Dark Cotillion (First in the Brenna Strachan Series)

by Hadena James

  Chapter Five

  Everything was happening so fast that I stood in stunned silence, as someone swept me off my feet, enveloped me inside velvety wings, and dashed from the Chamber. The cocoon smelled of wormwood and cedar, and somewhere, I could hear the muffled sounds of walnuts bouncing off of the body that carried me. The moment the sound ended, the wings unfurled, there was a rush of air, and I closed my eyes and held on for dear life, as Gargoyle claws and fingers dug firmly into my flesh.

  I am a Demon with the mindset that if Demons had been intended to fly, they would have wings. While I logically understood that Ba’al would not drop me, and even if he did, it would hurt but not kill me, I still couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes. Instead, I buried my face in his chest, felt the rub of his clothing with every movement of his wings. His voice was trying to soothe me over the rush of the wind, but his words were lost in the panic and air.

  We landed with a small thud onto my balcony. The fingers loosened, the claws retracted from the flesh. The wounds were healing, almost healed by the time they were completely removed. His fingers remained though, stroking my back, encouraging me to put my feet down and open my eyes.

  “I hate flying,” I gave a small sigh and cautiously opened one eye. Ba’al was grinning down on me.

  “True, but it got you out of the Chamber quickly, quietly, and efficiently. The good news is that you won’t have to go to your party tomorrow. If you’re mortal, you cannot attend.”

  “That might be the only bright light in this entire fiasco.” I let myself be carried into the house. I never locked the balcony door. Too many flying beings visited that thought it was easier than coming up the elevator.

  “Brenna, we should discuss security,” he spoke softly.

  “No, Ba’al, not now.” I let a tear fall from my eye. It ran down my face. “I just found out that my brother has exactly 14 years and three months to live, give or take a few days.”

  “I know.” The problem with True Prophets was that they died. Personally, I had never met one, but I knew the stories. They spewed their prophecy on the day they began the Maturing, and died sometime within that month. That meant two things, in 14 years and three months, we would know exactly what doom and gloom Daniel was envisioning in his head, and that he would be dead shortly afterwards. There was nothing anyone could do to change it; it was Fate, Divine Will, whatever you wanted to call it. It was and would be.

  “Why couldn’t it have been one of the older brothers, I don’t like them as well.” It sounded bad, but the truth was, while I would have missed them, Daniel was special to me in ways that they weren’t. Daniel understood me and I understood him, at least to the extent that he could be understood.

  “Brenna,” a second voice joined us. I looked up and found Anubis, Gabriel, Marcus, and Alex standing in the room.

  “Wow, quite a turn out. All we need is Jonathan.” I frowned and started to cry harder.

  “Mein Schatz,” Anubis touched the bottom of my chin, “Jonathan is coming. We are your guards for the Maturing. A psychotic Overlord screaming for your death requires special guardians. The Demon Lieutenant, John, will also be joining us. You will never be alone,” he pulled me up from the couch, “but that does not mean you cannot have some feigned privacy.”

  “Feigned privacy,” I gave a soft chuckle that ended in a sob.

  “Feigned, we will all hear you cry, but we will all pretend that you are not.” He led me to my bedroom and opened the door.

  “Ba’al,” Anubis called, Ba’al responded. Even among “equals” there always seemed to be some sort of hierarchy. I had never understood how it worked, but Anubis seemed to outrank everyone except Lucifer. “Stand outside the door for a few moments, while I get her settled please.”

  “Of course,” Ba’al spread his wings, covering the entire doorframe and most of the wall that connected to the hall.

  As a child, the Overlords had always enthralled me. They had come in and out of my house as they pleased. The three that seemed to be unmated, Gabriel, Anubis, and Ba’al, had been very nice to me. Around the time I was five, Anubis had started referring to me as Mein Schatz, My Treasure. A term of endearment that was used to encourage me to learn other languages that had ultimately failed. I had tried; I just didn’t have the head to speak multiple languages. It hadn’t changed though even as an adult, he still used the term when we were alone, or when there was time of great suffering.

  I folded myself into his arms and wept harder than I had ever wept in my life. My body shook with the effort, the tears soaked his shirt, darkened the color. Anubis kept me folded into him, never moving except to stroke my hair or kiss the top of my head.

  Minutes passed. My knees finally gave out; Anubis caught me, carried me to the bed, and tucked me in. He dried the last of my tears.

  “Brenna, you know we would all change it if we could. We cannot, so for now, we should focus on keeping you safe. Once the Maturing is over, you will have time to spend with Daniel. We will put you on leave for a while, or whatever needs to be done to accommodate you.”

  “I sometimes forget you are my boss,” I looked into his eyes. They always seemed sad. He was a haunted man. He and Ba’al were both haunted men. I had always known it, always seen it on their face, read it in the eyes, felt it in their soul, but I had never been bold enough to ask about the torment. I could guess it had something to do with the fact that they were unmated. Especially since Gabriel was the only Overlord left never to have found a mate. Something told me that he understood my pain and would do exactly what needed to be done to ease it.

  I thought another moment, “What was the contingency plan that Elijah mentioned?”

  “Just something to keep you safe. We had readied a small house, well, shack really, on a deserted island. Fen, Beal, Gabe, Elijah, and Mammon, were going to take you there if they put you to death. Keep you there until after the Maturing. Somehow, Leviathan and Pendragon found out. So, they changed it a bit. We were going to hide you in plain sight, so to speak. A place on the island, with the griffins. They would help us keep you safe as well as mask your magic, and with Pendragon being in on the conspiracy, there would be little anyone could do to find you once you were on the island.”

  “Conspiring against the Council,” I tutted at him lightly.

  “Boss, friend, confident, and sometimes conspirator,” he smiled at me as he referenced my teen years. “We have been many things, Mein Schatz, and I hope we have many years ahead of us to enjoy each other’s company.”

  “Anubis,” I looked away from him, “who cursed you?”

  “Oh, that was so long ago.” He frowned.

  “Perhaps it was, but it is not something you forget.”

  “A Witch, her name was Nefera; she was a concubine, a mistress of a pre-Egyptian king.”

  “How long ago was it?”

  “Roughly?” Anubis gave a heavy sigh and squinted at me. His long powerful jaw worked for a second, as if he were counting without moving his lips, and finally bared two fangs. “About eight thousand years ago.”

  “Why a jackal?”

  “She said I preyed upon the dead and should look like a scavenger and not a man. She did not understand vampirism any more than any other Human at that time.” There isn’t a Vampire on the planet that would drink Human blood. They did prefer their steaks to be a little on the rare side, and every so often, they had about a quart of horse blood injected into them, but it was about survival. Without the infusion, they tended to become transparent and irritable. Their bodies process hemoglobin too fast, destroy it, it leaks out of their tears and occasionally in their saliva if they are trying to heal a nasty wound. However, they have incredible speed and strength, which is why they need the extra blood. Horses happen to work better than Humans do though. Their hemoglobin seems to be more rugged, harder to destroy.

  “From scavenger to God, not a bad ste
p up in the course of Human History.”

  “From scavenger to God to myth,” Anubis gave me another toothy smile, “not bad at all. Do you feel any better?”

  “I feel exhausted.”

  “Not surprising. Your party is being rescheduled for after the Maturing. Something to look forward to,” he added sarcastically. He knew I hated parties. I’m not exactly the most social being on the planet.

  “Thank you, and Ba’al, and everyone else that is going to be looking after me for the next month. I imagine though that I am interfering in your lives.”

  “Yes, but it is an acceptable interference,” he stood. “Those that are mated will guard in shifts. The rest of us will be here full time.”

  “Of the list you gave me, there are only three that are not mated.”

  “True and I believe the next 24 hours or so, Gabriel will probably take reprieve. He says you have been a handful.”

  “I usually am.” I snuggled into my pillow.

  Anubis started towards the door.

  “Wait,” I pulled the blanket up to my chin, “I hate to sound like a little kid again, I am almost thirty, but would you mind sitting here until I fall asleep or finding someone else to do it?”

  “Let me have a word with the others and I will be back. I will send Ba’al in to sit with you until my return.”

  Ba’al came into the room and sat down on the bed. His curved fingers and long claws gently touched my leg, sitting on top of the blankets. His eyes reflected the same sadness as Anubis’s.

  “Ba’al, why are Vampires the only breed with a weakness?” I asked.

  “Who says they are?”

  “They require blood.”

  “Yes, but each breed has a weakness.”

  “No, they don’t.”

  “Demons are blessed with the ability to heal, but are cursed to take the wounds upon themselves, even if it is just psychological pain they feel. Lycans walk between the Elder/Human world and the world of the animals, yet they pay a price each time they shift. The pain of shifting can cause them to become comatose for a time. That is why most of them do not shift anymore. The pain is unbearable. The Fey have a fractured breed, more diversity, more infighting over their differences. We all have weaknesses; it is a trade off for whatever amazing power we have.”

  “I never thought…” I stopped and opened my mind. New energy had entered the building. Energy that was both enraged and terrified.

  “Lucifer is here,” I told him, climbing out from under the blankets, “and he isn’t happy.”

  “I imagine not,” Ba’al stood up, I heard my bed creak as the weight shifted.

  “He’s taking the stairs,” I opened the bedroom door as my father’s energy slammed into the corridor outside my condo. “No, he’s here.”

  “Yes, he is,” Anubis opened the door before Lucifer’s energy could cause it to shatter. He was glowing red and shaking from head to foot.

  “Brenna,” he rushed to me, grabbed me, and held onto me, nearly forcing all the air out of my lungs. “I wasn’t sure what had happened to you.”

  “Ba’al happened to me,” I squeaked out. Some of the tension released, the glow faded.

  “Oh, thank God,” Lucifer looked at me. “Your mother and I were worried sick when we realized you didn’t come into the house after us, and your phone was found outside with the walnuts.”

  “Luc,” Anubis came to stand next to us, “you are squeezing her to death.”

  “Sorry,” he let go a little. One hand went to his face and I realized he was wiping away tears. “Thank you, Beal.”

  Nicknames are a rarity in the world of the Elders. They are a sign of familiarity. Permission had to be granted before they could be used. The fact that the four Overlords standing in my living room all called each other by nicknames, probably gave more insight into my family life than anything else did.

  “Papa,” I started to cry again, “what about…”

  “Bren, we will cross that bridge when it gets here. Until then, we have to focus on you. He is currently safe and sound at home with Morgana, Uther, Vishnu, and most of the Djinn. Now that he is exposed as a prophet, I imagine we will be seeing much more of the Djinn clan in our home.”

  Something intangible seems to bind the Djinn Clan and True Prophets. Some psychic bond that requires the Djinn to feel responsible for the Prophet.

  “Fenrir is joining your guard,” Lucifer said as my mother entered the room, “he decided that if his son was willing to risk his life to protect you, he should as well.”

  “Smokescreen,” Fenrir said as he entered the room. My father’s energy had been overwhelming. I had missed the others that had accompanied him to the condo. “We all know how fond I am of her.”

  Fenrir gave me a kiss on the forehead, moving around my father to do it. He looked at Alex for a moment before hugging him. Affection is shown, but only in private quarters in the Elder World. Only true loves show affection in public. Since few mated couples were also true loves, there wasn’t a lot of PDA.

  For Fenrir to hug his son in my condo was proof that he was amongst not friends, but family. It made me feel a little warm and fuzzy that the group in the room was close enough to be considered family, even if we were not of the same blood.

  “I have a gift for you, Bren,” my mother shook her head at my father as she spoke, “but your father is going to have to let you go for me to give it to you.”

  “Oh,” my father had the grace to look embarrassed for a second. He kissed me again and pulled away. Someone helped me to maintain my balance after being let go so suddenly by him.

  My mother handed me a long, wooden box. It was intricately carved, each detail done by hand. It looked ancient, priceless, and well loved. I took it from her and was surprised that it weighed almost nothing. It looked heavy and cumbersome.

  I opened the box. There was a round of gasps from almost everyone in the room. Everyone except me, I was confused. Inside the box was a very large, very shiny sword. I cocked my head to one side and stared at it. It looked like it should weigh a ton, but it had to be made of papier-mâché.

  “It’s a sword,” I finally said.

  “No, it’s a Claymore,” Fenrir said with reverence in his voice.

  “It’s more than just a Claymore,” Anubis responded. “It is the Claymore, it’s Excalibur.”

  “The mythical sword of Arthurian Legend?” I asked rather blandly. There are moments when my life defies even my mind. This was one of those moments.

  “Yes and no,” Gabriel piped up. “Arthur didn’t exist, but Excalibur did. A witch forged it, etched it with the blood of the Overlords, and cursed it so it could never fall into hands that would wield it for evil.”

  “Huh,” I pulled it one handed from the box. “It seems like it should weigh more.”

  “That’s all you can say?” Gabriel frowned at me.

  “Well, what should I say? I am holding a sword that shouldn’t exist and it weighs maybe as much as one of your feathers. It’s beautiful, I will admit to that, but it seems to defy reality.”

  “It is as light as a feather because you are a master,” my mother responded. She took the sword from me and held it as I had. “The Strachan Family Claymore or Excalibur.” She grimaced at the word Excalibur as if it was dirty or something.

  “Sorry, Elise,” Gabriel gave a sheepish look.

  “The Strachan Claymore is cursed so that only a Strachan can wield it. It drives everyone else mad to hold the sword for too long. The weight of the sword changes as it is passed down from one family member to another. The sword chooses its own masters, and they have always been women. To everyone else, and if you set it on a scale, it will tell you that it weighs close to two hundred pounds. It is perfectly balanced and it was forged using blood from the Overlords. It was forged for the Elder War and it will do some serious damage when it cleaves the flesh of an Elder, more than a Demon woul
d ever want to heal. In the hands of a Strachan Master, you don’t even need to know how to use it, the sword does the work itself, you just have to hold on.”

  “Nifty.” I took the sword back. “And I’m going to use this to protect myself?”

  “You will if you know what’s good for you,” my mother said with that tone. I was being given a family object, a cursed and sacred family object. That meant a lot to my mother, it meant a lot to everyone in the room. I would use the sword or my mother would give me hell.

  “Okay,” I looked inside the box and found a leather sheath. It didn’t fasten around the waist, but over the shoulders, like a sling. It was far too long to fasten at the waist. I tried to draw the sword from the sheath and found that the sheath fell apart; releasing the sword quickly and making me look awkward.

  “When you want to put it back, just slide it in, the sheath attaches to it magically,” My mother informed me.

  “That’s useful.” I slide it back and felt the material mold back together, mend around the blade.

  “One last piece of advice,” my mother kissed me. “Don’t ever call it Excalibur.”

  “Got it,” I nodded once, very decisively.

  “Luc,” Anubis said his name softly.

  “I know, I know,” Lucifer stood up. “I know I agreed I would not interfere once the Maturing began. You have no idea how hard it is to turn her over to you ragged lot and hope for the best.” The last sentence was said with a little bit of mirth.

  The Demon John came into the room. The atmosphere suddenly changed. I glared at him.

  “No, no, no,” I shook my head, “this isn’t going to work.”

  “What?” Anubis asked me.

  “Don’t you feel it?”

  “Yes,” my mother answered. “Luc, we need to remove a guard.”

  “What?” Lucifer looked from her to me.

  “John, I’m sorry,” I moved towards him, “you bring tension to the group.”

  “I’m a lieutenant.”

  “I know,” I responded, “and I appreciate you volunteering, but we both know that you don’t want to be here. I can feel it radiating from you. You can’t protect me when you resent me.”

  “I don’t resent…”

  “Yes, you do. I would too if I were you. My cousin is a horrible mate, but there is nothing to be done about that. I remind you of her.”

  “How do…”

  “Witch,” my mother said in a singsong voice.

  “Damn,” John gave a deep sigh, “Sorry, Brenna.”

  “I’m sure you are a likeable enough Demon, John, and your service to Demonnation is commendable. The fact that you got stuck with my cousin is unfortunate, even more so since, she seems capable of breeding rather quickly for a Demon. However, you do resent me because I do remind you of her and you can’t ever seem to get away from her.”

  “You don’t have to tell everyone,” John nearly growled.

  “You don’t have to be a Witch to figure it out,” Gabriel gave him a sad smile. “We have watched you suffer for the last five hundred years with your mate. We all know how miserable you are.”

  “But if I’m not in the guard, I have to go home,” he stood for a minute; his shoulders suddenly drooped, “to her.”

  Elders mate in very odd ways and cycles. It’s a hundred year cycle. You are required to be your mate’s only lover for 100 years, if during that time, you have a child, you are bound for another 100 years. If you go 100 years without a child, you are released from any obligations for 100 years. Since mating rarely involves love in our world, this is normally not a problem. You spend 100 years with someone and then move on to fun for another 100 years, and then you return. Only John and my cousin, Lucretia, seem to keep having children. They have been mated for five hundred years and she is currently pregnant with their fourth child. This time, he was six days from the end of the 100-year cycle when she got pregnant. Now he is stuck living with her for another 100 years. I would be resentful too.

  “Go home to your parents,” Lucifer said. “Take a breeding reprieve. You are allowed to do that since your last child died.”

  “I’ve tried, my parents won’t allow it.” Sometimes being an Elder really sucks.

  “Your parents will not allow you a breeding reprieve?” I asked him. A breeding reprieve can be given to any Elder whose child has died during the Maturing. It allows time to grieve.

  “Why did you not come see me before Lucretia got pregnant again?” Lucifer asked.

  “My parents told me I couldn’t.” As Overlord, Lucifer can grant a reprieve, but only if the mates are not expecting. “They wanted another grandchild.”

  “Did you talk to Beezel?” Lucifer asked.

  “I don’t think Beezel likes me very much,” John answered.

  “Don’t take it personal, Beezel doesn’t like anybody very much,” Gabriel answered.

  This statement was followed by silence. We could send John home to his bitchy mate, or we could allow him a month of leave. He might resent me less if I allowed it. He might resent me more when it was over, because I do remind him of Lucretia. It was a double-edged sword. I was damned regardless.

  “Okay, you can stay. I wouldn’t want to return home to her either. Just try to work out your hostilities and stop holding her against me.” I gave a sigh. “However, since you are mated, you will be given leave every other day to return home. It’s required.”

  “Good girl,” my father whispered despite the fact that everyone in the room could hear him.

  “All right, our daughter is safe and sound and well protected. They need to work out schedules and ways to avoid routines and a million other things,” my mother poked my father. “In other words, we should attend to our other children while this one is taken care of by our friends.”

  “Keep her safe,” Lucifer gave a parting shot.

  “Bye,” I said to the closed door. My father was not dealing with this very well. I put the Claymore back in its case and closed the lid. “Okay, what’s on the agenda?”

  “Schedules,” Gabriel sat down. “The three of us will stay here all the time. The others will rotate out as their schedules allow.”

  “Seems simple.” I stared off into space. “Perhaps too simple. Chiron is not really so stupid as to attack me, is he?”

  “I don’t think it’s stupidity we need to worry about. Crazy people, now that’s another story. Chiron is just at the top of that list,” Anubis sat down. “You do realize that you have no food, right?”

  “Yeah, I made a list once, but it didn’t make it to the store with me, so I gave up on it.”

  “You’ve had a lot on your mind lately,” Gabriel pointed out.

  “Yeah, pity that was eight years ago.” I handed my cell phone to Anubis. “Most of the delivery places are in the phone directory.”

  “I am not living on take-out for a month.” Anubis pushed the phone away. “Brenna, do you know how to cook?”

  “My mother taught me. I found the only thing I was ever good at cooking up was spells, so I gave up on food. If you are going to cook, you’ll need to buy cookware. I have a pan that I use for popcorn when I run out of the microwave stuff, but that’s it.”

  “You have no pans?” Anubis gave me a disapproving look.

  “No, I have one pan and a matching lid for it. It’s a single serving of popcorn, so it’s perfect for me.”

  “Baking dishes? Silverware?”

  “I have silverware; there are at least a dozen boxes of assorted disposable utensils in the drawer.”

  “Metal utensils?”

  “Uh, yeah, my mom gave me a box of old silver when she gave me the china dishes.”

  “China dishes?” He rolled his eyes as Gabriel snickered. “Do you have anything except antique Bone China place settings?”

  “Ewww, they are made of bone? One more reason to use paper plates. Stop setting those things on my
damn table.” I looked pointedly at Gabriel.

  “No, Ani, she has almost nothing in her kitchen, except disposable and fine antiques that should be used only on very special occasions.” Gabriel looked back at me and stuck out his tongue.

  “I tried to give the fine stuff back to mom, but she refused to take it. She said some nonsense about every homeowner needing a good set of dishes.”

  “Let me get this straight,” Anubis shook his head again, “you have no food and even if you did, we couldn’t cook it unless it was microwavable, and then we would have to eat it on plates that are probably a couple hundred years old, with silverware that is probably older?”

  “Sounds accurate,” I lit a cigarette. “I’m sorry; I’m just not very domestic.”

  “We know,” all the Overlords said in unison.

  “Jonathan, John, and Marcus, make some lists of things that are needed for this place; include cookware and dining ware as well as food, then go to the store and pick the items up. I’ll give you a credit card for the purchases, I’m sure you won’t be paid back otherwise.”

  “I don’t think I need cookware or dining ware. I’ve been doing just fine since I went to college.”

  “It is going to be a very long month,” Anubis placed his muzzle into his hands and closed his eyes. I was pretty sure he was holding his jaws shut and possibly cutting off the oxygen through his long nose. I recognized the gesture; people did it a lot with me, and my mother was the master of holding her mouth closed to keep from yelling at me.

  “Fenrir, go home for now, get some rest, be back in the morning. I think since Daniel announced she would start her stint as a mortal tomorrow, there will be a test run at her then.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because that is what I would do.” Anubis popped the ligaments in his neck very loudly. “If I were leading a battle, I would first send a small group to see what was happening. If you are wounded tomorrow, they can judge how quickly you heal by attacking at certain intervals after that. Once you have reached Human healing speed, I would come in with a full frontal assault and cause as much damage as possible. They also need to make sure that you are not coming into whatever powers you may be gaining. If they wait too long and the power is developed, it is not uncommon for the power to lash out during times of high emotional stress; it’s a defense mechanism to preserve the life of the being. You won’t be able to control it, it will just happen. Finally, they will want to see what powers you still have. A Demon Maturing is different from a Half-Breed with Witch blood. You might be more powerful than they think.”

  “Have you planned many assassination attempts?” I asked.

  “I’ve never planned an attempt, only a few that worked,” Anubis answered. “However, Gabriel and I were in charge of most of the infantry soldiers during the Elder War and we have long been helping Humans strategize their wars.”

  “Scary.”

  “You have no idea,” Ba’al laughed.

  “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.”

  “Probably not,” Ba’al was still smiling.

  “Are you two done?” Anubis cut into our chatter. “If you are, there are still some things to be discussed. For example, do you think we can defend this condo, or should we move to a more secure location?”

  “I vote condo,” I piped up.

  “Why?” Anubis asked.

  “It’s high up, Centaurs don’t fly, and it’s my home.”

  “I think the condo is defensible,” Ba’al added.

  “Fine, for now, we will take position here. Some provisions need to be made. Bren, do you think you can cook up a couple of spells for us?”

  “That depends, what spells do you want?”

  “One for soundproofing that works so that anyone outside can’t hear in, but we can hear out,” Anubis started.

  “Uh, might need my mother for that. I don’t know a lot of complex spells.”

  “You’re a Witch.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, not a chemist,” I retorted. “I have a book; I follow a recipe, say the prescribed words and hope it works. If it isn’t in the book, I probably can’t do it without my mother’s help.”

  “Okay, let’s go look through the book,” Anubis stood up.

  “Sure,” I took him to my bedroom, opened the closet and pointed to a nice, hand carved box that sat on my closet floor. Every so often, the box jumped. Over the years, I had gotten used to the noise.

  “It’s cursed,” he said very flatly.

  “Yes, it is.” I shrugged. “Most of the things in my life seem to be cursed.”

  Carefully, I knelt down, opened the latch on the box and watched as the book jumped out. It began to curse heavily at me. The mouth on the front of the book moved rapidly and spoke old English.

  “I know, I know.” I told the book. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to know if you have a spell that will soundproof a room to the outside, but still let sound from outside in.”

  “God damn, keep me locked in a fucking box for years and then suddenly start demanding things from me. Why should I do as you ask? I could just sit here, mute and not tell you anything. Maybe that would teach you.”

  “Probably not, and I wouldn’t keep you locked up if you were nicer to my company and to me. Last time I left you out for a week, you started saying ‘Damn Demon’ every time I walked past you.”

  “You started it.”

  “You have a cursed spell book that is petulant.” Anubis gave me a look.

  “You’d be petulant too if you were stuck in that fucking box all the god damn time,” the book hissed.

  “Behave and I won’t put you in the box,” I told the book. I always felt stupid arguing with a book, but I couldn’t help it. It seemed to bring out the worst in me. We always ended up arguing.

  “Yes you will, you’ll think of another reason to put me back into the box. You realize I have lived for nearly a thousand years inside that stupid box. It isn’t like there’s a lot of scenery in there. The least you could do is offer…”

  “Stop. I know what you are going to say, so just stop.” I held up my hand as eyes opened on the front of the book.

  “You try having your soul trapped in a book for eternity and see how you feel.”

  “Look, I realize it sucks, I’m sorry you are forever stuck inside the book, I really am. There is nothing I can do about it. Would it be possible just to work together for a few minutes without arguing?”

  “Fine.” The book even managed to look petulant. The soul inside it belonged to an ancestor that died ages ago, but somehow managed to trap his soul inside the family spell book. Because my mother is convinced that I need more complications in my life, I got the cursed copy, and my siblings got nice, new printings of it that lack the trapped soul.

  “Okay, we need some protection spells. I’m Maturing and there is serious concern for my safety. Since I won’t really have much power in a couple of days or at least, not controllable power, we need some good protection spells to assist. Have any suggestions?”

  “Hey, muzzle-mouth,” the book said. It somehow had the ability to stand up on its own as well.

  “I assume you mean me,” Anubis looked down at the book as if it was a yucky bug.

  “Yeah, you,” the book sneered. “Are you in charge of her safety?”

  “I am one of many.”

  “Too many cooks…” The book closed its eyes for a minute. “Still haven’t figured out how to remove that curse I see. I bet that sucks almost as much as being stuck in a book.”

  “Behave.” I warned the book.

  “Well, I bet it does. Muzzle-mouth, do you have any funny ideas about my great granddaughter?”

  “Book!” I nearly yelled at it. “All I want to know is whether you can help me or not. If you are going to be rude, I’ll borrow a copy from my sister that doesn’t have a soul in it.”

  “Like it isn’t bad eno
ugh your mother is fornicating with a Demon, you and the jackal would have ugly children.”

  “Okay, that’s it.” I picked up the book and started to place it back inside the box.

  “Wait, I can help!”

  “Then you had better get to it,” I answered.

  “I have a few protection spells, but let’s face it, protection spells really aren’t a big requirement in our family. How about a magical alarm system?” It had lost the accent, which is not uncommon with souls that were more than a few hundred years old. They had universal knowledge of languages and accents came and went.

  “What will it do?” I asked, putting it back down on the floor.

  “When something crosses it, it emits a bolt of energy that hurts like hell. Makes them scream.”

  “Anything or just certain things?” Anubis asked.

  “Anything.”

  “Okay, that would be bad.” I closed my eyes. “Anything else?”

  “Let me in the living room and I’ll give you a good one. I hate being stuck in here all the time. You know I hear everything that goes on in this room?”

  “Yeah, cause so much goes on in here,” I told it.

  “Exactly, your love life is about as exciting as watching grass grow. I’m sure the living room is more interesting, especially since I feel a couple of beasties floating around it.”

  “I have the only racist spell book on the planet.” I sighed emphatically.

  “I’m sorry, Bren, if I had realized what a chore getting a spell out of your book would be…” Anubis started.

  “No, it’s always like this. I think that’s why my mother gave him to me.” I glared at the book. “And you aren’t my grandfather in any way shape or form; you would be a great uncle long dead and too far back to add that many greats to your name.”

  “Splitting hairs,” the book huffed at me. “And I wouldn’t be a racist if Muzzle-mouth, Lucifer, and that Angel hadn’t arranged to have my soul trapped in this book.”

  “I had nothing to do with trapping your soul. You brought that on yourself.” Anubis suddenly smiled. “And that Angel is in the living room.”

  “Figures. I expect Lucifer would arrange for the best men to protect his favorite daughter.”

  “Wait, I’ve always thought this was some horrid spell gone wrong problem, why did they arrange to have you trapped in a book?” I asked either soul.

  “He was just as bad when he was alive. He attempted to curse Ba’al and a few other Elders because his son fell in love with one. He was a racist back then too. When he killed his son instead of letting him have a life with his love, we decided that his soul should not rest. We suggested that his soul be punished for his crime by not being allowed into heaven. His own kinfolk locked him in the book. It was their idea.”

  “That bitch whore of a sister I had did it. I never did like her.”

  “I get the impression you didn’t like anyone, and that the feeling was pretty much mutual.” I picked up the book. “You can go into the living room if you can behave and be useful. Otherwise, I’m shoving you back into the box. Understood?”

  “Define behave?”

  “No more calling him Muzzle-mouth for starters. He has a name, use it.” I thought for a moment. “And keep your opinions of how evil Elders are to yourself. We do not care to hear your thoughts on Angels, Demons, Gargoyles, Vampires, Lycans, or anything else for that matter.”

  “Whatever,” the book rolled its eyes at me.

  “Honestly?” I gave another heavy sigh. “Three minutes and I’m already exhausted.”

  “Can he talk you through more complicated spells?”

  “I’m sure he could, but I doubt he’d be that helpful.” I left the bedroom, Anubis at my heels.

  “Hey, he even follows like a dog!” The book exclaimed.

  “Hush, damn it!”

  “Oh no,” Gabriel’s voice came from the living room, “that book.”

  “It’s the only spell book I have.” It sounded defensive even to me.

  “Do you honestly think Ezra will be helpful?” Ba’al asked.

  “Ezra?” I looked at him as I entered the room.

  “Ezra is the soul trapped in the book,” Ba’al said as if I should know it.

  “Sorry, I only know him as the book.” I shrugged.

  “Too many wings and pointy teeth in this room for my taste,” Ezra the Book said.

  “I was thinking there were too many opinions in the room, Ezra.” I told it.

  “Fine, set me down on the table and we’ll discuss things with as little opinion as I can give.”

  I plopped the book down on the table and stared at it. I wasn’t fond of it. If it could be helpful, I would reconsider, but for now, the racist book was what annoyed the hell out of me.

  “What do I get if I help you?” He asked.

  “Okay, you know what, if you help me, I’ll free your soul from the book.”

  “You can do that?” It was strange to have a book give you a skeptical look.

  “Yes, Demon/Witch, I have a bit of power between the two that most Witches don’t. I imagine I can free you from the book.”

  “What would happen to me if you freed me from the book?”

  “Well, since you’ve been banned from heaven, I imagine you will become a ghost and float around at will. I have a few people you can haunt. There’s a particularly irritating Centaur that you would get along with, and he’s also a racist. The two of you could have long, irritating debates about which breed is the worst.”

  “That could be fun. Any naked women there?”

  “Really? A thousand years inside a book and all you care about is naked women?” I asked.

  “It’s a long time to be inside a box without female company, except those of my distant relatives.”

  “I’m sure those could be arranged,” Anubis said with just a touch of scorn in his voice.

  “Don’t judge me, Vampire. I know that you have had years of freedom to fuck whatever and whoever you want.” That seemed to touch a nerve. Anubis yanked the book from the table and brought it very close to his face.

  “Careful, Ezra, I might just decide to destroy the book and send your soul to hell. Your curse keeps you from heaven, but the destruction of this book would free your soul for hell.”

  “Heaven, hell, it’s all the same. Lucifer is a decent being and Gabriel is his best friend. I’m not sure any of us really have a concept of either of those things.”

  “But we all have faith in a God, so there must be something else. I’m guessing it’s very unpleasant.”

  “This was a mistake, you obviously can’t help us.” I reached for the book.

  “Wait,” Ezra was still staring down Anubis, “how about an aura spell?”

  “An aura spell that does what?” I asked.

  “An aura spell that reveals intentions. You cast it and everyone within about a hectare suddenly glows a color based on their intentions towards you.”

  “I feel that there is a very off-color ‘but’ after that sentence,” I told him.

  “Well, it would reveal everyone’s intentions.” Ezra gave a screwed up smile. “You’d find out a lot of information about that being that you might not want to know.”

  “Can it be used selectively?” I asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Then it would be an invasion of privacy.”

  “But useful,” Anubis defended. “So you find out a few things you didn’t know, you’d definitely know exactly what everyone else was intending.”

  “Other suggestions?” I asked the book.

  “We could make the condo impenetrable to anyone without an aura pass.”

  “An aura pass?” I debated that for a second. “Okay, what do I need?”

  “You need blood from everyone that is capable of passing through the barriers for starters. After that, you will need an assortment of flowers, animals, and it requires a sacrific
e.”

  “You want me to sacrifice something?” I frowned.

  “Yes,” Ezra looked at Anubis. “Put me down please.”

  “What do I have to sacrifice?” I asked.

  “A small bit of you. Breast milk works the best.”

  “Not breeding at the moment,” I pointed out.

  “Then you will need to sacrifice something else. It could be an animal, but that’s a little less reliable since you are trying to keep out Elders. It might not work at all for a Lycan that is the same breed as the animal you sacrifice.”

  “My blood won’t work?”

  “You are already donating blood so that you can pass through the barrier.”

  “What about Demon horn?” The thought suddenly occurred to me. They are quite powerful for some reason, much like Angel feathers and Vampire tears.

  “Demon horn would work, but…” Ezra looked at my head.

  “I have horns.” I pulled back the hair and exposed the tiny nubs on top of my head.

  “Fine, Demon Horn it is.” Anubis finally placed the book back on the table.

  “What do I need?” I asked again.

  “A very large pot. Very large.”

  “Okay, how large?”

  “Large enough to fit everything into.”

  “Stop being cryptic.”

  “20 quarts or so.”

  “So, a giant crab or lobster boiling pot would work.”

  “Probably.” Anubis reached for his phone.

  “Nope, I’ve got that.” I went back into the bedroom and got a pot from my closet.

  “I didn’t think you had cookware,” Anubis said behind me.

  “I don’t, but I do have spell pots.”

  “What next?” I asked Ezra as I reentered the living room.

  “Blood from all the Elders and Humans you want to be able to pass through the barrier. About an ounce from each goes into the pot first.”

  “Okay, time to do some bleeding.” Anubis looked at me. “Do you have a knife to cut with?”

  “Uh,” I screwed up my mouth and thought, “probably not.”

  “Fine,” Anubis opened his mouth and bit into his wrist. He held it over the pot and let the blood fall from it. When he’d let out about an ounce of it, I put my hand over the wound and watched it close. It hurt a bit, but not as much as I thought it would.

  “Okay, you can’t do that with each of us, compounding pain will be excruciating by the time we are done,” Ba’al responded.

  “Oh,” I shrugged, “okay, I’ll go next.”

  I stared at my wrist for several seconds. I didn’t have fangs and my Human teeth were going to hurt like hell. I looked at the three fanged beings in the room.

  “Uh,” I held out my wrist.

  “Good God,” Anubis took hold and pressed his mouth against it. It hurt, but the teeth were sharp enough that while they drew a small hiss from me, it didn’t make me cry. I drained some blood into the pot as Ba’al opened his wrist with a claw. Jonathan, like Anubis, used his fangs, and opened his vein. Then there was some hemming and hawing over who was going to open the wrists of the others. Fenrir eventually opened his and Alex’s using his fangs. Marcus used a claw and the others returned in time to be bled by someone without the blood congealing in the bottom of the pot.

  “Okay, we have blood. Now what?” I asked Ezra.

  “Three ounces of thyme, two ounces of wormwood; oil preferred, eight ounces of sunflower seed oil, half an ounce of blessed water, a splash of a corn based alcohol, a handful of dragon scales, they should be powdered, a handful of devil weed, a bit of mermaid hair, and then the final touch, the Demon horn, make sure it’s ground.”

  “Oh yeah, easy enough,” I said sarcastically. I dug around and found all the ingredients in a spell kit that also sat in my closet. It was amazing what I kept in the closet. My wardrobe was pretty bland; blue jeans and black or red shirts. Everything else was given over to spell stuff. Most of it my mother had given me over the years.

  Everything was in the pot except the Demon horn. I wasn’t exactly proud of them, but I had a feeling it was going to hurt. Suddenly it dawned on me; I hadn’t asked a very important question.

  “What exactly does this do? I mean, how does the barrier work?”

  “You pour it at your entrances and anyone who doesn’t have blood in the mix, can’t cross it.”

  “Can’t cross it how?”

  “It will be like they are pushing against a very strong wall, too strong to break.” Ezra turned to look at me. “Having second thoughts?”

  “Nope, just curious how it works. Also curious about how to remove my horns. They aren’t exactly big enough to take cutters to…”

  “Sit down,” Ba’al said. “I want you to look at me and only me.”

  “This is going to hurt,” I told him.

  “Not really,” Ba’al took hold of my hands. I sat down on the couch. Someone grabbed the tiny nubs and jerked.

  “Motherfucker!” I shouted as they were snapped at the base where they connected to my skull. “That hurt!”

  “Yeah, sorry, had to lie to you about it.” Ba’al was still holding my hands. Anubis was holding the tiny nubs in his hands. He walked into the kitchen. I heard something weird going on in there and a few minutes later, he emerged with a bowl. The bowl contained lilac dust. He was missing all the hair from his muzzle and I could feel my hair was on fire. I thought for a minute.

  “My head is on fire, isn’t it?” I asked, frowning.

  “Yes,” Marcus smiled. “We can put it out if you want, but it is kind of a good look for you.”

  “Thanks,” I reached up and touched the flames. They were blisteringly hot. “It’s white fire, isn’t it?”

  “Uh huh, side effect of breaking horns off at the base. We should have used clippers.” Anubis re-entered the room. “The fire will subside in a minute. Since you willingly gave them up, it isn’t as bad as if they had been broken by accident.”

  “Did you chew them to dust?” Ezra asked.

  “No.” Anubis poured the dust into the pot.

  “Now, just say the words and pour the mixture on your doors and windows. It disappears once it hits a surface.”

  “What are the words?” I asked. Ezra flipped open, exposing a page of the book. There were fifteen words on it. I didn’t know the meaning, but the pronunciation was written next to them. I repeated the words and there was a puff of smoke from the pot.

  The liquid went from red to white to clear. I nodded once and began to pour it on the door and window frames. It evaporated into white smoke when it hit the solid frames.

  “Okay, now what?”

  “Now, I recommend the intentions spell,” Ezra said.

  “I’m not casting that.” I picked up the book.

  “You said…”

  “I said I would help you if you helped me. If in thirty days, I’m still alive, I’ll free you from the book. If I’m not, you didn’t help and you get stuck with my sister who is far worse than I am. She’s mated and happy all the time.”

  “Good Lord,” Ezra sighed. “Can I at least stay out in the open for a while longer? I did give you a spell.”

  “Ugh, fine, but…”

  “I know…best behavior.”

  “We are going to sit around the living room with your spell book?” Gabriel asked, he sounded bemused by the thought.

  “It would appear so, I did make a deal with him.” I shrugged again. Sometimes, I am amazed by my own life, and this would be one of those times. How does someone get into the position of making deals with spell books?

  “What a conversation killer,” Gabriel sat down and glared at the book.

  “Not necessarily. I am quite good at conversation,” Ezra the Book said.

  “Yes, but can you talk to us like we are beings and not bugs to be trodden beneath your feet or…” Ba’al grinned, “Rather squashed between your p
ages?”

  “Now who is being condescending?” I asked.

  “Actually, no, we are not all going to sit around the spell book, silently wondering what we are doing,” Anubis responded. “Everyone, except me, is going to go home. Get some rest; be back here for your shifts tomorrow.”

  “Everyone?” Ba’al raised an eyebrow

  “Everyone.” Anubis turned to look at him. “I know Gabriel needs a break from Bren, it is written in his body language. He will be close enough if we need him, but I don’t imagine it will come to that tonight.”

  Did I mention Gabriel owns the building I live in? Or sort of owns the building I live in? He owns the building, but the people who live in them own the condos. They were all purchased from him. However, he collects rent from the businesses in the building and is in charge of the lobby staff. He also has the penthouse as his home. It’s cluttered with books and bric-a-brac.

  “You don’t think they will attack because she isn’t mortal,” Ba’al made it a statement. Anubis nodded just once.

  Ba’al mimicked the gesture. Gabriel stood up. The others followed suit.

  “Clearing out the house, Anubis?” Ezra the Book sounded smug when he asked it.

  “Not for whatever nefarious thoughts you have in mind,” I gave it a warning look.

  “How would you know? You are so oblivious to men. You wouldn’t know what one wanted if it flat out told you.”

  “Okay, out of the box time is over,” I picked up the book. It began to swear and protest. I was kind of used to it. I put it in its box and shoved the box into a corner of the living room. I would probably need it again before the month was out.

  “He’s a bit crude,” Alex smirked.

  “You have no idea,” I gave him a weary smile.

  Each of them left. The silence grew thicker as they walked out the door in a single file, waving their good-byes. There was something welcoming in the silence. I was willing to bet that it had a lot to do with the fact that it had been a very long day. I looked outside and realized for the first time that the sun had not yet set.

  “Really?” I asked the sunshine.

  “What?” Anubis asked me as he shut the door.

  “It’s still daytime. I could have sworn it was later than that.”

  “It’s about six p.m.,” Anubis sat down on my couch, “dinner time, I think.”

  “I tried to get you to order food earlier,” I reminded him.

  “Uh, no.” He stood up giving me a look.

  “I’m not cooking.”

  “I wouldn’t eat it if you did,” he yelled from my kitchen.

  I tried to be insulted and realized that I wouldn’t eat it if I cooked it, so why would I expect others to do it? Giving up on being insulted, I went and sat at my kitchen table.

  “So, want to tell me what this is all about?” I asked Anubis’s back as he worked on something I couldn’t see.

  “What what is about?”

  “This,” I made a gesture and realized he couldn’t see it, “the book, the sadness, the desire to be the one on watch tonight, the cooking, the curse, the power you seem to have over Ba’al.”

  “That’s a lot of ground,” Anubis turned and leaned against the counter. He was holding a block of cheese in one hand and a grater in the other. “Try asking one question at a time. If I don’t want to discuss it, I’ll tell you.”

  “I’m not sure where to start.” I admitted. This conversation had gone different in my head just a couple of seconds before. Now I felt like I was on the spot, trying to come up with something to ask that seemed like a singular event.

  “What do you want to know the most?”

  “Anubis,” I started and then stopped, then started again, “well, I guess, I want to know something more about you, Anubis. I mean, you’ve always been in my life, but like all the Elders who are more than twice my age, I feel like I don’t really know you. Ezra the Book made me realize just how little I knew.”

  “Why do you call me Anubis?” He frowned at me.

  “It’s your name.” I was shocked by the question, unsure why it had been asked. It seemed pretty self explanatory.

  “Why do you call Gabriel by his full name, or Ba’al by his?”

  “What do you mean? I’m not my father and I’m not on the intimate terms with you that he is, I have always used your full name as a sign of respect, and well that’s just how it’s done in the Elder Polite Society.”

  “Yes, that’s the way it’s done, but you have permission.” Anubis was looking at me quizzically. “You’ve had permission since you were five to call me Ani. Possibly earlier, I can’t remember exactly when I gave it to you.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. Ba’al and Gabriel have also given you permission to use shortened forms of their names. Yet, you don’t. Not even Gabriel. I find that very odd.”

  “I didn’t realize I had permission to use familiar forms.”

  “I find that hard to believe. As much time as we have all spent together and we use the familiar form of your name, I have thought for some time now that it is a defense mechanism.”

  “Defense mechanism?” How my asking him questions got turned on me, I didn’t know, and I was positive I didn’t like it.

  “Yes, you keep us in the respectful distance by using formal names. You even do it with Daniel.”

  “I’ve never thought about it.”

  “You should,” he turned back, his arms moved as he began grating cheese again. “What I haven’t figured out, is whether it is really to distance yourself from us, or from your father.”

  “Um, now I’m really lost.”

  “You have always been so concerned with being someone outside of your father’s daughter. Do you remember being a child and you had a friend that turned out not to be a real friend, but a person that just wanted to be your friend because of who you were?”

  “Of course.” That had been a brutal lesson. I’d had to learn it more than once unfortunately.

  “Do you remember asking me how you could tell the difference between a real friend and a political friend?”

  “Only vaguely.” I had slept since then and never mastered the art of figuring it out. It pretty much needed a neon flashing sign and possibly, Go-Go dancers.

  “How would you rate John?”

  “John or Jonathan?” I asked making note that there was a difference.

  “The Demon.”

  “Uh, acquaintance who happens to be mated to my cousin,” I replied.

  “So, political.”

  “Sure.”

  “And myself?”

  “Friend.”

  “Friend?” He put down the cheese and again turned to look at me. “But you still use the formal when talking to me.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following the point of this conversation.”

  “Brenna, it’s the answer to your current befuddlement. You make the distinction in your mind about us being friends, but not in your attitude. As a result, you are unsure about asking any of us questions, because you are unsure that we have that sort of relationship. It is incredibly strange that you feel that way towards Gabriel, since I know that you have a bit of a crush on him.”

  “Honestly,” I frowned, “I have a bit of a crush on all of you. It makes sense if you really think about it.”

  “Huh,” he looked off into space for a moment. “Yes, I suppose it does. We are the ones that gave you your first real taste of friendship and independence.”

  “Not to mention that I’m a bit of an outcast regardless of how you look at it, and you guys don’t treat me that way. I suppose I’ve had a bit of a crush on all of you since I was a child. You were always there, the people I talked to when I had problems. Mentors and friends and what nots.”

  “And yet, you still do not treat us as equals, as friends. Either you keep us at arm’s length by insisting on formality, or treat us as you
r father’s friends and not as your own.”

  “Yet, you are my father’s friends.”

  “Yes, but we are also your friends. We weren’t scrambling to protect your siblings,” Anubis pointed out.

  “They weren’t dealing with Chiron.”

  “True, if they had been dealing with Chiron’s madness, we would have, but we would not be giving all our time to it. The shifts would extend to all of us, not just the mated ones.”

  “Fine, Ani, why are you always so sad?”

  “Am I always sad?” He asked.

  “Yes, I would say haunted. You and Ba’al both have a haunting sadness that surrounds you. Even when you are happy, you still emit some sadness.”

  “My mate,” Anubis shrugged and went back to his work at the counter.

  “I know you are mated, or were mated.” I thought about it for a second after I corrected myself.

  “Past tense, she is dead.” Anubis moved the cheese to the side and got out a pan. “She was directly responsible for the Elder War, or at least she was one of the main conspirators. She corrupted our child as well. They were both sentenced to death.”

  “Oh,” I felt my mouth fall open but I could do nothing about it.

  “During the war, we discovered that Gargoyle blood was toxic to Elders. It relieved me of having to kill them myself, but it came at a terrible price. Beal paid for it just as dearly as I did. We never considered why the Gargoyles were dying until that day.”

  “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “You should know.” He put water into the pot and turned the stove on. He got out some stuff from my fridge that I couldn’t identify and began chopping. I didn’t press the issue.

  “When it was decided that all the conspirators should be put to death, it was…” He paused. “I don’t know how to describe it. It was soul crushing perhaps. Yes, that sounds pretty accurate. Soul crushing. All breeds were involved. My mate and my son were among them. Luc and Beal decided that I should not have to kill them myself.”

  “A cup was prepared for each of them. A cup of Gargoyle blood, several of the Gargoyles donated to ease my burden. Beal’s mate was among them. He had only been mated for about 20 years at that point. Beal even donated. When the cups were emptied, there were screams of pain and not just from my mate and son, the Gargoyles that donated were screaming. We didn’t know it would kill them. Lucifer grabbed Beal as the screaming started. He was unsure what was wrong, but he knew he had to try to do something to stop it. All the Demons went to work to save them and a few even tried to save my family. Lucifer and Pendragon managed to save Beal, but he was the only one. There were even a few Demons who weren’t powerful enough to take the wounds that died.”

  “And you feel responsible.”

  “If I had killed them, the Gargoyles wouldn’t have died.”

  “But Ba’al also feels responsible.”

  “Beal feels responsible for me.” Anubis stopped chopping. He hung his head. “Beal feels responsible for me, for my curse, and for most of my burdens.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he is responsible for the curse that plagues me, or at least, he thinks he is. I’m not really sure that anyone is responsible for it. Love is what it is.”

  “You were cursed because of love?”

  “What other reason is there to curse someone?”

  “I don’t know, I can’t think of any reason to curse a being.”

  “Well, I was cursed because of love.” Anubis lifted his head up. “Ba’al seduced the daughter of the Witch that cursed me. The daughter fell in love and Ba’al was only in lust. I stood up to protect Ba’al when the Witch went to work on us. I went to her to explain that her daughter hadn’t really been defiled, just deflowered. I guess she didn’t like the distinction. She cursed me instead of Beal. Beal feels responsible.”

  “Why are the love lives of Elders so complicated?”

  “Because we have lots of time to fill. Ezra’s right, we do not have the same outlook on sex as most Humans, and even less so when you consider our lives in the grand scheme of things. To live for millions of years, tied to a single being that you might not even like, let alone love, it’s monotonous.”

  “Why does he feel responsible for your burdens?”

  “Because he thinks that if I hadn’t been cursed, my mate wouldn’t have joined the side of the Anti-Humans.”

  “Oh,” I frowned at his back, “is that why she did it?”

  “No, she did it because she didn’t like Humans. She hated their mortality. She thought it was a weakness. Even worse, she did everything she could to make their lives miserable, and they repaid it in kind. She was a bitch to them and she became an evil, tyrannical, Goddess in their mythologies as a result. She didn’t even try to understand Human evolution and civilization. She thought they were beneath her, even the powerful Witches, because they were not like her.”

  “Ah, jealousy is a good motivator. While lots of you became benevolent, helpful deities with whom the Humans wanted relationships, she became one that was to be dealt with only from afar.”

  “She started the tradition of sacrificing virgins to her.”

  “Ouch.”

  “She wasn’t a very nice Vampire, or being, and while I regret not having a mate, I don’t regret that she is gone. It is far more painful that she poisoned my son and took him with her.”

  “Wasn’t a nice Vampire?” I made another face that he couldn’t see.

  “She believed that she should be entitled to special treatment because she was the mate of an Overlord.”

  “What did you think?”

  “You honestly do not want to know.” Anubis began putting stuff into the pot. I could hear the water boiling. He finished. He turned on me again.

  “Okay,” I shrugged. I was not willing to pry any more than necessary, he would tell me when he wanted, probably, maybe.

  “I thought that aside from being able to bear my children, she was no different than the hundreds of other women I have taken to my bed, except that I wasn’t very fond of her.”

  And there it was. I knew he’d tell when he was ready. I made a complicated gesture meant to convey that I understood. I really didn’t, but Anubis had no way of knowing that.

  “What happens if your mate dies before you are born?” I asked without really having thought I was going to ask.

  “You would know. You’d feel it, somewhere deep inside; you’d just know that your mate was dead.”

  “Why?”

  “Because most people know who their mates are by the time they reach the Maturing.”

  “And you don’t.”

  “Not a clue.”

  “Your mate might not be born yet. Like Gabriel.”

  “What is wrong with Gabriel? Why does everyone think he is damaged?”

  “Ah,” Anubis grimaced, “that is a gruesome story to be told when we are not about to eat pasta.”

  “I like pasta,” I resigned, “but then I’m sure you remember that from my childhood.”

  “Yes, I remember, but this is grown up pasta, not the spaghetti I used to make for you when I would babysit.”

  “I’m a surrogate, aren’t I?” Another question that just seemed to pop out of my mouth before I could stop it.

  “No, Jonathan is my surrogate. You are,” Anubis stood for a long time. His eyes glazed, his gaze fixed on nothing at all.

  The timer on the stove brought him out of it, “I don’t know what you are. A friend, but something more. The Great Hope I suppose.”

  “Cryptic, vague, and completely unintelligible.”

  “Sorry,” he shrugged as he took the pan from the stove, drained the water and started adding more things to it. “I’ve had this conversation before though, and none of us have ever come up with an answer. I think we all believe that you are the answer to our plethora of problems.”

  “How do you mean?”

&
nbsp; “My curse, Gabe’s scars, and Beal’s burdens,” Anubis put the pan back on the stove, reset the time and began to stir it gently. “It’s unfair of us to pin so much hope on you, but I think we all have and we are all somehow connected. Connected on a level that is unfathomable to anyone outside of it. Even Lucifer has trouble understanding it. There is a deep, emotional and physical need to have you around, at least for the four of us. That’s why we took turns babysitting you as a child, and why we will do anything to protect you through the Maturing.”

  “That’s a lot to carry around.”

  “It is, that’s why it is unfair of us to think such a thing, but can you imagine a life without the four of us?”

  I sat and thought about that for the entire time that Anubis stirred his dinner creation. He finished it up, toasted some bread, set the table, and portioned out the food. All the while, I thought.

  “Who is the fourth?”

  “You can’t tell?” Anubis gave me another of his toothy grins. They were reserved for moments when he was really amused.

  “Uh, not really.”

  “Fen.”

  “Oh, okay.” Something in the back of my head said I had known this.

  “Oh, okay? That’s the best you have?”

  “Best I got.”

  “Then back to the point, can you imagine life without the four of us?”

  “No, no I can’t. I thought it was just because the four of you had always been around, but there is something more to it. The thought of it seems to open an abyss.”

  “There is an emotional pain that opens a blackness inside when it is thought about. That is why Gabe has been on edge the last three days. You didn’t need protecting, but the four of us were having difficulty letting you out of our sight. Since that seems creepy and weird, we decided to have Gabe sit with you for the time.”

  “My father told him to sit with me.” I had been there for that conversation.

  “Yes, he did, at the insistence of the three of us.”

  “Musketeers.”

  “What?” He looked up at me from the pasta.

  “You four are like the Musketeers. I’m not sure what that makes me, but I see it. United, one for all and all for one.”

  “I suppose,” Anubis began eating. I wondered briefly how long it had taken him to master eating food with his muzzle, but that was something I had wondered every time I saw him eat. It was delicate and dainty, not a stray drop. Considering the length and shape, it seemed odd that he should eat with a knife and fork.

  “It isn’t creepy and weird,” I told him, referring back to his earlier comment. “It’s different, but then so is everything else in my life, so it somehow fits. Now, what is creepy and weird is that I’m about to stop aging. I am going to look like I’m thirty for the rest of my life and…” I stopped and began eating as well.

  “And what?” Anubis said after he had taken another forkful of the pasta.

  “This is really good; I’m slightly surprised that you are such a good cook.”

  “And what, Brenna?”

  “It’s not important.” Open mouth and insert clawed toes.

  “Obviously it is, or you wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  “Or I’m just a moron whose mouth and brain are not on the same connection.”

  “Fine,” Anubis went back to eating, “it doesn’t matter, you don’t have to be a mind reader to figure it out.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You are sometimes transparent about your curiosity and even more so about things that embarrass you.” Anubis wouldn’t say anymore on the subject. We ate in silence, but it was comfortable silence. My stomach was so full it hurt. I considered how long had it been since I had eaten a good home cooked meal. I couldn’t remember, but I was sure it had happened at my mother’s house, and since Daniel is currently only eating green foods as one of his quirks, I was guessing everything had been green. Knowing my mother, it was probably green eggs and ham or something.

  Anubis poured us both a glass of wine. Mine was a robust, very dry Chianti and obviously not from my wine stock, since the bottle was about two hundred years older than I was. His was a white, and again, not from my stock. I tasted it, but as a general rule, I don’t like white wines. It was pleasant, but not something I would drink.

  “Sex,” Anubis said into the silence as I took my second sip of the wine.

  “What?” I frowned at him.

  “You were going to make a comment about sex.”

  I sighed, “Yes, I find Elder breeding practices mystical and a little bit unnerving.”

  “Which, the breeding practices, or the practices between breedings?”

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  “Brenna, you are nearly thirty, I know you understand sex.”

  “Uh, yeah, I do, but I’m not exactly,” I searched for the right word. “I’ve only had sex with Humans. I have eternity in front of me. Everyone I know has had hundreds of lovers through the millenniums, but my mother is a Human and my mother is Catholic.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. It was deep rich laugh, one that was rare, incredibly rare. I think I had heard it three times in my lifetime.

  “I didn’t realize you had such puritanical views about it.” He wiped a tear from his eye. “I knew you were uncomfortable with it, but to be prudish, well that’s just inspiring.”

  His eyes were still smiling as he finished his sentence. He swilled the wine in the glass.

  “Look, I know that I am not my father, there is no way I can spend eternity from here on out with one person, and I know that’s why they have the breeding regulations that allows you to mate and to have sex. I just, well, I don’t know.”

  “You’re blushing.”

  “Sorry, I’m not good at these things. My father has talked to me about it and so has my mother, but when it comes right down to it,” I shrugged, “I know it in the clinical sense, but not in practice.”

  “You have the right to be celibate, look at Gabe.”

  “I didn’t know he was.”

  “Yes, has been for more years than I care to remember.” Anubis cocked his head to the side. “I guess now that we are done with dinner, I can tell you his story.”