Rehbek’ah’s eyes darkened, but her nasty smile stayed right where it was. “Re’ka is dead.” She was Queen?
Great. This bitch was going to make Hungary’s Erzsebet Bathory look sane.
God of Man, Athens was in serious trouble.
Rehbek’ah’s grey eyes slid to Mary’s body. “Although I must say, Mother wasn’t nearly as entertaining to kill as the Lesser-Bred.”
Heat burst out of Orin’s skin. His vision slid away, teeth extended, chelae out, and his primal anger rose to a level he hadn’t felt in centuries. He headed right toward Rehbek’ah. Female or not, new Queen or not, he was going to make her bleed. He wanted to make her bleed. He was almost there when he regained enough control to stop. It left him shaking so hard that his glasses clattered to the floor.
“Don’t you want to hurt me, Orin?” Rehhek’ah’s high, lilted voice felt like rusty nails to his ears.
Yeah, he did. He wanted to rip out her throat. But if he initiated contact, it would break his Seclusion. Orin was powerless to do anything. Avenging Mary wasn’t even an option.
Poor Mary.
His Mary.
Even though she would have never let Orin keep her, it didn’t change how he felt. And now she was dead, and the dead don’t come back.
Grief dragged Orin to his knees, and Rehbek’ah eased through the rows of chairs, her body liquid, moving in a way which suggested joints where there shouldn’t be any.
“I see you have finally learned how to properly greet your Queen.” She grinned, flashing fang.
“Why?”
Rehbek’ah circled him, one hand trailing close, but not quite touching. “I want you to understand, I will not take no for an answer. You are mine, and no one else can have you.”
Orin’s hands became fists. “Medan granted my freedom. Your Mother understood that.” And she had. Even though denying her had cost Orin his source for blood and flesh, she never interfered with his choice to try and be Human.
“I am not my Mother, Orin. She only wanted your services, whereas I want everything. Your body. Your mind.” She bent closer, and her scent billowed in the air. The RHage in Orin’s chest stirred. Rehbek’ah made a deep purring noise and rolled her head. “And your RHage. Or more precisely Serena’s.”
Orin stared at her, pure fear seizing up his veins. How could something so beautiful hold such insanity?
“God of Man, Orin, you should see the look on your face!” Rehbek’ah’s high-pitched laugh raked his nerves raw. “How long did you think your secret would stay hidden? The vessel for the most powerful Queen who ever ruled, a survivor of her assassination, and beholden to her first RHage. You are the treasure of treasures. And. You. Are. Mine. But then you have always been mine from the moment I laid eyes on you, and now there is no one to stand in my way. I will have you. I will mark you. I will own you. You will Belong!”
“No…” The shakes were back. Orin tried to stand and got three steps before his legs went out and he crashed into a row of desks. He fumbled for his cell phone, found it, only to drop it, his hands no longer wanting to work.
“What are you going to do, Orin?” He tried to ignore her and somehow managed to pick up the Samsung. Dial, damn it. It took everything to steady his fingers enough to hit the numbers. “Are you going to call for help? Call the Chetrah authorities. Do you really think they will help you? Do you really think they will rush to save the monster?” Rehbek’ah squealed again and came down beside him, rocking on her knees, her eyes liquid gold. “The Lesser-Bred called for you.”
Don’t look. Orin kept his eyes on the phone.
“Oh, yes, she begged for your help.”
All of a sudden, Orin couldn’t see. He tried to wipe his eyes and wound up getting blood in them, along with tears. Rehbek’ah was too close. He could smell her. Feel her. And the thing inside him wanted her.
Rehbek’ah said, “Did you know she loved you, Orin?”
All his will power and all his control could not stop Orin from turning to her then. The look of glorious satisfaction on Rehbek’ah’s face made the pain in his chest explode. The RHage was nothing compared to this.
Rehbek’ah sucked in his scent and exhaled a purr. “You smell like food, Orin. I don’t know if I should fuck you or eat you.”
Phone. The phone is in your hand. He had all the numbers in place. All he had to do was press Send.
She sighed. “If I had known it would be like this, I would have made you watch. Maybe I would have fed you her heart.”
Ignore her. Ignore her. Orin tried to breathe, but his lungs felt packed with concrete.
Mary.
My Mary.
Dear God of Man…
Rehbek’ah’s whisper caressed his cheek, making him flinch. “Just so you know…I let my Marked fuck her while they ate out her insides.”
The only thing stopping Orin from screaming was the operator’s voice on the end of the line. “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
Focus, goddamn it! Focus!
Orin stuttered, trying to form words with a mouth that was too dry. He squeezed out his name and his location...
A blood-curdling sound of pain and fear came out of Rehbek’ah. Terror jerked Orin’s body, and he dropped the phone. His voice gone, his body frozen, he could only stare horrified as a perfect imitation of Mary’s voice came from Rehbek’ah’s lips.
“Don’t hurt me Orin, please, no, don’t hurt me! Somebody, anybody, help me, help me! No, Orin, I love you. Orin, I love you!”
Chapter 12
When Haley opened her eyes, she saw only darkness made by the crisscross of legs and arms. Deshi had his face next to her ear. Farley was curled part way over her shoulder, his mouth blowing warmth against her throat. Their arms and legs pinned her while at the same time pillowed her head and neck.
Rolling always took them out, and this time was no different. But she never left when they were like this. They were too vulnerable, to easy to kill. Although in today’s world it was unlikely they’d be hunted down and slaughtered while asleep in her apartment. But hey, why take the chance?
Besides, being here with them like this was nice. Everything was as it should be. She sighed, feeling content.
That is, until she realized her carpets were ruined.
Haley blew out her breath and wondered if Manny could make it over this evening. Otherwise, the stain would set, and she would to have to replace them.
Again.
She glanced at the wall under the wet bar. That could be painted. She looked at the back of the sofa and frowned. There was no painting that: It was just plain old ruined.
Why the hell did feeding have to be so damn messy? Speaking of which, she took a quick look at her hands and arms. Yup, ichor. All over. As in head-to-toe dry and cracking like old paint. God of Man, she hated being covered in the stuff.
The phone on the counter rang. She let out a groan and struggled to pull out of the tangle of arms and legs.
Deshi opened his eyes and caught her wrist. “Stay…”
Haley pushed back his matted blond locks so she could see his eyes. He smiled, and so did she.
“Phone’s ringing. It might be work.” Maybe with any luck Garrett had changed his mind about suspending her.
The Jersey City Prince made a sad sound, but let her go. She got to the phone right before it kicked over to voice mail. “Hello?”
“Haley?” It was Orin.
“Hey, how are you?” Haley figured he was calling her back about those invitations to the High Art Museum. It was one of those PR dinners they were required to attend every year to hob-knob with the wealthy and politically gifted. City officials would make their usual rounds, shaking hands and reminding everyone to vote, then pause and have their pictures taken with the domesticated Kin.
They were all supposed to go. As in Deshi, Orin, and Haley. Farley never got invited. He said he didn’t care, but Haley knew better. It hurt him not to be accepted as he was.
“Honestly?” Orin
’s voice trembled. “Not so good. Not so good at all.”
“What’s wrong?”
She heard rustling over the receiver and his voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m in trouble.”
And Orin wasn’t the type to rock any boats. So for him to be in trouble, it had to be serious. “What kind of trouble?”
There were voices in the background, and she heard him catch his breath.
Haley waited for him to answer.
Orin said, “Haley, I didn’t do it. It was Rehbek’ah. She killed her.”
“Killed…What are you talking about, Orin?”
“Haley, if they catch me, they’ll kill me. Her brother is on the force. I’ll never even get a chance at a trial. Hell, I still might not get one. Haley, please. You have to believe me. No matter what they tell you, no matter what they say, I didn’t kill her. Please believe me.”
“Who?”
“A friend. A really good friend.” And he said friend but Haley knew what he meant was lover. Haley had heard all the rumors about Orin not feeding like normal Kin, but she had no idea how much of it was true or a fairytale. Especially when it came out of Farley’s mouth, picked up from the chatter in the Dens.
There was no denying it though. Orin was an odd duck. For an eight-hundred-year- old Kin, he didn’t act anything like most his age. On the phone he was always warm and friendly, but in person? He never licked her palm when they were together. In fact, Orin usually didn’t touch at all.
Although recently, he did shake her hand.
Like that should even count.
Not that it really mattered to Haley. She accepted him for who he was. But still, it was odd…no, scratch that, downright bizarre. Kin needed their own. And touching was like breathing. After a while without it they’d just suffocate.
Haley said, “Orin, I won’t believe them. Just tell me what happened.”
He sucked in his breath. “I can’t. Not right now…but I need to see you.” This coming from a Male who practically ran screaming from the same room she was in?
That meant things weren’t just bad, they were really bad, as in Titanic proportions. And Haley needed more bad things in her life right now like she needed a hole in the head.
Going against all her instincts for self-preservation, Haley said, “Just tell me where.”
“We need somewhere safe.” He laughed. “My only problem is getting out of Athens. The cops are all over. Everyone knows what I look like.” A sound of shuffling echoed over the receiver. “I’ll call you back later. Keep your phone close.”
“Sure. I’ll be here.”
Orin hung up, and she stared at the Nokia until the screen blinked out. A line of warmth pressed against Haley’s back. Deshi’s arms came around her shoulder, and his chin touched the top of her head.
“Problem?”
“Yeah, I think Orin’s in trouble and needs our help.”
Chapter 13
Asking Haley for help was a mistake on multiple levels. Orin tried to tell himself he needed her because she could be trusted. Another part of him said it was because she was a respected Agent of the CKFR and could talk to the local police and get this straightened out. And while neither thought was a lie, it also wasn’t the truth.
The truth was, as a Female, Haley actually had a chance against Rehbek’ah. Not to mention as Medan’s Enforcer, she had the upper hand.
And yet Orin couldn’t seem to get the voice inside his head to shut the hell up and quit screaming at him that this was a shit-storm waiting to happen, a fact he couldn’t deny no matter how much he wanted to. Thing is, he didn’t know what else to do. As a Male, he didn’t stand a chance against Rehbek’ah, and the idea of her marking him…
Not again. Please, God of Man, don’t send me back into that kind of living hell.
Logic told Orin Rehbek’ah was nothing like Serena, but it didn’t change the fact that if the Athens Queen owned him, he would be trapped.
Condemned.
A fate which was almost worse than death.
Orin flipped up the collar on his overcoat and headed down the sidewalk. Eight hundred years had taught him a lot of tricks, one of which was sliding between. By flaring his metaphysical self, he could bend just a few seconds of space and time. As Orin walked, people stepped out of his way, propelled by the push of his metaphyscial energy, not even aware they did it. If he stopped, they would converge but not close enough to touch, their presence becoming a secondary type of shield.
But there was a catch. He had to stick with a crowd of people. Otherwise he’d just reappear. Luckily, the campus sidewalks were full of moving bodies as students crossed back and forth across the street.
Tapping into his preternatural self was taxing, and without proper feeding, Orin really didn’t have the resources to spare. But he didn’t have a choice. Athens was crawling with the local PD, and with the way they were setting up check points and searching every car on the highways, he didn’t have a chance to escape and get to Atlanta.
Not only did Orin need to hide from the cops, he had to hide from Rehbek’ah. The only reason she’d quit goading him at the Ancient Histories building was because the Athens PD arrived. And no matter how big, bad, and scary Rehbek’ah thought she was, stirring up the local villagers with their pitch forks was never a good idea.
It was imperative Orin find somewhere to meet with Haley. Somewhere crowded and preferably dark. The lack of light would make hiding easier.
Still, involving Haley in this wasn’t right.
Yeah, well, lots in this world isn’t right. It doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
The ache was back in Orin’s chest, which meant thoughts of Mary weren’t very far behind. She’d been the closest thing to loving someone he’d ever known. And maybe, if Kin could love, it’s what he would have called his feeling towards her. But since it was impossible, he had to chalk it up to the instinct to mark her as his.
And the irony was not lost on him.
The city transit bus rolled to a stop at the curb, and Orin moved into the crowd of students getting on. Not paying the fare bothered him, but if he drew attention to himself, it was over. No talking, no saying hello, no eye contact.
Orin moved to the rear of the bus and took up residence in the stairwell of the back door. Bus surfing wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but sitting in one of the seats might get him noticed, so he put himself as out of the way as possible.
The diesel engine lurched forward and belched a black cloud. Orin stared through the window. Saturday was fast approaching which accounted for the increase in campus population, but the bodies of young people were thick even for a weekend chock full of frat parties.
This kind of exponential growth meant something really big was going on. And knowing Athens, it had to do with a lot of noise, Human bodies, alcohol, and crowded spaces. Exactly the kind of cover he needed to meet Haley.
She would want to help because she cared. Orin knew Haley’s Human impressions made her put her Female instincts aside and care about others.
It was a weakness which would make her easy to use.
Chapter 14
Farley was still groggy from the Roll as Haley dumped a handful of peach-scented shampoo into his thick red curls. He hadn’t cut it, and it was getting long.
“I thought you weren’t going let your hair grow out again?”
He’d made the promise back in the late forties when Howdy Doody had gotten popular. Even though his shade of red was a lot darker, almost mahogany, it didn’t do much to thwart the name-calling which came as a result.
Farley yawned wide enough to crack his jaw and leaned into her as she scrubbed her fingers over his head.
In a sleepy voice he said, “You like it longer.”
Yeah, she did. She thought his hair was beautiful. But he had a hard enough time looking masculine. It wasn’t his face; there were plenty of angles. It was the combination of his eyes, which were large and dark with lashes so thick they didn’t look real, and his f
ull pouting lips.
Not to mention, Farley was small even by Human standards. Thank God of Man, he had shoulders. It was the only thing keeping him in the man category and not looking like a boy. Before he’d met Haley, Farley used his harmless appearance to prey on Humans, decimating entire villages in his addiction to Human flesh and blood.
He fell off the wagon in September, but only because Medan had forced him by pushing her hunger on him. The victim had been a card carrying MKFK member with the word Chetrah inked across her chest.
Haley said, “Don’t grow it out just because I like it long.” She tipped him forward under the spray.
“But I like it when you like it.”
And that’s what worried her. Ever since she’d marked Farley, she worried his amicability was due to some influence she had over him. Haley’s Kin nature was fine with it, but her Human instilled impressions had a real issue with anything threatening to Farley’s independence.
Farley turned around and swung her under the spray. “I told you it doesn’t work that way.”
And that was the other thing--he could read her thoughts when they touched, but Haley couldn’t hear his. His hands worked through her hair. She handed him the shampoo, and he lathered her up. “Hearing you, feeling you, just makes me realize how you feel about certain things. My hair being a little longer makes you happy. I like the way it feels when you’re happy.”
Haley started to say something; but Farley pushed her under the spray, and she had to close her mouth to keep from getting soap in it.
A well-planned ploy if there ever was one.
Farley said, “If you think about it, the fact that it makes me feel good to do it cancels out all your worries about me doing it just for you.” He palmed some conditioner and ran it through her locks before pulling her out from under the water. “And you know me. I’m all about doing what feels good.”
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