough. Let’s do this quickly, shall we?

  What if she won’t agree to go?

  Gabriel frowned. I’ll give her a bit of a nudge.

  Is that a good idea?

  Probably not, but what else can we do?

  He saw Adrian peer over the hood of the car. The way his companion’s gaze narrowed, the tension in his shoulders, the barely perceptible glint of honeyed gold in his gaze… Yes, if Adrian was reacting that strongly, the threat was a dire one. Adrian always reacted more strongly to a threat than he did, and he also felt the potential danger much sooner. One of the greatest hazards of getting so old; one’s perception of danger tended to fade.

  Nudge her, will you? I don’t like this in the least. Not with her so vulnerable.

  The woman was so intent on what Adrian was doing she never noticed the subtle shimmer, the barest glint of illumination that came to being on Gabriel’s fingertips as he evoked the minor spell. On the pretense of bringing over the flat repair can, he brushed his fingertips against her arm, making her more susceptible to their suggestions. It didn’t remove her will entirely, but it would make convincing her to go with them a great deal simpler.

  Gabriel himself continued to scan the darkness of the forest, the hair at the nape of his neck rising in warning. He wanted to growl, but suppressed the urge.

  There was definit
ely something out there.

  Something big and incredibly dangerous.

  Something vaguely familiar.

  Golden eyes watched, regarding the trio.

  Thump. Thump.

  Life. Blood. Hunger.

  Head lifting to draw in the enticing scent of the one it wanted, it growled at the message carried on the wind.

  Danger whispered through its mind, a growl rumbled in its chest.

  Wait.

  Watch.

  There would be a chance.

  There always was.

  It licked its lips and sat down to wait.

  Adrian looked up at the stunning beauty watching him so intently. His gaze shot to the night-decked woods, trying to pierce the gloom, but there was a solid wall of underbrush masking anything that might be lurking.

  Hiding what he knew was lurking back there. A beast, one that carried the taint of death, of joyous killing. His own inner self tried to surface to meet the threat, but he stifled it with the strength of his will. Letting Iris see what either of them truly was would be devastating, not only to her fragile psyche at this stage, but to their ability to convince her she was not really human.

  “I’m sorry, but unless you’ve got a spare, this car isn’t going anywhere tonight. The rim is bent,” he told her, lying and hating that they had no other option open.

  “Oh, you’re kidding me!” Iris said, throwing up her hands. “I’ve got all my stuff in the car.”

  “Well, we’ve got room in the back of the SUV, and we are going to the same party,” Gabriel said, and Adrian could tell the man had turned on the charm, both figuratively and literally. As dark as it was he could see the dim sparkle of the magic flickering like St. Elmo’s Fire around her as the spell took effect.

  He watched suspicion and a cautious amount of fear pass across the woman’s face, saw the magic inherent in her soul trying to overcome the spell Gabriel had set on her. If things went wrong now—if her innate power awakened too strongly—they could lose her. Or worse, she could accidentally lash out and do one or both of them injury they could not afford to suffer with something of such power watching them from the trees.