Chapter 19 #2
Her cheeks scorched. With fake sternness she said, “Put me under stress and I become a ball puncher.”
“Tell me what happened to lead up to you being shot by an arrow and punching Cade.” He sipped his own cup, something red and thick.
She compressed her lips. “How about we save that story for later.”
“Now works.”
“Nope. I have questions. But I’ll let you ask me something else since you started the interrogation. We’ll circle back to your brother.”
“Tell me about this show I’m on. What is a show?”
Awkward. She was surprised he’d waited this long to ask, since she kept bandying about the word. He deserved an explanation.
“There are these stories, sort of like plays, that project on a screen that looks like a mirror. One show seems to follow your life. You’re always saving the Hunters or killing some sort of crazy nonhuman creature.
There’s a lot of sex. They never show what actually happens in the bedroom when characters hook up, but it’s implied.
Closed door stuff.” Her face burned ultra-hot.
Not where she wanted to go describing the show.
“There’s all the fighting and battles. Gory stuff with a lot of blood.
” She shuddered. “I’m not into watching that.
Sometimes they show a scene like the one with the wizard I managed to shoot, but only when it pertains to the main storyline with Petra and VanFliet. ”
“What do you know of the two of them?”
“Not much more than you. Just that they’re somehow connected.”
“It follows my life? How’s that possible?”
“I have no clue. A friend of mine let me borrow the disc with the show’s episodes.
She did some sort of spell on me, but she swears it wasn’t something that could have allowed me to cross into your world.
Which implies there’s something about the disc that’s bespelled.
” She took a sip of the cider. “Why do you do what you do? The monster-hunting jobs? Why not be like your brother and be an assassin?”
“Technically, Cade isn’t an assassin. He enforces the Directorate’s rules.”
“Why do you go around like a mercenary killing magical weirdoes?”
His shoulders lifted and dropped, which seemed forced. “I need money to maintain this monstrosity.”
She scrunched up her lips. “There’s no way ‘just because’ is why you do it. The creatures you face off with are upper echelon scary shits.”
He stared at his cup, blinked twice, and his jaw hardened.
“Don’t be fooled into thinking me a hero.
I enjoy killing, especially the scary shits.
It ups the challenge. Killing is something I was trained to do since the moment I could hold a sword.
I might as well get paid for it. Going after monsters pays better than being an assassin. I tried that too for a while.”
“It pays more since it’s twice as dangerous and no one else wants to do it. Something made you start facing off with paranormal wackos. What?”
A shadow passed through his eyes. She could tell there was a reason—one he wasn’t going to share. “I found I have a knack for it.”
She bit into a piece of chicken. A low moan escaped her. “I might spontaneously orgasm from eating this. It’s so good.”
The darkness left his expression as he watched her chew.
She put a hand over her mouth. “Oops. Do women here not talk like that?”
He shook his head slowly.
“I’m not sure I can change.” She took another bite of chicken and moaned. “Be warned, I have a potty mouth. I’m not a slut or anything—honestly, I haven’t slept with a guy in…” She looked heavenward and squinted as she tried to remember the last time. “A long time. Even then, it wasn’t memorable.”
“That long?”
She waved her next bite of chicken on the fork.
“I haven’t found a lot of men brave enough to step up.
Of course, as you’ve discovered, I seem to attract loser guys these days who are all about their insecurities.
No way would I lose my clothes with anyone like Dylan, the one you…
took care of.” She shook her head to herself.
“I’m scaring you, being too forward, aren’t I?
Women here are more buttoned up than where I’m from. ”
“You’re not like anyone here. That’s for sure.” His pupils had dilated and dropped to her boobs again.
“Want me to check and make sure they’re behaving?” She peeked down the shirt. “Yep. All good. Want me to take off the shirt and take a chance they might escape?”
He shook his head with a smile.
“Too tempting, huh? Suit yourself.” She chuckled.
“Anyway, no argument from me you’re incredible at what you do.
I mean, the fighting evil shits. Can’t comment on the sex.
I am curious, but…” Her face scorched. “Back to you fighting things. There’s no one else to do it.
You realize you’re the only one who can do it, don’t you?
There might be a few humans trained to handle dark magic, but they’re not strong enough physically.
You’re uniquely perfect for it. Do you think Cade could’ve handled VanFliet’s possessed psycho vampire girlfriend?
” She shook her head. “He wouldn’t have known all the counter curses you chanted or had the potions and trinkets you used to contain her.
I’m not even sure he’d have had the balls to kill her. I don’t know him that well, though.”
“You would know about his balls.” He snort-laughed.
She smiled at his happiness. “I’m right about Cade, aren’t I?”
He stared into his cup. “I think we both know he’s not ball-less. He’s decently good under pressure in a fight. Dark magic, though? It scares him like it does most of our kind.”
“Like it does everyone in this world except you, and maybe Serish. I don’t think that old guy is as crazy as he comes off.”
“He’s not all good guy. Don’t let him fool you.”
“I’m well aware he’s not what he seems. I think he knows a hell of a lot more about me being here than he’s letting on.”
By the time dessert arrived she’d eaten far too much, whereas Skarde had barely touched the food.
“Cade mentioned a prophecy. He said you’d never…
” She reached out and took his hand. “I’m not here to become a vampire or force you to do something you don’t want.
I feel like I have to say it out loud again.
I didn’t have any sort of ulterior motive when I fell into your world.
” She glanced down at her arm, unnerved by what the dwarf had shown her.
She almost mentioned the part about being a medicinal.
Instead she asked, “How long have you been a vampire?”
He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Too long.”
“I need numbers. Ten years, a hundred, six hundred?”
“I got turned about two hundred and eighty years ago.”
“Was it by choice?” She doubted it, but she needed this story.
He shook his head. “I was hired on as part of an army along with Cade and…James, who you know as VanFliet.”
“You used to be friends with him? I’m assuming that was before the whole bug thing, which is disgusting. He’s not getting many girls with that going on.”
“The bugs are new. I don’t know how he does it or why.
He always hated his first name, so we called him by his last. We were in a battle and got captured.
The warlord was a vampire, which is why we couldn’t defeat him.
He executed everyone except the three of us, the ones he deemed worthy to be a part of his personal army of vampires. He turned us.”
“Did you kill this warlord?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not the greatest storyteller. More details would be helpful. Was it an epic battle, a surprise attack, a coordinated effort that took months?”
“All three.”
“Good lord,” she muttered. “All right, got it. You got turned, then you three got free in an epic battle. What split the three of you up?”
“I’m not really sure about Cade. We were good until about sixty years ago when he started hating me. VanFliet went his own way from the start, but we didn’t become serious enemies until recently. Again, I’m not sure why, but it might have to do with Petra.”
“I told Cade you two needed to talk. You’re brothers. Talking isn’t a bad thing. He’s all wrapped up in his mission and the prophecy stuff.”
“The prophecy is real.” A fog descended around him.
She took a huge swallow of the alcoholic drink and removed her hand from his. She was so not admitting she’d watched the scene with his brother. That had been something personal he wouldn’t want her to know about. “What is it? Who said it? The unknown is scary. Maybe I can help figure it out.”
“I’ve been trying to understand it for more than three times your lifetime.” He pushed around the silverware near his plate.
“Did you just bitch slap me for being younger and insinuate you’re smarter because you’re older?”
“What?” Wide-eyed insecurity stared her way.
“I’m a grown woman, not a three-year-old. I’ve seen quite a bit of shit growing up in foster homes and as a nurse. I’ve seen shit you don’t ever want to know about. I’ve also figured out things that would blow your mind.”
“I never said I didn’t think you smart or unable to handle it. I am saying it’s tricky to understand.” He muttered, “And you called me prickly?”
“Apology accepted. What is this prophecy?”
He studied her for a moment. “There’s a witch Cade imprisoned long ago who spews foretellings.
Every one of them so far has come true. The one she said about me long ago was: Fail to protect the one you turn, the world will burn.
Your soul she will steal and incite an immortal burn. Amongst your people evil will churn.”
“The one you turn” could be her, not that she was volunteering to become a vampire.
Drinking blood…disgusting. Stealing his soul sounded bad, but maybe the words were meant to be metaphorical.
Not a bad thing to steal his heart and soul, right?
But an immortal burn? Would that involve both of them if she stole his soul, or just him?
She said, “Immortal burn sounds pretty bad. Are you sure it was about you specifically?”
“She said my name about a hundred times.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I turn someone and then my soul gets to burn in hell. Maybe that means the person kills me and I end up in hell. Or she burns me and then she goes evil. She might even lead the vampires to become worse than we already are.”
“That’s awful. I think I might resist turning anyone too, if I were you. Maybe she doesn’t turn evil but instead fights evil?”
“Maybe.” He removed something from his pocket. “I have something for you. I asked Fontaine to make it.” He slid an intricate bracelet toward her.
She lifted it, examining the blue stones set around mirrored glass in the candlelight. “This is beautiful. I don’t think anyone has ever given me jewelry before. Is it magical?”
“The glass will reflect dark spells. The dwarves bespelled it with both an intention spell and a protection charm.”
“What’s an intention spell?”
“Any with malicious intent would feel its warning. If they attack by casting a spell, the being casting it will get burned.”
“Can you put it on?” She held out her wrist him to clasp the bracelet into place.
As he did, his fingers dwelled on her skin. “There are many here who would hurt you. This may slow one of them down, but it won’t save you if a vampire comes at you planning to bite.”
“Even you?”
“It wouldn’t stop me.”
“So far, you’ve excelled at not turning humans. I don’t see any reason to doubt you’ll resist the urge.”
His eyes burned into her, drifted to her neck and back to her face. “You’re harder to resist than others.”