She said, “Too much talk, not enough sexy.” She sounded desperate.
I just nodded, and she stopped at my bedroom door and looked back demurely, biting her lower lip then whispering, “Bring your cuffs.”
That floored me, and sort of excited me. Was she joking? I had no clue, but just in case, I snagged my cuffs from my belt hanging with my gear in the hall, and headed into the bedroom after her. She was giggling so cutely when I said, “You have the right to remain silent.”
Epilogue
I joined Zoey, her husband Harrison, and the twins at the Downtown Gallery after the mysterious invitation from O'Brien and Madelyn. I asked as the twins grabbed my hands and spun around me as we made our way to the door, “So what is this all about?”
Zoey shrugged and offered, “Maybe they are going to kill you for your meddling and call it performance art?”
I said as I started to get dizzy, “Hardy har har, Raggedy Ann.”
I made threatening kitty noises at the twins, and they giggled and stopped spinning me. I hugged them to me as we reached the door and saw it was a private showing. Ummm... I squealed when I saw Mia Jacobs open the door and I tackle hugged her as she chuckled. “Hi, Mia!”
She smiled and then said, “H-hello ladies and g-g-gentlemen. Get in here sillies.”
I was beyond stoked now. A private showing of Mia Jacobs art? Just how cool was that? She's been a friend of the family since... well since forever. She mastered the art of distance viewing, and the art world calls what she can accomplish with it, the Jacobs Effect. She is beyond shy, but her wife is the exact opposite. Vicky is a ball of bouncing hyperactivity that rivals my own super power.
I asked, “You have new work?”
She nodded as she stepped next to said ball of bouncing hyperactivity, and stole the adorable little girl in a summer dress from her hip and hugged her before putting her on her own hip. Little Valla was beyond cute in her tiny yellow dress.
Mia said, “Yes, b-but this isn't my showing.”
We looked around, and there were a handful of people there, most were people we knew. Even Madelyn's landlord, Mr. Laurey was there. They had brought him to the Pike a few weeks back. I blinked. And Johnny was here too, fresh out of jail and starting his probation.
I whispered as Madelyn and O'Brien, who were holding hands, waved at us, “So who's is it?”
She just smiled and said, “Go look.” Ok, we could do that.
I hesitated when I recognized the punk rocker with the mohawk standing next to Maddie and Dani. Na Na Evermore was here? Wow!
I said, “Mischief Brigade, advance!” The twins took my hands, and we started walking forward, Zoey and Harrison following, holding hands. My sis whispered in a told you so voice, “Aren't you glad I meddled now with those two.”
I muttered back, “You don't get credit for my meddling this time wench.”
I hesitated as I looked at hundreds of works of hand drawn art on papers mounted all around the gallery swirling higher and higher as if they were being carried by the swirling wind, some suspended by wires from above as if they were carried by that wind.
What I saw in the incredibly detailed and incredibly realistic drawings blew my mind. It was as if this theme of wind was carried through the drawings themselves and the wind was stripping layers of time off of the subjects in them. Like I was seeing the same people from dozens of eras in time. Even the cars, bicycles and buildings were not immune to the effect.
I stood in the middle and looked up, turning slowly, swirling with that imaginary wind and imagined myself traveling through all those periods of time that were being swept away, intangible, impossible to touch as they were carried off beyond my grasp.
I looked down to the centerpiece, a canvas that was six feet square that seemed to be simply stretched fabric. I looked closely that one wasn't pencil like the rest, was it... it was fabric dye? My eyes shot to the plaque embedded in plexiglass at its base.
The entire exhibit was called, fittingly, Winds of Change, then my eyes snapped wide. I spun back to see a smug looking Dani and an almost apologetic looking Madelyn who shrugged and smiled bashfully. By Madelyn Q. Stone. I couldn't stop my smile. Great God of all spaghetti, her art was beyond description, it was so amazing.
Then I hesitated. Q? I wonder what that stands for. Quinn, Quincy, Qbert? I had to know. Damn, she was too busy giving bedroom eyes to Danielle, I'd have to ask later.
Then we all turned when Missy Hannigan came down the stairs and clapped her hands together once. “Hello everyone, let's get this showing underway shall we?”
The End
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Romance Novels by Erik Schubach
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Books in the Music of the Soul universe...
(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)
Music of the Soul
A Deafening Whisper
Dating Game
Karaoke Queen
Silent Bob
Five Feet or Less
Broken Song
Syncopated Rhythm
Progeny
Girl Next Door
Lightning Strikes Twice
June
Dead Shot
Music of the Soul Shorts...
(All short stories are standalone and can be read in any order)
Misadventures of Victoria Davenport: Operation Matchmaker
Wallflower
Accidental Date
Holiday Morsels
Books in the London Harmony series...
(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)
Water Gypsy
Feel the Beat
Roctoberfest
Small Fry
Doghouse
Minuette
Squid Hugs
The Pike
Flotilla
Books in the Pike series...
(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)
Ships In The Night
Right To Remain Silent
Books in the Flotilla series...
(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)
Making Waves
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Novels by Erik Schubach
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Books in the Techromancy Scrolls series...
Adept
Soras
Masquerade
Westlands (2017)
Avalon (2018)
Books in the Urban Fairytales series...
Red Hood: The Hunt
Snow: The White Crow
Ella: Cinders and Ash
Rose: Briar's Thorn
Let Down Your Hair
Hair of Gold: Just Right
The Hood of Locksley
Books in the Djinn series...
Cursed
Books in the Drakon series...
Awakening
Dragonfall
Books in the Valkyrie Chronicles series...
Return of the Asgard
Bloodlines
Folkvangr
Seventy Two Hours
Titans
Books in the Bridge series...
Trolls
Traitor
Unbroken
Books in the Fracture series...
Divergence
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Novellas by Erik Schubach
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The Hollow
Books in the Paranormals series...
Fleas
This Sucks
Jinx (2017)
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Short Stories by Erik Schubach
(These short stories span many different genres)
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A Little
Favor
Fixit
Glitch (2017)
Lost in the Woods
Rift Jumpers: Faster Than Light
Scythe
Snack Run
Something Pretty
Sample chapter of Urban Fiarytales: Beauty In The Beast...
Chapter 1 – Belle
I huffed in frustration as I stared at my cell phone. Snow asked from where she sat on the floor by the fire in our farm cottage in Northern England. “What is it, Parker?” Her voice reverberated in a strange oscillating tone that filled the air with power.
Daria raised her head from where she laid on the floor at my feet, her fangs bared and dripping saliva as she let out a guttural and threatening growl as she sensed my aggravation. My heart sank, she was showing more and more animalistic behavior since the death of her mate and our friend and leader, Mari. Even when she was in human form on the full moons, she never spoke now and never bothered even dressing.
I reached down from where I sat on the little loveseat with Ella-Marie laying her head in my lap, and scratched the great wolf between her ears and told her, “Shhh... it's ok Daria.” The huge silver-grey wolf whose pelt was tipped in black looked up at me then settled her head back on the floor, but her eyes open and watchful.
My heart still hurt so much from the death of my friend, Maireni Damaschin, I had never thought it possible, the Red Hood was larger than life, and she seemed an unstoppable force for good. But she sacrificed herself and her blood to close the gateway to the realm of demons before they could overrun the planet.
We had been tracking the demon responsible for that and for the new plague of human-demon hybrids that was sweeping the world, Styche the Trickster. In time it would be a curse that would surpass the near-destruction of the human race of the lupus contagion. Except now, he was not bound by a human and was able to wreak havoc at will, and this new plague was not bound to the lunar cycle like that of the werewolves.
It would take him a couple years to amass the power he needed to reopen the portal to hell. In the meantime, he is keeping us busy chasing our own tails by unleashing his new contagion at random points around the world.
At least the humans are learning to battle these hybrids just as they battled the wolves before this. And the great walled cities like Seattle and London were taking in as many of the uninfected as they could as more cities erected great walls.
But unlike the werewolves, a small number of the hybrids could fly. So the containment wasn't as foolproof as before. More powerful firearms with immense stopping power have been constructed, and all the major cities now had incursion response forces.
But whenever magic was involved, which is becoming more and more common as the demon hybrids are starting to develop their own powers the longer that remain in the human realm, we Avatars are called upon to stem the tide. We are a shadow of our former strength. With our heavy hitter, Katiana, our Goldilocks, in hibernation after the battle where the Red Hood fell, with no idea when she will awaken... And our tactical and strategic leader dead, it was becoming harder and harder for us to repel the attacks on the human population.
I glanced over at Gretta. We have been depending more and more upon the formidable power she wields in her Perchta, Nature Goddess form. But she is getting further and further lost in it. She is more a hybrid being like my Ella-Marie now. Two people sharing the same body. But they are both the same person in their case, and they both love Rachel with all their hearts.
She was looking at me with concern, her small antlers now a hands width from her radiant white hair with three small prongs. Her voice always hummed with power now as she tried to find her way back to her Gretta Snow aspect. She was running her fingers through Rachel's hair, much to her mate's delight.
And as much as we depended on her in battle, the group was depending on me more and more to fill the void of coordinating our group. I had been their anchor before this, keeping these women with otherworldly abilities grounded, reminding them of their humanity. But now I was taking on more and more leadership role since we all felt lost without Red.
That thought made me swing my gaze over to Eve in her red cloak. She stood sentinel as the new Red Hood, selected by the cloak and compelled to don the mantle and power as the new Red Hood. As part of the balance of the original werewolf curse, there must always be a Red Hood. Mari had been the fourth to wear the cloak, now Evelyn was the fifth.
She still looked so unsure of herself and almost shamed that she wore the cloak which we all felt had been a part of Red. But she fought valiantly on every occasion we were called upon to protect the weak and innocent. Almost like she was trying to prove herself to us. She doesn't realize we all love her, she is our sister... and it in some small way, kept Mari alive in our thoughts.
She laid back into Rapunzel's lap, looking my way as Raz played that silly game she was addicted to on her cell phone, Platypus Battles.
I shrugged and said, “Saddle up. That was the ADI, a wave of about fifty hybrids are sweeping down this way from Diggle. There are about twenty farms separating us, if the residents haven't evacuated, that number could be seventy or more by the time they reach our location. They lost a chopper to relay the intel. Avatar Defense Initiative soldiers are inbound from Aston-Under-Lyne to back us up to take down any stragglers.”
Everyone was on their feet in the crowded space, checking weapons and gathering gear. I put a pin on the map as I geared up. There was something about the random locations Styche was infecting humans in that nagged at the back of my brain. I just couldn't shake that it didn't quite feel random to me as I surveyed the pins, most of which were in Europe.
I held my hand absently down as Ella-Marie looked at the map and said in her Cockney accent, “What is it, love?” I shook my head in frustration as Daria stepped beneath my hand and I buried my fingers in the soft downy undercoat fur of her neck.
I was about the only person our wolf friend listened to anymore. She fought like an animal now, ferocious and almost mindlessly killing. Unless one of the more human people of our group, like Gretel, were in danger, then she'd fling herself in front to the oncoming danger.
I sighed then turned from the map and lost myself in Ella-Marie's seeking eyes? My heart always sped up, and my breathing increased when those blue pools that held the spark of heat from the two halves of my love's heart were trained on me. She could start a fire of need inside me with just a glance. She asked again, the French accent accompanying the slight wave I felt as Marie came to the forefront, “What eez eet, my Parker?”
I shook my head again and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “It's nothing. Just a feeling. We can talk about it later.” She looked concerned and just nodded, a cute crease between her eyes, then I felt the wave again, and Ella gave me a single nod.
I asked, “Everyone have their coms and emergency packs?”
I blushed, and Ella-Marie hugged me to her when everyone droned out, “Yes, mother.”
I chuckled. “You're all not as funny as you think you are.”
Amanda teased as she stepped past with Robyn while she skillfully holstered her two Sigs in her shoulder rig, “Of course we are.” She gave me a peck on the cheek, and Robyn rolled her eyes at everyone's banter. I guess being not quite human, our elven archer felt us all silly.
We headed out to the vehicles. Rachel and Amanda mounted up in the driver's seats of the two military transport vehicles that were loaned out to us as the women with more magic sat in the far back as not to disrupt the electronics of the trucks.
Snow just kissed Rachel and leapt into the air. One instant she was Gretta Snow, the next she was a white crow, winging into the sky to be our forward scout. Ella looked at the old World War Two Norton 16H sidecar motorcycle with an almost sexual appraisal. A farmhand in the area lent it to her for our patrols. It wasn't the Harley we had to leave behind in Seattle, but I'm thinking it came a close second to her.
She swung her leg over the seat as I got into the sidecar.
Daria flowed into the cramped space and sort of pooled around me like a heavy and overly warm blanket. Then with a single kick of the starter the old one cylinder engine roared to life. The look on my girl's face as she revved the motor was one of pure excitement and reverence. I frowned. It was the same look she gave me when we were alone in the bedroom. Then I chuckled as I realized I was getting jealous of a motorcycle.
Then we were off. The sudden acceleration snapping my neck back and pushing Dari and I back in the seat. We left a rooster tail of dirt and pebbles behind us as we sped off to the north, the two trucks following behind.
I looked down to see Daria's lips peeled back and her fangs showing. She enjoyed the hunt far too much now. I was so worried we were going to lose her to the werewolf soon and she won't want to come back from it.
I tapped her nose, and she looked back at me, looked sheepish then whined a little as she settled her head on my lap. I scolded, “You don't need to be so excited about this. Remember, they were all people before the contagion took them, they aren't monsters by choice. We kill because it is necessary to prevent the rest of the world from succumbing to it, not because we want to.”
She narrowed her eyes at me then exhaled hot breath onto my leg and nodded once. I leaned down and wrapped my arms mostly around her neck and whispered, knowing she could hear me over the roar of the motor, “We all miss her, Dar. But we don't want to lose you too. We love you.”
She stopped breathing for a moment then relaxed into the hug. I think she was crying, but I didn't look, I gave that to her.
We roared past abandoned farms, but some had farmers still tending their crops, defying the evacuation order. I shook my head. As admirable as it was to keep producing foodstuffs for the local populace during what people are now calling the Demon Times, it is also foolish.
People were too used to how things used to be during the centuries of the Lupus Contagion. Where you only needed to fear just three nights a month, and the infected would return to human for the rest of the time. This infection took them completely, and there was no coming back from it unless we could finally put an end to Styche. If they were found by any of the hybrids, they would just join their numbers until the entire Earth was overrun.
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