The Waning Moon Page 30

  “Princess,

  “I’m sorry I’ve been difficult to be around for the last few weeks. I know it’s making it harder for you. I’m taking off until Solstice to give you the space you need to concentrate on the next task. I’ll come say goodbye before the gate opens. In the meantime, I will not be in the city, and I will be closing down our bond as much as I can. Please don’t try to find me. I love you.

  “Isaac.”

  I released my hold on the fire and the note flared up and turned the paper to ash in seconds.

  “Fucking asshole.” I reached through our bond and felt him to the north. He was moving rapidly away from me. I could feel the pain and regret and the absolute confidence he was doing the right thing. “I can’t believe he did this. What an inconsiderate jackass.”

  I was suddenly calm and focused. This would not do. He did not get to make arbitrary decisions that would affect both of our lives without at least having a civil conversation about it. I yanked open our bond as wide as I could without his cooperation and sent a message. “Ishaq ben Ekkileb, you can run for now, but if your furry ass isn’t back in range by the full moon, I will come after you. I am your Alpha, and as such, I do not give you permission to leave our pack.”

  I spoke out loud as well. I wanted Raj and Florence to know what I was saying. They both looked shocked, although Raj’s shock was tempered with amusement.

  I received an impression of anger from Isaac, but he didn’t slow down.

  “Your ass is mine, Walker, until the day I choose to release it.”

  I slammed shut our bond and looked up at my friends. Florence looked pissed and sympathetic, which was exactly how I wanted her to feel. Raj looked faintly amused. He held a full shot glass and an open beer. He handed me the shot and I threw it back. The whiskey burned on the way down, but the beer he handed me in exchange for the empty glass cooled it immediately.

  “Thanks, Raj.”

  “It was Florence’s idea,” he said.

  “Thank you, Florence.”

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Not in the least. But I will be. Either that ass will be back for the moon, which would show a distinct increase in common sense, and is therefore unlikely, or he won’t show up until the solstice. If he does get his head out of his ass to realize he’s throwing away the best thing that ever happened to him and is out of range of the only Alpha who can help him control his wolf during the full moon, then our relationship is salvageable. If he doesn’t show up until solstice, then it really will be goodbye.”

  “You won’t go after him Underhill?” Raj asked.

  “Of course I will,” I said. “I’m not going to abandon him to the vampire who tortured him. But after the rescue, we will break our bond and go our separate ways.”

  “Would you do that? Not give him a second chance?”

  “I can’t think of a reason why I would. I might, however, let him grovel a bit before kicking him to the curb.”

  “Can I get you anything more?” Florence asked.

  “How about another one of those delightful tiny cups of whiskey?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  WHEN I WOKE up the next—I opened one eye cautiously and peeked at the clock—morning, my head was pounding and my mouth tasted like something foul had crawled inside and died. It took me a second to realize I was profoundly hung-over.

  I rolled over and sat up gingerly, trying not to move my head too much. There was a large glass of water and a small bottle of aspirin on the nightstand next to me. I loved it when Florence used her precognition for good.

  I swallowed three aspirin and downed the entire glass of water before attempting to get out of bed. I shuffled slowly to the bathroom to take care of necessities and drank two more glasses of water, and then hopped in the shower to try to scrub the hangover away. By the time I was clean and dressed, I felt almost human again. It would’ve been the perfect morning for Taco Bell. Taco Bell was like magic for hangovers.

  Oooh, magic. I should be able to magic my hangover away. If I could burn up the alcohol in my blood with magic, rendering me sober, I should be able to burn away a hangover.

  I concentrated for a little bit, but all I managed to do was to give myself a tension headache on top of my hangover headache.

  I left my room and knocked on Florence’s door. She opened the door and on the table was a large breakfast burrito and a hazelnut latte. My mouth dropped open. “For me?”

  Florence nodded. “You may have twenty-four hours of self-indulgence, and I’ll help out as much as possible.”

  I sat down at the table, but didn’t know where to start. I compromised by holding the burrito in one hand and the coffee in the other and alternating hands.

  “You are the best, ever,” I said through a mouth full of food. I took a swig of coffee. “This is way more awesome than ice cream for a broken heart.”

  Florence winced, but didn’t comment on my atrocious table manners. Best friend ever.

  After I finished, I didn’t know what to do. Hurt and anger warred for supremacy, and both were paralyzing.

  “Tamp it down,” Florence said.

  “What?”

  “You’re smoking. Please don’t light my motel room on fire.”

  Anger was winning the battle. Good. Anger could yield productivity. Hurt could not.

  “Now what? I need a to-do list. Something to channel my anger into.”

  “You should talk to Arduinna.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “Tonight we should see what’s going on with Raj. He’s been mostly absent lately.”

  “He was here last night.”

  “Yes, but that was the first time, barring Thanksgiving, he’d spent any measurable amount of time with us since we got to Savannah. Something’s up with him. He didn’t even hit on you last night.”

  “I was grieving.”

  “When has he ever had a sense of propriety where flirting is concerned? He flirts as naturally as he breathes.”

  “Good point.” I sat and stared at Florence. She stared back. “What do we do now?”

  “Eleanor, if you’re not up to anything today, that’s okay. We can sit and watch bad movies and throw popcorn at the television screen.”

  “No, I’m…” I tried to tack the word ‘okay’ onto the end of the sentence but was unable to. Stupid inability to lie. “I’m anxious to not spend the rest of the day trapped in my own neuroses, of which I have only a few.”

  I was pleased it was true that I didn’t have many neuroses. Or maybe it was true that I thought it was true, and I really was incredibly neurotic and my belief that I wasn’t was further proof. I blinked rapidly. That line of thinking was not productive and was more likely to increase the headache pain.

  “Let’s call Arduinna.”

  We were in a not-so-nice area of town, and there was a small park a couple of blocks away I’d been avoiding. It wasn’t much of a park, regardless of what the rusty sign riddled with bullet holes would have us believe. It was one city block of brown grass and greenish weeds, a rusty chain link fence with more holes than a doughnut shop, and a pot-hole ridden asphalt path meandering through trees that had definitely seen better decades. I took off my sandals and stepped out onto the earth. The sharp, dying grass felt like broken glass under my feet. I jogged to a small thicket of trees and bushes where everything looked alive. Ish. The grass was even green-adjacent.

  I sank to the ground and crossed my legs. Florence found a bench that looked like it would hold an adult human and sat down with a book. I closed my eyes, touched the bark of the nearest tree, and formed a picture of Arduinna in my mind. I called her and sat back to wait. It was less than ten minutes before she appeared. If I hadn’t been staring at the right tree at the right time, I wouldn’t have seen anything. The trunk bulged slightly and Arduinna’s form detached itself from the tree. She turned around and looked at the tree in distaste before turning back to me and bowing.

  “If it please
s your Highness, I would appreciate it if you would find healthier and larger trees to call me from in the future. That was unpleasant.”

  “My apologies, Arduinna. I didn’t know exactly how you traveled and didn’t realize the health and size of the tree would make a difference. I’ll keep that in mind in the future.”

  Arduinna looked uncomfortable, but I couldn’t figure out what exactly the problem was. “Is something bothering you?”

  She hesitated, and then said, “May I speak freely?”

  “Of course.” I bowed my head in what I imagined was a regal fashion.

  “It is awkward for me to have my head higher than yours, but sitting in your presence without invitation would be a faux pas. I was trying to decide the best course of action.”

  “Why is it awkward for your head to be higher than mine?”

  “There is a reason thrones are on a dais—royalty likes to look down on the little people.”

  “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. Would it be better if I stood or if you sat?”

  “I would prefer to sit, Highness, if it would be okay with you.”

  “Please, sit. In fact, I would like to issue a standing invitation—heh—for you to sit in my presence without prior permission unless there are other Fae around.”

  “You are gracious.”

  “I know. You, however, didn’t even crack a smile at my pun, and that hurts my feelings.”

  Arduinna stopped halfway into a seated position and glanced at my face. “Highness?”

  “Sit. What happened to your sense of humor? I swear it was more developed last time I saw you. Is the President getting you down?”

  “The President?”

  “Don’t dissemble. I’ve seen you on TV. Florence believes Murphy reports to you. Is that true?”

  “She is a member of your father’s court,” Arduinna said.

  “Stop. One word answers, only. Does President Murphy report to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You have more control over the outing of the supernaturals than you led me to believe?”

  Pause. “Yes.” I could practically hear her teeth grinding. She hated when I forced her to answer in absolutes.

  “Is Arduinna or Seth your true form?”

  The pause was longer this time. “Both,” she finally admitted through clenched teeth.

  “Explain, please.”

  She stared at me, frustration apparent on her face. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

  “You commanded her to give one word answers only,” Florence said. “She can’t explain in one word.”

  Oops. “You are no longer bound by the one-word thing. Instead, give the simplest, most direct answer possible.”

  Arduinna’s shoulders relaxed. “I am not bound to either form permanently. I am either. Or both. I took the female form to talk to Finn because he is intimidated by strong women. Because that’s how you met me, I thought it simpler to keep that form in our interactions.”

  “And you didn’t think I’d recognize you with the President.”

  “That is true.”

  “Was it your idea or my father’s to not out the Fae?”

  “Mine.”

  “Please explain your reasoning.”

  “I thought it would be easier to start with supernaturals who are—or were—mostly human before talking about a different race of beings who will come through the magical gates you’re opening.”

  “Don’t you think it’ll breed resentment among the supernaturals you did out or spur them to out the Fae in retaliation?”

  “That is a possibility, but it will take time.”

  “When will you announce Savannah is the next gate site?”

  “December ninth.”

  “That’s tomorrow.”

  “I have an excellent grasp of the passage of time.”

  “Careful, Arduinna. That sounded like sarcasm, and that’s the beginning of a sense of humor.”

  “I would appreciate it if you would keep that information to yourself.” Arduinna almost looked like she was fighting a smile. Almost.

  “The solstice is at noon. Raj will not be able to guard me. It’s me and Florence, and she’ll have her hands full spindling the magical threads into the weir. I’m afraid to ask for help from the Fae, but I haven’t been attacked in so long I’m afraid someone is saving up.”

  “I will send a dozen of my most trusted agents to you.”

  “They’ll watch, guard me against supernatural attacks, but not interfere?”

  “What if the half-breed shows up?”

  I glanced back at Florence. “Do we still need Finn alive?”

  She looked up over the top of her reading glasses. “Yes. I promise to let you know when he’s outlived his usefulness.”

  “Are they allowed to kill?” Arduinna asked.

  “Any supernaturals that aren’t me, Raj, Florence, Finn, or Isaac.”

  “What about Renfields?”

  My moral compass was on the fritz. I tapped my head a couple of times, hoping to get the needle spinning again, to no avail. “Florence, can we kill Renfields?”

  “As long as it’s self-defense.”

  “There you go,” I said to Arduinna.

  “You should make those kinds of decisions and not defer to someone else.”

  “I have advisers. They advise me.”

  “I would kill them.”

  “Me, too. That’s why I have advisers.”

  From the look she gave me, I didn’t think Arduinna approved.

  “Anything else, Your Highness?”

  I thought about it for a second, and then remembered yesterday’s press conference. “Three more yes or no questions. Are any of the military leaders human?”

  “No.”

  “What about the President’s chief advisers?”

  “No.”

  “Last question: does the president have any intention of restoring the other two branches of the government or is she trying to set herself up as head of a new monarchy?”

  Arduinna grinned this time, and her teeth, which were faintly green and mildly pointy showed, turning my stomach a little. “No.”

  Dammit. I rolled my eyes at her. I rose to my feet and held my hands out to her to help her up. She looked at my hands, shook her head, stood in one smooth motion, and bowed.

  “You’re dismissed, Arduinna.”

  She turned back to the tree she’d arrived through, looked at the other offerings in the “park.” She sighed audibly, braced her shoulders, and walked into the tree, dissolving from view.

  I returned to Florence. She closed her book and put away her glasses. “Learn anything interesting?”

  “Nothing we didn’t already suspect. I’m glad I asked for the Fae guard. I doubt Raj can help.”

  The sun sank below the horizon as street lights flared to life. I dropped the motel room curtain and looked back at the room. Florence was reading and pointedly ignoring my restless pacing. A knock echoed through the room. “Come in, Raj.”

  I gasped when he entered. He usually looked perfect—never a hair out of place and always immaculately dressed. Now, however, he was bruised, bloody, and his hair was anything but the beautiful tousled curls I almost never fantasized about running my fingers through. His clothes were torn and blood-stained, and he was limping. The physical damage was already healing. The real question is who or what could’ve done this to an eleven-hundred-year-old vampire.

  “Do you still have that casket? I might need to borrow it.”

  “What happened?”

  “Blake—the leader of the Savannah vampires objected to my extended visit.”

  “Blake? Seriously?”

  “It wasn’t even his real name. He renamed himself when he took the city.”

  I couldn’t hold back my laughter anymore. “I can’t believe he wanted people to call him Blake. How’s he look?”

  “Dusty.” His eyes glinted red and the faintest hint of ruthless satisfaction curled itself in
to a smile on his face. Alarm bells sounded in my head as my limbic system kicked in and I had to quell the urge to back away. I took a deep, steadying breath and reminded myself that Raj was my friend.

  “How did this—”I waved my hand to encompass the damage done to his face—“happen?”

  “Blake was strong—he’d have to be, as Savannah is a highly-valued territory—but not as intelligent as one would hope. He refused to regard my presence here as anything but a challenge. He was within his rights to refuse to let me stay in the city and to challenge me if I defied him. But most would’ve accepted my word that I’d leave the city untouched just to avoid fighting the second most powerful vampire in the country.

  “Instead, he strung me along, refused to meet with me to finalize our arrangements, and when I ran out of patience and pointed out that he was both undiplomatic and idiotic, he sent humans bearing blow-torches to surprise me in my sleep this morning. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t sleeping.”

  “This happened this morning?” He should’ve healed a lot more by now.

  “Some of it. The rest happened about thirty minutes ago when I found him rising for the evening. He had a large contingent of body guards.”

  “All vampires?”

  “Mostly. Those he sent this morning were human. He didn’t believe older vampires are more resistant to sunlight and thought to catch me unawares.”

  “How did they find you?”

  “I was careless. When I discovered how short-sighted Blake was…” his lip curled in derision, “I stopped taking pains to cover my tracks. He must have had someone follow me home.”

  “You don’t sound too sure about that.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not. I didn’t reach this age without developing a highly-trained sense of paranoia. I didn’t even share my daytime resting spot with you, so I couldn’t have been betrayed.”

  “Hey!”

  He waved away my objection. “Even if I’d shared it with you, I wouldn’t be accusing you of betrayal. I would just assume someone had overheard us or plucked it from my mind. I trust you implicitly.”

  “Okay, then. I guess. So what do you think happened?”

  “I don’t know—a phrase I seldom have occasion to utter. Alas, I am unlikely to ever find out. Blake—” he paused until my giggles faded into indelicate snorts. “As I was saying, the former master of Savannah and most of his inner circle are dead. It’s shocking how much mess one leaves behind when defending themselves against a few dozen vampires and their Renfields.”