by Powell, C. G. ; Lavender, Cait; Rayns, Lisa; Hardin, Olivia; Nelson, Stephanie; Schulte, Liz
CUPID PAINTED BLIND
Liz Schulte
Lisa Rayns
Olivia Hardin
C.G. Powell
Cait Lavender
Stephanie Nelson
CUPID PAINTED BLIND
Liz Schulte
Lisa Rayns
Olivia Hardin
C.G. Powell
Cait Lavender
Stephanie Nelson
Copyright © 2012
All Rights Reserved.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Love to faults is always blind, always is to joy inclined. Lawless, winged, and unconfined, and breaks all chains from every mind.
– Shakespeare
CONTENTS
Sweet Little Lies
By Liz Schulte
Autumn’s Call
By Lisa Rayns
Tell A Soul
By Olivia Hardin
The Siren Sarina
By C.G. Powell
Fool Moon
By Cait Lavender
When Opportunity Haunts
By Stephanie Nelson
Sweet Little Lies
By Liz Schulte
“Femi, you’ve already used three of your lives. Come home before you waste another.” My sister, and only family member who still talked to me, punctuated her sentence with a loud sigh.
“Come home and do what? Wait for a war to break out? I think I’ll pass.” I walked down the streets of Chicago towards the Office, hoping her lecture ended soon.
“It’s the way of our people, the way of our goddess.”
It wasn’t easy being a Sehkmet. First, barely anyone knew our race even existed. Second, those who did didn’t like us. Our race descended from the goddess, Sehkmet, and continued her ways. She was a warrior goddess of healing, which was fine and dandy thousands of years ago, but in today’s time there wasn’t much of a call for or belief in us. We spent most of our time in seclusion studying, training, and waiting to be needed—which was incredibly mind numbing.
I was the one red rose in a garden of white. I chose not to sit around twiddling my thumbs and having babies, much to the disappointment and disgrace of all those related to me. I left home and went out to live among the other races in the Abyss, quite the scandal. “I don’t think the goddess ever intended for us to be idle.”
“You dare to presume to know what you cannot. You will be struck down for your insolence.”
I rolled my eyes and waited for the lightning to strike. Nothing happened. “Then I guess I’ll be down to five lives. Look, Dendera, I’m not coming home. I like my job, and I like my life. I’m not giving it up no matter how many lives I lose. Threats won’t change my mind.”
“Darius will not wait forever.”
“I didn’t ask him to wait.”
“But you are promised to him.”
“I never made that promise.”
“It’s the way of our people!”
“And I left our people.” I ran my pointed fingernails through my hair and sighed. Talking to my sister was like trying to explain television to someone who didn’t even have a radio. She just didn’t get it. “I have to go. Take care.” I pushed end on the phone before she could object and opened the door of the Office. The bartender, Sy, glanced up from his newspaper and smiled. The sexy tilt of his lips would have made girls swoon all around me if the bar wasn’t entirely filled with burly misanthropes. I winked back at him in an exaggerated fashion. He was entirely too attractive to work in a dive like this, and he had to know it. He flirted with me in a shameless manner, but I didn’t mind. There weren’t many attractive bounty hunters (female or otherwise), and he seemed to be bound to the establishment.
The Office was a tavern, but it was mainly a hub for bounty hunters—every city has its own gathering point. Sy said he didn’t own the Office, yet he was always here. If I had to guess, I’d say he probably lived here. How they (whoever “they” were) managed to get an elf, half or otherwise, to permanently tie himself to this dark little bar was beyond me. Sy never complained and always had a smile when I walked in the door. It was nice to have at least one person glad to see me. I hadn’t quite figured out how the system worked, and Sy didn’t make much of an effort to explain it though I questioned him many times. I would eventually wear him down. Sekhmets always had questions.
I leaned against the bar and met the gaze of his pewter eyes. “Could that shirt be any tighter?”
“Do you like it? I wore it just for you.” He leaned his tall, broad frame on the other side of the counter so his face was inches from mine.
I inspected the faded black T-shirt stretching over his muscular chest and hugging his biceps. “Thirty year old t-shirts are definitely my favorite.” I ran a finger from his shoulder to his peck. “So soft and rippable.”
Sy’s eyes darkened. “Tease.” He straightened back up shaking his head. “What can I get for you, love? Beer? Or something stronger—like me.”
I laughed loudly. “Worst line ever. How long did it take you to come up with that and can you get that time back?”
He smiled, his eyes glinting in amusement.
“I’ll have a beer and fried clams, stud.”
Sy called my order into the kitchen then slid the cold glass in front of me. “So you’re back already. Did you get your last bounty?”
“Yep. Easy peasy. Anything good come through yet?”
He gave a noncommittal shrug, which for Sy meant no. He never commented too much on the bounties, and I had the feeling that was part of his job. I suspected he ran the whole Chicago operation, so he couldn’t look like he was playing favorites. “Night’s still young.”
“Who do you work for, Sy? Who runs this joint? Do you ever get a night off?”
He raised an eyebrow. “For you, Femi, I’d take a night off.”
I shook my head. He knew what I meant. Sy asked me out at least once a week. I was pretty sure he was joking, and it had sort of become a thing with us. We flirted constantly, but it never went further than that.
His laughter drifted through the air and tickled my ears. “I did miss your endless questions and rejections while you were gone.”
Before I could make a retort someone else came up to the bar. I gave Sy a half wave and went to stake my claim at a table. I scanned the room to see who was here tonight. It was a motley assortment of scarred, broken people. I tilted my head in acknowledgement to a couple of them, but mostly I kept to myself. Bounty hunters were each other’s biggest competition, so most of the time we barely got along with one another. On any given day five to twenty new bounties would post and half the bar would clear out while the other half waited from something more in their niche. I personally liked to take the missing persons cases and go after the people who hurt those weaker than them. Nothing drove me crazy faster than a bully.
Missing p
ersons were the most frequent type of case to come through. According to the FBI in 2010 there were 85,820 active missing person cases, roughly 3% of the human population. In the Abyss, the number was lower, but the population percentage was so much higher. Every year 15% of the Abyss population went missing, and I made it my business to find as many of them as I could. Many were deaths, but some weren’t so there was always the hope of bringing the missing person home. I gave the families closure and helped them heal. I liked to think I was still doing the will of the goddess, and I having an awesome time doing it.
My food was plopped down in front of me by an annoyed looking hobgoblin who I scowled at before it scurried away. I slid the golden clams to one side and squirted ketchup on my plate. As I took my first delectable bite I noticed Sy pointing in my direction. My eyes went to the person he was directing, and my gaze locked with the piercing blue eyes of what I assumed was a vampire. Vampires weren’t necessarily easy to identify, but there were certain traits that stood out. The pale skin and lack of breathing wasn’t enough to pinpoint one; lots of creatures in the Abyss had light allergies and didn’t breathe. In fact, most vampires still appeared to breathe, whether that was to fit in or out of habit I didn’t know. The best way to identify them was their stillness. No other race had such a natural stillness built into them. Every twitch a vampire made was thought about and intended or they wouldn’t make it. Not even their eyes moved on their own—eerie. Vampires were as still as any corpse until they chose to change positions, and then their movements could be controlled or lightning fast. I didn’t have much experience with them, so I was curious about the man drifting in my direction.
I watched him cautiously approach as if giving me time to make up my mind about him. He wasn’t overly tall, just shy of six feet, and had a thin, rangy build that I knew better than to under-estimate. His hair was longer on top and looked like he combed it back with his fingers. A strand fell across his forehead; the tip nearly touched his long eyelashes. Those electric-blue eyes didn’t stay locked to mine, instead they scanned the room for possible attacks—vampires weren’t always tolerated.
“May I?” he asked when he got to my table.
I deposited another clam in my mouth and chewed a couple times before I nodded.
A small, crooked smile, that almost seemed shy, tilted his mouth. “Thank you.”
A hurried shuffle came from behind me, and my hand shot out to the left clenching around the throat of the would be attacker, sharpened fingernails hovering just above the skin. “One more inch, Tobias, and I rip out your throat for disrupting my meeting.” I didn’t even have to look at him to know who it was. Tobias notoriously hated vampires. He only took the vampire bounties as a personal vendetta against them. The rumor was his entire family was drained by one when he was a kid, but I never asked.
“You have a meeting with a vampire?” he sputtered, though he didn’t try to move closer.
“Go back to your seat, this doesn’t concern you.”
He took a couple steps back, shaking his head. “Damn, Sehkmets. You’ll work with anything.”
“You keep sweet talking me, Tobias, I might even work with you.” I blew him a kiss and turned back to the vampire when I was reasonably sure he left. The vampire’s eyes were trained on Tobias, his face unreadable. He had a boy next door look, except for the power exuding beneath his skin. I hadn’t been around enough vampires to know how old he was, but he was stronger than any I had encountered. I wondered who would have won the fight had I let Tobias attack him. “So what can I do for you?”
The vampire redirected his gaze to me with an appraising look. “You are quite the little tiger, aren’t you?” He shook his head. His square jaw set at a serious angle, and his eyes sparked with anger beneath his almost waxy face. “I shouldn’t have come.”
I leaned back in my chair, trying to get a handle on this odd bird. “Well, you’ve already interrupted my dinner and nearly got me into a fight. You might as well tell me what you want.”
“I apologize. I have no wish to cause you trouble.”
“If I didn’t want a little trouble, I wouldn’t be a hunter.” He still didn’t look convinced, so I flashed him my most feline smile. “It’s not nice to peak a Sekhmet’s curiosity then leave her hanging.” It was unclear how closely related Sehkmet were to cats, our goddess was said to have the head of a lion, but we did have many similar traits as our furry counterparts.
He nodded, the edges of his mouth curled in a half smile, half grimace. “Would you mind if we talk somewhere else?” His eyes went to Tobias and mine went to my uneaten dinner. Was I more curious or hungry? The clams looked awfully inviting on my plate. “Please.” His voice pulled my thoughts away from food.
Vampires were fantastic manipulators, but as far as plans went to lure me to my death this one would be pretty thin. There were witnesses, no guarantee I would even be here, and plenty of people who would kill him then sleep like a baby afterward. If he was as old as I thought, he probably wouldn’t approach me in such a clumsy manner. Just the fact a vampire willingly walked into a hunter bar told me something big was happening, and how could I resist that?
“This better be good.” I grumbled as I stood up, taking another clam for the road. I threw some money on the table and gave my dinner one last longing look. “Because I’m walking away from a perfectly good meal.”
He laughed a short, masculine laugh and goose bumps raced up my spine. “I’ll make it up to you, shall we?” He flourished his hand towards the door.
“After you,” I said, mocking his gesture. I wouldn’t discriminate against vampires, but I wasn’t going to let my guard down either. He was stronger and possibly faster than me, so I had to be smarter than him. If he did intend to kill me, I wasn’t going to make it easy.
He nodded and led the way.
Sy watched us with his eyebrows pulled together, so I gave him a small smile and a little wave meant to be reassuring as I walked out the door. Once outside we walked in silence for a couple blocks. The lights reflecting off the wet pavement made the city seem like a rainbow of neon lights.
“You’re surprising,” he said, staring straight ahead.
“Why’s that?”
“Not many people in there would have defended me, even fewer would have left with me.” Those impossibly blue eyes turned to me and searched mine for just a moment before darting away. “Why do you trust me?”
“I don’t.” I gave him a hard look to make sure he understood me. When he blinked once in acknowledgment, I softened my tone. “I haven’t made up my mind about you, but I’m curious what you could want badly enough to walk into the Office.”
“And you’re willing to follow me into a deserted street to find out?”
“You think you can take me?”
He gave a noncommittal shrug.
“Why are you afraid to look at me?”
“Am I?”
“Well, I’m having a conversation with the side of your face.”
He chuckled. “I’m trying not to make you uncomfortable.”
“By not meeting my eyes?” It made me more uncomfortable that I couldn’t get a good read on what he was thinking since I was mostly met with his profile.
“When I look at people they seem to believe I see them as dinner.” His eyes pierced mine and his tongue rolled across the bottom of his teeth. His gaze traveled up and down taking all of me in, and I could almost feel the flick of his tongue against my throat.
I resisted the urge to lean in. “And what did you need from me?”
“A friend of mine is missing. I need help finding her. I’ll pay you whatever you think is fair.”
“You could’ve just made a bounty.”
“I wouldn’t trust just anyone. I want to be able to select the person for this job.” His mouth was set in a firm line and his eyes never wavered from mine.
“And you want me to bring her home.”
He shook his head. “I want you to help me find h
er.”
“Why me?” His offer sounded disingenuous though his actions, tone, and facial expressions were just as they should have been. He was hiding something, my gut was sure of it.
“Your reputation precedes you.”
“Then you know I work alone.”
“I’m afraid I must insist on this point.”
I stopped walking. “Well, good luck.” I smiled before I turned and headed back in the other direction, happy to leave this problem for someone else to deal with.
“Wait, Ms.— “
I stalled and glanced back over my shoulder, but he was gone. I frowned and came back around to see him standing in front of me.
“I, at least, owe you dinner,” he said with a charming half grin.
I raised an eyebrow.
“There’s a very good restaurant a block further that way.” He nodded in the direction we had been walking. “Please, you were kind to me this evening. Let me repay your kindness.”
His cobalt eyes swam with enticement. My mouth went dry and my stomach tightened with anticipation. His gaze was liquid and hypnotizing, trying to draw me into the deep, black depths of his world.
“No, but thanks for the offer. Good luck finding your friend.” I walked away, the hair on the back of my neck standing tall. Handsome, shy, seemingly sweet vampires were now number three on my top five “Run Away Quick” list. They simply couldn’t be trusted.
*
I headed back to the Office hoping they hadn’t disposed of my dinner. The cute vampire managed to plant a seed of curiosity and it was hard to let go. Who was his friend and what was she involved in? Why did he come to me, and better yet, what was he hiding? Vampires didn’t often go outside of their own clique, so if she was another vampire, why would he ask for outside help? If she wasn’t a vampire, what could he possibly want with her?
Not many vampires had non-vampire friends. They fed off of life forces, human or otherwise. They were parasitic, and no amount of wishing or hoping would change that. Was this poor girl his favorite meal who escaped or an actual friend? I looked back over my shoulder, though I didn’t sense him behind me, just to be sure he was gone before I slipped back inside the tavern. My table was cleared and taken. Several hunters gave me the stink eye as I walked to the bar. Blind hatred was never really my thing. It didn’t care if the client was a vampire or a honey badger; if the case was good, I was going to help regardless of what they thought of me.
