by I. T. Lucas
Andrew walked over to the bar and poured himself a glass of Lagavulin.
“Care to join me for a drink? Perhaps a light beer?”
“I’ll have what you’re having.”
“You sure it’s okay? Did the doctor clear you for alcohol?”
Dalhu shrugged. “I don’t need medical assessment. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.” Andrew poured the second glass.
Dalhu chuckled. “You should’ve seen me right after. I looked like the walking dead.” He waved a hand over his face. “This is a vast improvement.”
Andrew handed Dalhu the drink and walked over to the only couch that wasn’t littered with various art supplies. “Amanda must’ve been distraught to see you like that.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.” Dalhu lifted a wrapped pack of three canvases from one of the chairs and put it on the floor, then sat down.
“So, how are you feeling?”
“Great.” Dalhu took a swig. “I started a weight lifting regimen. Anandur is helping me get back in shape. The loss of muscle was surprising. I had no idea one week of stasis could do so much damage. It’s creepy to think what the others would look like after all this time.”
“I bet they look like walking skeletons.”
Dalhu shook his head. “If they are ever awakened, I doubt they will be able to move at all, let alone walk. Anandur and Brundar had to practically carry me here. It took me a good full day to regain enough strength to use the facilities on my own.”
Poor schmuck. Must’ve been a hell of a blow to his ego to have Amanda help him to the toilet. Not a pleasant thought, that was for sure.
“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better. Lucky for you, painting does not require the kind of musculature fighting does.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Dalhu grimaced.
“Listen, Dalhu, I think you should start charging for these portraits.”
Dalhu shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Of course, you can. Who is paying for the supplies? Amanda, right?”
Dalhu nodded.
“Don’t you think you should at least make enough to pay her back? I know she doesn’t need it, and she doesn’t expect it either, but you do—for your own self-worth. And anyway, your warring days are over, and this is probably the only day job you gonna get. Lucky for you, this is not only something that you enjoy doing, but you also happen to have talent. Make the most out of it.”
Dalhu rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Even if I wanted to, I don’t know how to go about it. What am I going to say to the next clansman or woman—here is your portrait and you owe me a hundred bucks?”
Andrew chuckled. “First of all, you’re selling yourself too cheap. You should charge something around a thousand, not a hundred. They sure can afford it. And second, you can have Amanda do the money part. Let her be your manager.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea. She’ll have no problem charging her relatives.”
Andrew pointed to the one he liked most. “You can start with this beautiful portrait of Syssi and Kian at their wedding. It should go for several thousand.”
“No, this one is a belated wedding present.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
“When are you going to give it to them?”
“The paint needs a few more days to dry. We can’t wrap it in gift paper until it does.”
There was a moment of silence as they both seemed to run out of things to talk about.
Andrew cleared his throat and pushed to his feet. “Well, I’m heading to Syssi’s to check out her new cappuccino machine, and I was told by Amanda to drag you away from your brushes and bring you along.”
Dalhu grimaced. “You go ahead. I’d rather stay here.”
“Come on, I don’t think Kian is there, and even if he is, you guys need to get used to each other.”
Dalhu closed his eyes and breathed in. “Yeah, you’re right. Let me change into something clean. But you don’t need to wait for me, I know the way.”
Aha, sure. As if I was born yesterday and believe he is going to show up.
“No, it’s no problem, I’ll wait.” Dalhu shrugged. “As you wish.”
Chapter 15: Amanda
Sweet Andrew. He had done exactly what she’d told him to do, and brought Dalhu with him. Except, by the look on Dalhu’s face, he would’ve preferred to stay home. Dragging him over here had probably taken some arm twisting on Andrew’s part.
Figuratively speaking, of course.
Even in his weakened state, Dalhu was formidable, and human Andrew didn’t stand a chance against her man. Physically. Mentally, Dalhu wasn’t there yet. He seemed anxious, his eyes darting nervously toward the darkened corridor. He was no doubt expecting to see Kian and bracing himself for his thinly veiled distaste.
Her brother was trying his best—but his best, unfortunately, wasn’t good enough. Not that she was harboring unrealistic expectations of Dalhu and Kian becoming best buddies, never going to happen, but she hoped that with time, they would at least become comfortable enough with each other to share a beer maybe, or tell some dirty jokes—the kind of stuff guys did with casual friends.
She sauntered up to Dalhu and kissed his cheek. “You can relax, darling, he isn’t here,” she whispered in his ear.
Her words worked like a magic wand. Instantly, the stiffness in his shoulders disappeared, and he walked over to the bar to examine Syssi and Kian’s new coffee making contraption.
“This is one hell of a gadget,” he told Andrew, who joined him for the inspection.
“It’s a big fucker. There is barely any counter space left.” Andrew walked around to the other side, examining the machine’s back.
“Do you want to see me making it?” Syssi asked hopefully.
“Sure.” Andrew stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged.
“Cappuccino or espresso?”
“Cappuccino. I had one earlier today in a coffee shop, and it was fantastic. I’m curious to taste the difference,” Andrew said.
“Dalhu?”
“The same. Amanda wants me to compare it to our Nespresso.”
Syssi snorted. “Nespresso is for amateurs. When you’re ready to play with big boy toys, I’ll give you the name of the supplier for this beauty.”
For some inexplicable reason, Syssi’s comment made Dalhu uncomfortable, and he looked away. Amanda wrapped her arm around his midriff and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m happy with the simplicity of our little machine. And in my humble opinion, there isn’t that much of a difference in taste.”
Andrew chuckled. “You don’t have an opinion that is humble. In fact, I’m not sure you know what that word means.”
Syssi giggled.
Dalhu smirked.
“What? You all think I’m a show-off?”
Andrew raised his hands. “I’m going to shut up from now on.”
Dalhu nodded.
“Perhaps not a show-off, but you’re definitely an extrovert,” Syssi patted her shoulder. “But that’s part of your charm that we all love so much, so don’t take offense.”
Amanda harrumphed and crossed her arms over her chest. They had a point, though. “Fine, be like that.”
“This is even simpler to operate than your capsule machine. I just press this one button and voila, it does everything.”
It was funny, the way the four of them were standing quietly around the thing, listening to the various noises the machine was making as it produced the first cup.
“Andrew, here is yours.” Syssi handed him his cappuccino and put another cup under the machine’s twin spouts. They all waited until the second one was ready and she handed it to Dalhu.
“Go ahead, mix in the sugar and tell me what you think.”
Andrew forwent the sweetener and brought the small cup to his mouth.
“Hmm, really good.” He took a few more sips. “But I think the one I had this morning was be
tter.”
“Dalhu?” Syssi looked at him hopefully.
“It’s good. But I really can’t tell the difference. I think both machines are good, and given the huge cost difference, I think ours wins.” He wrapped his arm around Amanda’s shoulder and brought her closer to him.
“You guys have no taste buds.” Syssi wasn’t trying to hide her disappointment. “Amanda? Do you want another one?”
“No, I’m all coffeed out.”
“Don’t stand around, take a seat.” Syssi shooed them toward the couch. I’m going to bring us something to munch on.”
A moment later, she joined them and put a tray with an assortment of mismatched munchies on the coffee table. “Dig in, guys.”
Amanda reached for a chunk of Brie. “How was your trip to Washington, Andrew?”
“Boring. Two weeks wasted, listening to a bunch of bureaucrats who like to hear themselves talk.”
Dalhu snorted. “Yeah, I know the feeling. They all think they know better than the field guys.”
“I guess pencil pushers are the same no matter which side they are on.”
“Only their own, my man. Only their own. All that talk about some noble goals is nothing more than propaganda.”
“And yet, you would rather fight than paint.”
Dalhu shrugged. “That’s what I know. It’s hard to shift gears after eight hundred years of doing the same thing. But I guess I have no choice.” He lifted his left arm, the one with the gleaming metal cuff on it.
“Let me see.” Andrew leaned over to examine the device. “I would’ve loved to take this thing apart and see what’s in it. What does it do anyway?”
“It serves dual duty; sounding the alarm if I try to leave the building, and interfering with cellular signal so I can’t make cellular calls. All I can use are the landlines which are monitored by security.”
“Ouch.” Andrew grimaced. “I can’t believe Kian still doesn’t trust you. I was sure Edna’s speech would do the trick.”
Amanda chuckled. “I think it did, and the only reason he still insisted on the cuff was to get back at us for disobeying his orders and moving up here.”
“Oh yeah? He gave you guys a hard time about it?”
“Not as bad as I thought he would,” Dalhu said.
Amanda nodded. “It was just a token resistance. He came up here and informed us about the special cuff he was having William make, didn’t even demand that we move back to the cell.”
“Did he talk about it with you, Syssi?” Andrew asked.
“Not really. I think Amanda is right. Kian was in such a good mood after our honeymoon that he didn’t want to fight with anyone. Besides, I believe that, in time, he is going to fully accept you, Dalhu. It’s just that he is also an old fart who finds change difficult.”
“Hey, I’m old, but not an old fart.” Dalhu pretended offense.
“No, you are not. You are my handsome prince.” Amanda patted his knee.
“Yes!” Dalhu pumped a fist. “I’m finally not a frog.”
Amanda kissed his cheek. “You were always a prince to me, darling.”
“If you say so.”
Chapter 16: Andrew
“I’m fine, Andrew. You can go home. By now I’m used to long, lonely evenings of waiting for Kian to finish his work.”
He pretended offense. “What? You’re anxious to get rid of me?”
She slapped his arm. “Of course not.”
“Okay then.” He planted his butt back on the couch and stuffed another cracker in his mouth.
Syssi smirked. “You just don’t want to go home because you miss Bridget.”
Not really.
He must’ve grimaced because Syssi’s smile vanished. “What happened? Did you guys have a fight?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Andrew reached for his tie and loosened it. Should he confide in Syssi? Normally, he didn’t, after all, she was his baby sister and he often felt like a father to her, which precluded conversations of this nature. Then again, she’d confided in him when things had been strained between her and Kian.
“I’ve met someone…”
“When? Bridget left only today…” Scrunching her nose in a sneer, Syssi crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t tell me you cheated on her. I thought you were better than that.”
He caught her nose between two knuckles and gave it a little squeeze, same way he’d done when she was a kid. “No, I didn’t cheat on Bridget.”
Syssi slapped his hand away. “Good.”
“I met that someone only today, and nothing happened. She doesn’t even know I’m interested. And as to Bridget, I told you before that it’s not serious—for either of us.”
Syssi uncrossed her arms and slumped onto the couch. “I guess that this new interest of yours is not an immortal, right?”
“No.”
Well, not entirely true, she might be a Dormant. But he couldn’t tell Syssi that—for a couple of reasons. First, he hadn’t asked Bhathian if the guy wanted the thing with his daughter kept secret or not, and second, until they found Eva they wouldn’t know for sure about Nathalie.
“Damn, now you’re never going to attempt the transition.”
He shrugged. “Nothing changed in this regard. I’m just as undecided as I’ve been from the start.”
“Yeah, but I hoped that if you fell in love with an immortal, you would have an incentive to go for it.”
“It may still happen.”
“So, do you want to break up with Bridget?”
Andrew sighed and popped the first button of his dress shirt open. “Here is my dilemma. I know that the next time I see that someone, I’m going to flirt with her, and I’m going to feel like an ass for doing so while Bridget still thinks that we are together. On the other hand, to break up with her over the phone is not something I’m thrilled to do either.”
“Can’t you wait for her to come back?”
“No.”
“Wow, you got hit hard, didn’t you?” Syssi tilted her head and gave him an appraising look.
Andrew scratched his head. He hadn’t thought of it this way, but it was true. Nathalie’s impact on him was more profound than he’d realized.
“I guess you’re right. Since I first saw her, which was only a few hours ago, I felt an almost obsessive need to be with her. And it’s not only a physical attraction, although she has a banging body…” Damn, Bhathian had used the exact same words to describe Eva.
“So, what’s her name? And what does she look like?”
“I can’t tell you her name, not yet, and don’t ask me why.”
Syssi rolled her eyes. “Come on, Andrew, you can’t pull your national security bullshit in this case, she’s just a girl.”
“I know. But I can’t because there is another person involved and I need his permission first.” He raised a palm to halt her next rebuttal. “I’m not going to say anything more on the subject. Are we clear?”
“Argh, you’re such a tight-lipped meanie.” Syssi pouted and crossed her arms over her chest again.
“I promise, I’ll tell you the moment I’m allowed to.”
“Okay.” She seemed mollified. “But if you can’t wait, you need to call Bridget and let her know. Just do it gently. She’s a good person.”
“I know. I’ll do my best.”
“Do it now before it gets too late. It’s already near midnight where she is. Do you want to use Kian’s office? You know, for privacy?”
“I thought about calling from the car on the way home, but I guess this is better. Like ripping off a bandage—get the pain over with as soon as possible.”
Syssi leaned and kissed his cheek. “You’re a brave guy. Now, go.” She gave him a push that had him almost topple over. “Sorry, I keep forgetting how strong I became.”
“I don’t feel comfortable using Kian’s office, I’ll just go into the bedroom I used before. If it’s okay with you?”
“Sure. Want a
drink to take with you?”
He chuckled. “No, I can handle an uncomfortable conversation fully sober.”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
As Andrew closed the door behind him and pulled out his phone, he wondered whether he should go back and take Syssi up on her offer. And the need became even stronger when he brought up the last batch of messages he’d exchanged with Bridget.
Damn, this was going to be tough.
Can you talk? He sent.
Give me a moment, I’m in a noisy place. I’ll call you.
Without turning on the light, he walked over to the bed and sat down, cradling the phone in his hands and staring at the small, brightly-lit screen.
Three minutes and forty-two seconds later she called.
“Hi, Andrew.” She sounded breathless.
“Hi, yourself. Sounds like you’re having fun.”
“I am with Julian and several of his buddies in a club. I’ve been dancing for the past two hours. But it’s so damn noisy in there that I had to step outside.”
Immediately, he got worried. “I don’t want you alone on the street, in the middle of the night, in front of a club that is probably full of drunks.”
There was a slight delay before she answered. “I’m not alone. One of Julian’s friends was kind enough to accompany me outside.”
Was he imagining it? Or was she just as uncomfortable with this conversation as he was?
“What’s up, Bridget?” he asked in a tone that didn’t encourage a casual answer.
“Um, I’d rather not talk about it over the phone.”
So he’d been right.
“It’s okay, Bridget. Did you meet someone? Is this what’s bothering you? Because it’s okay if you did.”
“Kind of, but I can’t talk about it right now.”
“Is he standing next to you?”
“Yes.”
Andrew closed his eyes, barely stifling a relieved breath as he let go of the tension he’d been holding in his shoulders. “Well, I kind of met someone myself. That’s why I’m calling. It’s not that anything happened, but I wanted to clear things up between us before anything did.”
“I appreciate it.”
