Chapter 9
Tobias
The transition from the Fade to full consciousness had once taken up to thirty minutes.
These days, there was only a brief delay between coherency and physical sensation.
A lot of the time, it felt as though he closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again to find nine or ten hours had passed.
He scrubbed both hands over his face and tried to erase the moment with Kitty from memory. This evening, with fresh eyes and a clear head, he couldn’t understand why he’d done it. Yeah, he cared about the pint-sized angel, but not in an intimate way. What the fuck came over me?
Regret pulsed through his body, as he hoped like hell he hadn’t caused irreparable damage to their relationship. Her words echoed in his head.
“Why did you have to ruin it?”
Ugh.
He got out of the bed and walked naked to the ensuite bathroom to take a shower.
The scalding water poured down upon him, warming his Undead flesh and giving him a tenuous connection to the mortal warm-blooded body he’d once had.
Tobias could have sacrificed almost every modern comfort, except this one. Showers were like a guilty pleasure.
Freshly dressed in black trousers and a navy-blue silk shirt with the cuffs rolled back, he stepped out into the underground palace.
A couple of doors down, he saw a female exit O’Brien’s room.
It was the Irish giant’s mortal servant, Rachel, whom the male had previously gone to great lengths not to have an intimate relationship with.
One glance at her bed hair and mis-buttoned blouse suggested things had changed.
When she saw Tobias, a furious blush raced up both cheeks and she hurried off in the opposite direction.
A little further down the hallway, Christo emerged from another room. His eyes locked with Tobias’ and for a moment he froze.
“What?” Tobias asked gruffly.
“Nothing. Well, not really.”
“Try again.”
Christo smoothed both hands over his short sandy brown hair and looked back up to meet Tobias’ gaze again. “I, uh, got lucky last night.”
“O-kay? This is a big deal because…?”
“It was one of Althea’s females. I swear I didn’t plan this. I hope I haven’t fucked everything up. I know she was pretty damned clear about her entourage being off limits.”
“Shit. All right, just keep it to yourself for now.” Still shaking his head, Tobias continued on his way.
In one of the large communal living spaces multiple couples sat together, some chatting, some kissing. Not a single person was alone.
“I’d like to feed, please,” he announced.
All eyes turned to him, with every person looking as though they’d been interrupted doing something inappropriate.
“Is there something going on I should know about?” He arched a brow.
“No, Mr. Martelli, Sir.” A female jumped up from her chair and hurried over to present her wrist to him.
“Why is everyone acting so weird? I’m King of New York not the hook-up police. Do whatever or whomever you want on your own time.”
The female gave a high-pitched titter. “Awesome.”
Still weirded out by the strange vibe around the place, Tobias took her wrist and fed. When he’d reached the upper limit of what was safe to take, he realized it hadn’t satiated him.
“Do you need another?” A male asked.
“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.” Tobias fed from him too, and a third donor.
Finally, the hunger subsided. Damn, is this the new normal now?
This is going to get unsustainable real quick.
Kitty’s and Will’s blood last night should have been enough.
I shouldn’t have even needed to feed right after rising.
“Is there anything else you need, Sir?” Someone asked.
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
What he needed was a quiet space to clear his head. No, scratch that. He needed to talk to Will and Rion. And, Kitty… but the males first.
Using his immortal power, Tobias opened a mind-link to both Rion and Will, and requested their presence in his office. Then, he blurred to the location.
“Has something happened?” Rion asked at once.
The casual stance combined with the immaculacy of his designer wardrobe, almost invalidated his concern, but Tobias knew it was genuine. Will on the other hand, seemed completely panicked.
“Did you just project words into my head? From across the city?”
With as much patience as he could muster, Tobias nodded without making a wisecrack.
“Was this the first time?” Rion arched a brow and looked at the angel with interest.
“Yeah.” Tobias sat down in his chair and rested both feet on the desk.
“How long have you been able to do this?” Will shouted.
“Since we shared blood to form the Immortal Trinity, in the eighth level of the lower realms,” Rion said as he took a seat on the couch.
“What?” Will whirled around to face Tobias. “Don’t you think this is something I should have known about? Why didn’t either of you say anything?”
“Uh, yeah, sorry about that. Anyway,” Tobias began.
“Nuh uh.” Will held up both hands. “If we’re in this together, it’s as equals. What else don’t I know?”
“Well, apparently Rion can create mass orgies and doesn’t even have to be in the same location to do it.”
“Pfft, as hilarious as that was, I wouldn’t exactly call it an orgy.”
“Jones, you don’t even know the full extent of it.”
This time Rion was the one to sit up straighter and stare at Tobias in shock. “What precisely, are you referring to? I would never–”
“Last night,” Tobias interrupted, “and it wasn’t hilarious at all. I didn’t realize what was happening at first and almost hooked up with your sister.”
He held up a hand to silence Rion’s protest before it could be voiced, and Will’s incredulous look.
“She stopped it before anything happened, so relax. I entered the Fade wondering what the fuck possessed me to try it in the first place. Fast forward to when I arose tonight. You would not believe how many people either got it on, or are still doing so. Lori wasn’t the only one to be hit with whatever you projected. ”
“How did you know about that?” Rion’s humiliation hung around them like a thick fog. His surprise over the accusation seemed to have rattled him so much, he didn’t notice he was projecting his emotions.
“Kitty mentioned it because of… uh… reasons.” Tobias coughed awkwardly into his hand.
He knew he should have mentioned his episode the night before, but now just didn’t feel like the appropriate time. As usual, the conversation had gotten a little out of hand. Could the three of them ever just discuss something like normal adults?
Rion’s brows pinched together. “Is this why you have summoned us? To discuss my indiscretions? Or is there an additional agenda?”
“Well, yes, there is a shit ton of stuff to discuss, but I thought you should know the effect you’ve had on everyone with an immortal tie to you.”
“I agree.” Will nodded. He chose to sit in the armchair next to the desk, rather than share the couch with Rion. Something Tobias found intriguing.
“Why was Will unaffected by this supposed orgy?” Rion asked abruptly.
“Dunno, but I wasn’t affected by the lust attack in the lower realms either, back when we came to rescue you. Only Tobias was hit then.”
“That’s true.” Tobias stroked the stubble at his jawline, and switched his gaze from Rion to Will. “Moving forward, this is probably a good thing.”
“It doesn’t seem like Kitty was affected either,” Will said. “Could it be something to do with Holy blood?”
“Lori possesses Holy blood,” Rion paused to think about it for a moment, “though perhaps not enough to override whatever I caused. I do apologize for that. I had a split second to decide what to relinquish control of; my release, my empathic abilities, or my wrath. Needless to say, wrath wasn’t an option. ”
“Damn…” Will muttered.
“Good choice.” Tobias placed both feet back on the floor and regarded his friends with caution. “Where are we at with the research? Did either of you learn anything new while I was in the Fade?”
Abruptly, the door opened and Christo walked in, with Althea close behind.
“Ever heard of knocking?” Tobias snapped.
“Ever heard of telling other people when there’s an important meeting?” Christo threw back.
“This is a meeting of the Immortal Trinity,” Rion cut in. “Of which, you are not a member. We do value your counsel and support, and will pass on anything relevant to you upon completion of our discussion.”
Christo’s mouth formed an O-shape. Tobias agreed with what Rion had said, but he’d never kept secrets from the sandy-haired mortal before. In poker, they treated Christo as an equal, and now all of a sudden, he wasn’t one anymore.
There was so much he didn’t understand, so much Undead history that had come before him.
It didn’t mean Christo couldn’t handle it.
Nor did it mean he didn’t deserve to know.
This was all a balancing act, and the last thing Tobias wanted was to exclude someone who’d been there for him for over a century.
“Sit down, Barrett,” Tobias said to Christo, in a much less hostile tone.
His use of Christo’s surname prompted a brow twitch. Though immortal politics dictated the use of a surname to be an appropriate demonstration of etiquette, Tobias never referred to Christo that way. He’d done so only because of Althea’s presence.
Althea, seemingly intrigued by the strange dynamic in the room, cast her glance from one immortal to another. Once Christo had sat down next to Rion on the couch, she took the final spot at the end.
“I don’t know what sort of theatrics you boys are participating in, but if we’re not going to have a real discussion, my time could be better served elsewhere.”
“Listen,” Tobias said, a measure of empathy finally appearing in his tone. “I appreciate how difficult the last twenty-four hours have been, for all of us. I know you want answers. We’ve expanded the Kiss, and everybody is still figuring out where they belong.”
He paused to scratch an eyebrow before continuing. “In order for the society we’ve built here to have any sort of functionality, we need to observe certain protocols. Rhodes, I am your king now, you need to trust I have your best interests in mind when making decisions that affect us all.”
Silently, she nodded.
“Barrett, we have a long and complicated past. The intricacies of this are not lost on me. I will always disclose as much as possible to you. As my mortal servant, you have no choice but to accept I have your best interests in mind when undertaking anything at all, because your life is directly tied to my survival. You already know this.”
Christo’s brow furrowed, but he also nodded.
“My ability to keep everything connected and secure is only possible due to the immortal connections I’ve made.
There are a number of them, but the most important is the trinity bond I have with these two males.
Again, you should both already understand this.
There are going to be times where the three of us need to make decisions, which you are not going to be able to weigh in on.
I’m not going to apologize for that. You both chose to bind yourselves to me, so I could keep you safe. Let me do my damned job.”
By the time he’d finished talking, Rion and Will were both grinning. Christo wasn’t, but he appeared to have let go of the discontent. Althea was staring at Tobias with a combination of respect and satisfaction.
“I always knew you’d make a good leader,” she said with a slight smirk. “I trust you, Mr. Martelli.”
Before Tobias could say anything else, Kitty flashed in. Upon seeing everyone gathered, she growled under a breath. “Great, you’re all here.”
“If you were hoping to talk to Tobias about the failed hook-up, it’s okay, we already know,” Will began.
“Seriously, Tobias?” Kitty balked.
“You tried to hook up with Kitty?” Christo’s jaw dropped open.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” Tobias said, wishing Althea and Christo weren’t in the room. “But there is a bigger picture. It seems Rion accidentally projected a shit ton of lust when he and Lori were screwing last night. Anyone connected to him, aka anyone connected to me, was affected.”
Althea burst out laughing.
“This is not a source of amusement for any of you,” Rion said testily.
“I beg to differ.” Christo folded both arms over his chest. “You want us to respect the three of you, and to fall into line while you make decisions on our behalf, yet you can’t even contain your own eroticism.”
“Ew, do we have to talk about this? Can’t we just move on?” Kitty grimaced.
Althea, who’d only just stopped laughing, gazed at Kitty with newfound fascination. “Why is it ew?”
“Because he’s my brother!” Kitty gestured wildly at Rion.
Althea lost it completely and descended into hysterics. “This is too much. Fuck me, you are all a complete disaster.”
“Is anyone interested in discussing the actual situation at hand?” Tobias put in. “You know, the one where we’re preparing to face an attack, and figure out what sort of Unholy voodoo is killing our vampires?”
Silence swept over the room. Lips set in a thin line; Tobias gave a curt nod. “That’s what I thought.”