A Family Oath

by Auburn Tempest

  “Slainte mhath,” Da, Emmet, Calum, and Kevin say while raising their glasses to join me in the toast.

  Liam accepts it, takes a drink of his whiskey, and sets it on our table. “Fi, come dance with me. It’s my birthday wish. You like this song, don’t you?”

  I pause to listen to what’s playing and nope, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before. “Yeah, love this one.”

  His smile is worth the lie, and I extricate myself from the back row of the table. The two of us close the distance to the dance floor and join the crush of bodies moving to the beat of the music.

  The playlist here is always upbeat with lots of Celtic tunes as well as pop, southern rock, and new country. Anything that keeps people bouncing to the rhythm—and if it has a fiddle in it, even better.

  Liam side-hugs me as we take the floor and kisses my head. “I’ve missed this.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  His arms are loose and wild as we lose ourselves to the flute and fiddle of a rocking Irish tune. I throw the couple next to us an apologetic smile as Liam almost beans the guy in the head. Thankfully, Liam is loveable and charismatic whether drunk or sober, so they don’t seem put out.

  “Life’s gotten too busy,” I say.

  “Now that you’re a superhero.” Liam looks at the couple next to us and smiles. “Did you know Fi’s a superhero? She has a grizzly bear and fights dragons and werewolves and is friends with a leprechaun.”

  I bark a laugh, and the couple laughs with me. “I think our birthday boy is thoroughly banjaxed.”

  “No, it’s true. Oh right, it’s a secret.” He pushes a finger over his lips. “I forgot. Don’t tell. My bad.”

  I roll my eyes and wrap an arm around his waist. “Come on, boyo, let’s get you some fresh air.” The two of us do the four-footed teeter and shuffle down the back hall.

  The night air is crisp for the end of September, but Toronto weather is like that. In October, you could be wearing t-shirts and apple-picking, or you could be rummaging for your winter jackets and mitts to go to the store.

  Tonight is a fleece hoodie kinda night, but coming out here straight from the dancefloor, I’ve got nothing but chills from sweating. “Inner Warmth.”

  The spell is low-level, and I got so used to casting it while wading into rivers and streams last week, it comes easily to me.

  Holding onto Liam as we walk, I share my heat with him. ”Hey, don’t.” He straightens and takes a wobbly step back. “You don’t get to magic me without asking.”

  The bite in his words stings but I choke back my quip. He’s drunk and still adjusting to the knowledge that mythical and magical things live in the world around him.

  I take a step back and take my heat with me. ”Sorry. I got the chills and wanted to be warm. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I was going for the opposite of that.”

  He sighs and groans up at the sliver of moon overhead. “No. I’m sorry. That was a dick comment. You were great, and I dicked it up.”

  I roll my eyes. “Maybe we should head back inside.”

  I’m reaching for the handle of the back door when it opens and swings out at me.

  I yelp and jump back. “Oh, shit.”

  Chapter Eight

  A leather-clad man the size of a hybrid truck steps out to join us. Dark hair flows past shoulders as wide as the doorway itself, his wide palms up between us. “A moment.” Mountain Man blocks our path. “We’d like a word before you head back inside.”

  “With me? Okay, a word about what?” My shield tingles against my back, and I take an easy sidestep to stand between the mountain of muscle and Liam.

  He matches my movement, his arms and thighs bulging. His body speaks of violence, and his gaze promises it. “We were sent to take you in. Intercepting you out here eliminates the chance of causing a public scene.”

  I chuff and take another step back, matching the guy’s shift in position yet again to keep Liam out of his line of sight. “Me? I don’t do scenes. How about you tell me who you are, where you think you’re taking me, and on whose authority?”

  “I’m insignificant. To the Lakeshore Guild. And by the authority of the Guild Governors.”

  I back up, and three other skull-trimmed biker-types follow our leather-clad roadblock. I take another couple of quick steps back and grab my phone.

  I thumb through my contacts and call up Garnet.

  “Have you news, Lady Druid?”

  “Did you send four goons to grab me? I’m outside the back door of Shenanigans getting jumped and detained in the name of your precious Lakeshore Guild.”

  As I hoped, the air shifts and Garnet Grant appears at my side. He opens his mouth and draws a deep breath, smelling the air like he did earlier. “Vampires. What do you want?”

  Goon One doesn’t look thrilled with Garnet’s arrival. Too bad. If I’m up against four vampires, I’m phoning a friend. A powerful friend who happens to turn into a lion and rules the city’s empowered population. “This is private business.”

  “You said it was Guild business,” I correct. “Make up your mind.” While everyone is distracted by Garnet’s arrival, I push Liam toward the back alley. “Hurry. Go back to your party before this gets ugly.”

  “And leave you back here in the dark with vampires? Are you nuts?”

  “According to many, yes. I can handle this. Go.”

  Faster than my eyes can track, the three latecomers blur into motion and have us penned us in. The biggest of the four—let’s call him Moose—looks down at us like we’re bugs he’s about to squash. “No one leaves.”

  Goon One frowns. “Just come with us, little girl, and your human friend will be left unharmed.”

  My human friend seems offended by the comment, and I see his Irish ire flare.

  “Leave it alone, Liam. It’s in the handbook of don’t be stupid. Never piss off the undead.” I place a firm hand on Liam’s chest so I can track him while my focus is on Goon One. “Tell me who sent you and what they want.”

  “I did. The Guild requests your presence.”

  Garnet’s smile is cruel and cold. “I am the Grand Governor of the Lakeshore Guild, and I don’t know you.”

  Busted.

  Goon One casts a glance at his boys and the air snaps with the outbreak of violence. The first punch rockets toward Garnet’s head and the standoff bursts into a chaotic explosion of fists and fury.

  I push Liam back and raise my hands to defend. “Bestial Strength.” The flood of power to my muscles is a boon, but even so, vampires are stronger.

  “This didn’t have to be difficult.” Goon One grunts and pushes me up against the dumpster.

  We’re too close together to call Birga, and I realize too late that I should carry a melee weapon.

  “Women are allowed to be difficult.” I duck his white-knuckled fist. The tight collection of fingers whizzes past my ear and punches a hole in the side of the dumpster.

  I call my Tough as Bark armor, and my skin transforms from pasty white with freckles to steel-strong and covered in badass tats of trees flowing up my arms, roots reaching down over my fingers, branches spreading up over my shoulders.

  There’s a deep, throaty growl, and I don’t need to see him to know Garnet shifted to his lion form. The man fights like an alpha predator. I’m not surprised to see one decapitated vampire body on the ground and a head sailing through the air toward the dumpster.

  Three against three. That’s better.

  With my skin hardened, I barely feel the hit to my shoulder. If the impact didn’t knock me, I wouldn’t have known.

  “Stop.” Moose lifts Liam by the throat.

  I freeze as the threat rings in the air and watch my best friend’s feet dangle a foot off the ground.

  “Resist us, and he dies,” Goon One says. “Move one inch, and he dies.”

  I lock my knees to keep from lunging and getting Liam killed. Violence burns hot in my veins and twists in my guts. “Get away from him. Let him go.
”

  “Come with us, and there won’t be a problem.”

  “Don’t listen, Fi.” Liam struggles against the solid hold of the vampire who’s got him locked down. “You don’t go anywhere with these undead douches. I’ll take my chances.”

  Garnet’s growl rumbles deep and low behind me. I cast a glance back to see he has Vamp Two pinned to the ground with his three-inch canines clamped around his neck.

  Garnet and I could defeat these assholes with enough time, but we don’t have it, not when they have Liam in their grasp. It’s a checkmate move, and we all know it.

  “Fine. Let him go, and I surrender. You have my word.”

  “No!” Liam snaps. “No deal.”

  I roll my eyes. “Liam, you’re not part of the negotiation. You’re the point of the negotiation. Big difference.”

  “Done.” Moose lowers him to the ground. “Clasp your hands behind your back and stand here. I’ll release him and transport you.”

  I do as instructed. After lacing my fingers behind my back, I move to stand beside Liam. For the bloodsucker to grab me, he’ll need to release him.

  I can live with that.

  Liam’s gaze is feral and wild. I send him all the reassurance I can. “It’s cool. I’ve got this. What kind of BFF would I be if I let some psychotic undead kill you on your birthday?”

  “Fi, don’t.”

  “It’s done.

  I give the vampire a nod, and he shifts his hold from Liam to me. “Keep him safe, Garnet.” The lion roars and I give my captor a nod. “Beam me up, Scottie.”

  I stretch my neck from side to side as energy explodes in my cells. Stupid Chariot card—yep, Fiona Cumhaill—facing one crisis popping up after another.

  * * *

  I’m no expert on magical transportation methods although I do have some experience. Sloan is a wayfarer, so I’ve portaled with him many times, been flashed by shifters, and even transported by dragon portal to the Wyrm Dragon Queen’s lair. I’m accustomed to a little disorientation, some light-headed spinning, and even nausea, but the pain of Vamp Transport sears me to the bone.

  Could it have something to do with the fact that vamps shouldn’t be able to transport? Do they get to keep the ability if it was part of their life before transition? I’m not sure.

  There are still so many things I don’t know.

  I drop to my hands and knees, panting and seeing double. “Dude! What the hell?”

  Through the ringing in my ears, I hear a groan and someone else cursing. If I gave a fuck, I would look to see what happened. Except, I don’t. Zero fucks given.

  “Fi, are you okay?”

  Strike that last statement.

  My head comes up fast, and my heart pounds at triple time in my heaving chest. Our vampire Uber is gone, but I’m not alone. “What the hell, Liam? Why are you here? I bartered for your freedom.”

  “And I said no.”

  I groan and flop onto the plush carpet of the room we’re in. “Do you know how dangerous it is to tag a ride during transport when the man in charge isn’t prepared for the extra passenger?”

  I do. Sloan already bitched me out about that and made it very clear it was a bad thing—a big no-no.

  “It’s done. I’m here. Get over it.”

  I close my eyes and draw a steadying breath. “You’re right. You’re here. We need to figure out where we are, why we’re here, and who’s behind it.”

  Liam rolls to his feet with more coordination than he had fifteen minutes ago. “You sobered up fast.”

  “Being taken prisoner by vampires does that.”

  “I suppose. It’s becoming my new normal. Whatevs.”

  Liam chuffs. “The lion man…he’s one of your new friends?”

  “Calling Garnet Grant a friend might be stretching it, but we’re acquaintances with some common goals and allies.”

  “Will he know where to come for us?”

  I shrug. “I don’t think we should count on that.”

  “You’ve got your bear though, right? That’s why you gave yourself up? You knew he could back you up?”

  “Nope. I planned a late night out drinking with family and gave him time off for good behavior. He’s getting his ursine groove on with his little bear harem in the Don.”

  His face screws up with one heck of a sour-puss. “So, you were letting them take you with no backup plan? Fuck, Fi. You gotta be smarter than that.”

  I open my eyes and wait while the room stops spinning. “Don’t underestimate the redhead Irish lass. I’ve always got an escape route up my sleeve.”

  He doesn’t seem convinced.

  The study we’re in is the type of man cave where you’d expect the owner of the manse to wear a smoking jacket and use pressed tobacco in his pipe. Rich wood panels line the walls, the books on the shelves look like first editions, and the art pieces are gallery-quality Renaissance oil paintings and frescos.

  “Would it kill them to have a window?” Liam grumbles.

  “It would likely kill the art and books, yeah.”

  Liam lets out an annoyed hmph and twists the doorknob. “It’s open. Shit—why is it open?”

  He closes it again like his ass is on fire and I chuckle. “Either they know I’m a druid and a locked door won’t hold me, they know we’ll try to leave and are ready for it, or we’re completely trapped, and they aren’t worried about us getting away.”

  He glares at the heavy wood panel. “Geez, Fi. None of those options are comforting.”

  “Sorry. I’m tired, I’ve had a shit day, and I need to pee.”

  “Same. Well, my day was going pretty good there for a while, but now I’m with you for a solid three for three. What are the odds we bust out of here, take a piss, and get back before anyone notices?”

  I giggle. “That’s your big getaway plan? Escape our prison, pee, then run back to our cage?”

  “Not the whole plan, no. It’s broken into phases. Phase one, don’t piss my pants. Phase two, take on angry vampires and likely piss my pants anyway. Phase three, die a horrible death wearing pee pants.”

  I roll to my knees and get up. “Aim higher. I won’t let you die in pee pants on your birthday.”

  “As much as I appreciate that, I’m not hopeful.” He comes over to squeeze my hand. His eyes have lost their glossy haze of happiness from his birthday buzz, and I’m sad about that. “Why do the vamps want you, anyway?”

  I sit on the edge of the desk while my equilibrium recalibrates. “No idea. They might be pissed that Bruin and I killed two of their kind earlier in the summer.”

  “Can you really kill something that’s not alive?”

  “I don’t know. Ended them? Expired them?”

  He tilts his way this way and that. “Either works.”

  “Okay, either it’s because Bruin and I expired two of the members of their nest, or someone paid them a lot of cash, or its new business and has something to do with the book Myra was attacked over this morning.”

  “Your boss was attacked? Were you there? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  I stand and run my fingers over the spines of the books. Reaching out with my magic, I search for anything that makes my senses sit up and take notice. “I spent the day working with Garnet and Da, trying to figure out the identity of two dead guys in the shop and what kind of poison they used to drug my friend.”

  “They poisoned your friend, and you found two dead bodies? Why don’t I know any of this?”

  “It’s not something you bring up with your bestie at his birthday bash.”

  Liam shakes his head and exhales. “Dammit, Fi. I’m sorry. I’ve been so annoyed about being left behind on the normal plane of things I haven’t wanted to hear what’s going on with you. Some bestie I am.”

  I shift from the bookshelves to the walls and run my palm across the darkly stained wood. “I honestly don’t blame you for that. It’s a lot. I get it.”

  “Yeah, but it’s a lot for you too. Then I mucked things up by b
lurring the lines. I’m sorry.”

  I shrug. “I’ve blurred that line a time or two myself. I don’t blame you for that either.”

  “Well good, because me snubbing your druid problems is over. I may not be able to turn into a lion, but bartenders have superpowers too. We’re damned good listeners. Tell me, what’s going on with your boss?”

  I fill Liam in on everything I know and think I know and by the time I finish, my magical search of the room brings me right back to the door.

  “All this is really about a book?” he asks.

  “A rare, old book that has powerful dark magic spells and people who want to find it at all cost. Maybe. Or maybe vampires just don’t like me. As usual, I’m clueless.”

  I leave out the part about Morgan le Fey and the book being ensorcelled for resurrection and the ability to call the fabled witch queen back from whatever end she currently serves.

  Why ruin a good story with too much tension?

  I grab the doorknob and check that Liam’s with me. “Okay, first we pee, then we—holy crapballs. Duuude.”

  Moose fills the doorframe and blocks our view of the building beyond the mountain of his leather-clad muscles.

  I pound my chest and wait for my heart to start pumping once again. “Lady tip number one, scaring a girl with a full bladder is bad form. You made me squirt.”

  Liam laughs and shakes his head. “Only you would overshare with our vampire kidnapper.”

  “Cause and effect, man. It’s important to be aware—even if you’re a hired-muscle vampire.” I set my hand on Moose’s chest, and with a gentle shove, back him up enough to gain freedom into the corridor. “Lead the way. We need a short side trip to the washroom first. Not sure how many human captives you entertain, but it’s imperative. You are free to loom and glower as you wish. I have brothers. I’m not shy.”

  I’m not sure if Moose means to comply or he’s not sure what’s going on, but we get our pitstop before he marches us through the high-end estate home.

  We end our Metropolitan Homes tour in a small antechamber with an entrance to the hall and another that I assume leads into the main meeting room.