Chapter 14
I might have folded like a cheap umbrella at the sound of Rafa’s gunshot, but Prince Eirian remains standing, his hand still extended. He doesn’t even seem surprised by Rafa’s presence.
“Oh, hurrah, it’s the Hunter,” he says, coldly.
Rafa strides forward, gun down at his side but still gripped in his hand. “I believe we had an understanding that you wouldn’t bring any harm to Alvin. Making him your bitch for a hundred years sure seems pretty harmful to me.”
“As I recall, the terms protecting him were more specific. Alvin Alonso is an incubus, Monster Hunter. A creature I’m fairly certain you’ve been told is a demon from the very bowels of Hell. Do you honestly expect me to believe that you still consider him your friend?”
The elf’s eyes drift to the mess of bruises on my neck.
Rafa’s own eyes follow, and a shroud of guilt clouds his expression. “Yeah… things are complicated.” He then steps between the elf and me, tall and firm. “But he is my friend, so our pact still stands. Either you help him for free or you twinkle your way back to whatever toadstool you came from.”
Just hours ago, this guy said he’d shoot me on sight. Now, he’s standing up for me, claiming I’m his buddy. I flat-out have no idea what’s going on here—but Rafa does seem to be a better negotiator than I am, so I keep my mouth shut.
The elf’s eyes narrow. “I’m afraid this is not a boon I can grant without compensation.”
Prince Eirian turns to me. His hand is still out. One shake and the deal is made. He’ll have to help me.
But Rafa is between us, and he steps up right in the fae warrior’s face. “Then it looks like you need to go,” he growls.
I realize that for our entire two-day relationship, Rafa has consistently viewed me as some weakling he needed to protect. The damsel in distress. And maybe I don’t have any real super-powers right now, but he doesn’t get to decide this for me. Especially not when so much is at stake.
I grip the Hunter’s shoulder. “Rafa, this is serious. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk. And there’s no time. I need to do this.”
He turns to me. “You insisted on saving the kids,” he says, like it’s some minor revelation.
“Yes. Of course!” I huff, frustrated. “I figured Prince Eirian could get them out and help me stop the ritual, so yeah, I’m going to ask for that. But like I said, I’ve found out this is even bigger than we thought—”
“And then you made him promise that, no matter what, he couldn’t use you to hurt people.”
The elf’s lip curls with amusement. “He said I couldn’t make him hurt ‘humans.’ Don’t be racist, Hunter. The fae are people, too.”
Rafa rolls his eyes. “Evidence to the contrary…” He sheathes his long gun into the quiver-like back holster under his duster and takes my hands in his. “And you did all of this without asking for anything for yourself.”
“This is all my fault,” I say, staring at my shoes. My voice is low and quiet. “It’s my mess to clean up.”
Rafa lifts his chin to the elf. “Beat it. Alvin doesn’t need your kind of help.”
My cheeks heat with frustration, and I yank my hands away. “Actually, Rafa, I really do! I don’t have any powers right now. There is literally no one else!”
“That’s not true,” he says in that confident, manly, Captain America way of his. “You have me.”
And he’s so freaking sure of himself, I’m too gobsmacked to respond. But I can feel my eyes going soft. (I guess I really am desperate for a friend!)
The elf sighs. “It appears this little bit of street theater has become boringly domestic.” He twirls his fingers and retrieves another white feather from nowhere, and tips it to me.
“When your Monster Hunter returns to form, you may call me again. We can only hope that your world will still have time.”
I shove Rafa out of the way and extend my hand. “No! We’re making this deal! I’m in! I agree! Let’s do this!”
Prince Eirian looks balefully over at Rafa.
“Your ‘friend’ here has made it clear that he believes my terms would break our binding pact. Since what constitutes ‘harm’ is a matter of some subjectivity, I’m not willing to risk crossing him on this.
Unless he changes his mind, I’m afraid my hands are tied. ”
“Go,” the Hunter says to the elf. “Now.”
The fae warrior inclines his head at Rafa with barely concealed hate, quickly places the feather in my hand, and before I can get another word out, he’s gone.
Fuck!
I immediately move to throw the feather back up in the air, when Rafa grabs my arm.
“He’s not worth it, Alvin.”
“Not if you won’t let him make a deal with me!” I glare. “You don’t get to decide what I’m willing to sacrifice. You’re not my real friend. Weren’t you supposed to kill me or something? I’m still some ‘soul-sucking demon,’ right?!”
Rafa winces and lets go of his grip. “I… did say that. And maybe I don’t get to tell you what to do.
But the fae wasn’t dealing fairly. That so-called concession he made to you about not hurting humans, that was already part of the pact he made with me.
He gave you nothing and acted like you owed him for it. ”
Hm. I forgot about that. But I’m sure Prince Eirian didn’t.
“I think it’s a safe bet that he’d treat the rest of your deal the same way,” he continues. “He’d follow the letter of what you asked from him, but would he really help? Would he really be there for you if things got hard?”
I exhale through a tight jaw, deflating.
“Maybe! There’s no way to know because you scared him off!
” My anger dials back to a slow simmer. “He was still the best chance of stopping this. Look, I know you’re this kick-ass vampire killer, and I get that you think you want to help, but your father can literally control your mind.
And the only way I know to protect you from that didn’t exactly work out so well last time. ”
I bring my fingers to the bruises he gave me and give them a light tap. They still hurt.
His eyes slide away from mine, sheepish. “Yeah. And, from what I remember, I wasn’t exactly focused on the big picture. My judgment was… compromised. Look, there’s a lot I still don’t understand. Walk with me, okay?”
He juts his chin toward the center of the city.
There is a huge part of me that wants to tell him to take his walk straight off one of the Embarcadero’s concrete piers.
But I won’t be able to get the Prince of Winter to help me without Rafa’s buy-in.
He also just shot off a freaking firearm, which even in this empty part of town could certainly draw attention.
And I guess I am curious what his deal is with me.
I shrug, slide the feather into the side pocket of my chinos, and start making my way down Commercial so we can turn onto Sacramento. If nothing else, walking up that street’s steep hill will make me feel less like I’m freezing to death in the damp air. He joins me at my side.
The towering office buildings are dark, except for a handful of lit windows that reveal cleaning crews. Few cars are on the road, even on Sacramento’s wider corridor. We’re quiet for most of a block, our footsteps echoing against the concrete. I decide to break the silence.
“So, you heard the whole thing between me and the elf?”
“Yeah,” he says. “I… staked out your boss’s office so I could follow you. I needed to try to understand who you really were.”
In other words, he stalked me again. It also means he tailed me all the way back to my apartment and then all the way out here without me noticing. And I even looked around before tossing the feather! If we all survive this, I really need to work on my counter-surveillance skills.
But let’s stay focused on the problem at hand.
“Who I really am, Rafa?” I ask with barbs, shooting him a glare. “You mean what I really am, right?”
He nods, conceding. “Yeah. But it’s obvious now, you’re not evil.” He rolls his eyes, angry with himself. “You’re not even selfish. You are, just like I thought all along, a good guy.”
I’ll admit, hearing him say that out loud does feel at least a little bit nice. But I don’t have a response, so I just shrug again.
Rafa rakes the back of his head with the tips of his fingers, suddenly a bit bashful. “Look, the moment I saw you, I really liked you. A lot more than I usually do with a boy.” He purses his lips, unsure. “That… wasn’t you using your powers, was it?”
My gaze drifts down. “No. I never wanted to hurt people, so until yesterday, I wasn’t willing to use any of my incubus powers.
” My shoulders slump and I watch my feet scrape the concrete sidewalk.
“I’ve always hated what I am. But then I met Collin, and he got me to think that maybe I could do some good with it. ”
Saying his name shoots a guilty twinge straight into my heart. Valiente is probably torturing him right now.
“Collin. That’s the Avatar of Knowledge,” Rafa says, his voice level. I nod. “So, have you always been super-strong and fast, like you were back at the Benevolent Society? And you just never used it?”
I shake my head. “That was because I fed. Also a first. And also because of Collin.” I glance up at him. “Well, not just because of—I fed on Collin. Since he’s a spirit, he told me I couldn’t cause him any harm, so I was willing to give it a shot.”
Rafa’s eyes widen, then narrow. “And when you say you fed…”
“I mean we had sex, yeah. I lost my virginity to him.” I sigh. “It’s complicated. Like everything else is right now, I guess. You should know I really like him. I want to save him as much as anyone else. Probably more.” I bite my lower lip. “I… know you and I kissed. More than once. I’m sorry.”
He turns his head, and for a moment serious hurt plays across his handsome face.
But he takes a breath and blows it away with a deliberate exhale.
It leaves his expression thoughtful. “Ah. Well, you’ve only known the two of us for a couple days.
I started it, both times, so it’s not like you led me on.
And they were good kisses.” He tilts his head, eyes dancing with amusement.
“For what it’s worth, you are kind of my perfect type. ”
“Short and dumpy?” I snark, the self-deprecation pretty much just out of habit at this point.
“Adorable, plucky, and innocent,” he replies with a smile. There’s no hesitation. He’s clearly thought about this.
Hm. Adorable, I can kinda see. But plucky? Like Lois Lane?
Well, he did say this was his type. And there are worse things he could fetishize about me.
Still…
I raise my eyebrows at him. “Not so innocent, it turns out.”
He dips his head, conceding the point and sobering, but says, “Innocent enough. In the ways that matter.” He looks over at my neck. “I’m really sorry I hurt you.”
I shrug for a third time. But he pivots to stand in front of me, stopping us.
“I mean it, Alvin. I was surprised, and riled up, and after being sadistically tortured and mind-fucked by my back-from-the-dead vampire dad, I was in a pretty dark place…” He purses his lips, stopping himself.
“But those are reasons, not excuses. You were just trying to save me, and I treated you like garbage. I like to think of myself as some kind of hero, always doing the right thing, but between the two of us, it’s pretty clear who the real hero is. ”
More words I’ve always wanted to hear—at least being called a hero.
He’s pretty good at those, and it actually does give me a little bit of a lift.
But before I can think of a reply, a damp breeze cuts through the air and the San Francisco evening cold catches back up to me.
Without thinking, I rub my triceps and shiver.
In an instant, Rafa is out of his duster and placing it around my shoulders.
I don’t even know how it got over the back scabbard with his shotgun underneath.
He just swooped his arms in a smooth arc, the duster flared around me like a cape, and now I’m wrapped in a cocoon of his residual body heat. It’s like something from an old movie.
Huh.
I can’t say I hate it. It is kind of touching—and he looks at me so gently, white tee peeking out of his heavy work shirt, strong arms folded over his strong chest.
But it doesn’t change what we’re up against.
“Rafa, I appreciate what you’re saying”—I glance at the duster that’s now keeping me warm—“and trying to do. Really. Thank you. But we’re running out of time. I need to call Prince Eirian back. I need to stop the ritual.”
“How long do we have?”
I meet his eyes, grim. “I have to get there between eight and ten tonight. At this point, that’s just a couple hours away. After that, it’ll be too late.”
Rafa nods, pursing his lips. “It means there’s still some time, though.
” He looks up into the thickening clouds above, lost in a memory.
“You were so strong getting us out of there. Tons stronger than the vampires. Blindingly fast. You even tanked a bullet wound. I’m a lot tougher than a regular human, but you were like something out of a Marvel movie. ”
We’re still just standing on the sidewalk, so I slip my arms into the duster.
It’s way too big, but it keeps the cold out.
At least it doesn’t go beyond my ankles.
“That was when I was fed. But Collin’s not here.
And even if I could somehow get it up with the world literally ending around me, I’m not going to use my powers to rape and drain some random dude.
At least with the elf, the only person who gets hurt is me and, as far as I’m concerned, that’s the absolute limit.
” I step in a little closer and touch his arm gently, letting the Kevlar sleeve fall to my wrist. I try to bring my appeal home.
“I know you want to protect me, but this is so big. You have to let me make this deal.”
Rafa peers down into my eyes, his own intense, even a little scared. It takes a moment before he speaks—and his voice is husky.
“You wouldn't have to find some random dude.”
I squint, confused.
“Alvin—you can feed on me.”