Chapter 2
Ross
How did one handle having a complete stranger suddenly land in your bathtub?
Ross was not asking this question rhetorically. He actually needed an answer.
Said stranger was incredibly fit—six-pack abs included—and wore his grey hair up in a man bun, probably to avoid it getting wet. Not that Ross was checking him out, per se, just taking the situation in. Handsome stranger in bathtub didn’t help his plans to return to bed, for the record.
Well, actually, he did know the first question to ask. “Pants?”
The man blinked, looked down at his naked self, and seemed to consider Ross’s question. “Pants do seem like the appropriate first step, don’t they?”
“Towels are right here. Dry off. I’ll be back in a minute.” Ross took said minute to go and fetch pajama pants, a shirt, and boxers, but he also texted his husband as he moved.
Naked guy found in bath. Don’t panic.
Glenn texted back immediately: Known man or some random man?
Random.
His screen lit up with Glenn’s name.
Well, now Ross knew how to get his husband to call him in record time. He accepted the call but put it on speaker. “Don’t panic, don’t panic.”
“ How the fuck did he get past our protections ?!”
“I understand your concern, but I truly think this is an accident. For one thing, he’s naked as a jaybird. I know the Celts thought it was fun to run naked into battle, but no one else does that, okay?”
He could practically hear Glenn consider his point.
“Secondly, he said this was an accident, and I believe him because of how I found him. He’s alone, confused about how he got here, and doesn’t even have a cellphone.”
Ross opened the bathroom door enough to set the clothes on the counter before backing out again.
“ Was this a summoning, then ?”
“No, he’s quite sure he did this to himself, and he’s flustered. I’m getting the same vibe as when Keane has mucked up one of his spells.”
“ Ohhh. That kind of accidental feat. ”
“Exactly.”
His uninvited guest opened the bathroom door and stepped out, looking just as confused as before, but at least covered with clothes now. He regarded Ross quizzically.
“Who do you speak with?”
“My husband,” Ross explained, waggling the phone a little. “He’s also our clan leader. You, sir, are in Salem. Home of Clan ó Riagáin.”
He absorbed this information for a second before saying, “You’re a vampire. Is your husband as well?”
It didn’t surprise Ross this man knew he was a vampire. If he could throw around magic, it made sense he knew what vampires were and could identify one. “Correct. Not all of our clan members are vampires, though, so keep that in mind. Glenn, I’m hanging up. Just come home quickly.”
“ I’m already on my way, my love. See you soon. ” Click.
Ross smirked. “Well, sir, you’ve had an interesting afternoon.”
“It’s about to get more interesting,” he grumbled, looking crestfallen. “My children are going to be quite upset with me.”
Ross blinked. “You have kids?”
“My apprentices, you see. They stayed with me even after graduating. Oh, they’re all vampires, too.”
This scenario was getting weirder and weirder.
Also made more sense. This absentminded man had the air of someone who was used to being taken care of.
Ross would know. Half his clan fell under this category.
Ross wasn’t interested in learning this man’s history, though.
He was more interested in undoing this insanity so he could get back to sleep.
Yes, even thinking of going back to bed tempted fate, but dammit, he’d planned to sleep in. Was that too much to ask for? Probably was. Well, moving on… “All right, so, where are you from?”
“I live just outside of Detroit.”
“Oh wow, that’s some distance you crossed. Pretty impressive. Well, in that case, you’re probably stuck here for the night until we can get someone to fetch you. What’s a phone number you remember?”
Ross generally started there because the modern child remembered scant few phone numbers. The older generation tended to remember them better, which wasn’t saying much. Even a single phone number would be helpful at this point, though. Any phone number.
Declan frowned. “Phone…number…? Oh, I don’t remember those.”
So this was going to be a pain in the ass before Ross had even realized it was made of fuckery. Now? Now it was rising to the next level, and Ross did not approve.
“First, grab your grimoire and come with me. Let’s see if we can at least dry it out somehow.
We’re going for wine, Keane, and K—in that order.
” While it was still sleeping hours for vampires, Ross had a foreboding feeling he’d lost his day to sleep in.
Too bad Glenn had been called out earlier by a clan member, otherwise Ross would’ve made him deal with this one.
Declan obediently grabbed the soaking wet grimoire and wrapped it in a towel before following Ross out and downstairs.
Ross messaged Keane and managed to coordinate their Australian wizard to his house with the right stuff to dry out the grimoire in record time.
In fact, he’d barely gotten Declan situated at the kitchen island with a glass of wine and one for himself when Keane burst in through the side door.
“What’s this, then?” Keane demanded, juggling an arm full of items.
Declan lifted the grimoire with a pitiful expression. “Help. I didn’t mean to get it wet.”
“Oh, that…is not good.” Keane zeroed in on the grimoire and immediately settled his armful on the marble countertop before reaching for it. “But it’s not as bad as it could be. Let’s stick this right in the freezer until we have a game plan.”
Ross waved him on and peppered Declan with questions. “I need names at least. Give me two full names. If you know their social media drug of choice, tell me that, too.”
Declan’s brow furrowed. “I know what social media is, but I don’t use it. So I don’t know.”
Of course he fucking didn’t. “Names, then.”
“Oh. In that case, uh, Gunnar Killian Sutherland and Kittichat Konkaeo.”
Ross blinked. “Is that last one Asian?”
“Thai.”
“Well, hopefully his name makes him easy to find. How do you spell it?”
Declan took the paper and pen Ross handed him and neatly penned both names.
A lead, finally! Ross waved them on to work on the book, as Keane apparently had a lot of questions for Declan about the book’s makeup before they could plan how to salvage it.
Some of those questions, of course, were “How did you even get here? ” and “What do you mean bath bombs are portal magic?” It’s fine.
Keane could unravel the how’s of Declan’s arrival.
It would all make more sense to him than Ross, that was for sure.
Now, he could try social media first, especially with the unique Thai name, but…odds were it would be the slowest route to find Declan’s people.
Besides, Ross had a K. Or a Widow. Whoever picked up their phone first.
He got himself situated in a comfy chair in the living room, angled so he could see his guest from the doorway, but far enough away as to not have the conversations overlap. Settled in with his wine, he called K.
“ Ross, hi. Please tell me you’re not calling for an emergency .”
He felt that greeting. He felt it in his soul. “Nothing’s actively on fire, at least. But I do need help ASAP.”
K let out a long sigh. “ Seems to be the day for them. ”
“You too, huh?”
“ We’re both the problem solvers for our little groups, after all .”
“I really can’t refute that. It’s why I’m sitting here on the phone with you with wine in hand.”
“ It can’t be that bad .”
“A man portaled into my bathtub because of a bath bomb gone wrong.”
A digestive pause. “ Jesus in the crackhouse. Are you serious ?”
“He was starkers, for the record. Oh, and fumbling with a grimoire he’d dropped in the bathwater.”
“ Let me guess, he was more concerned about the grimoire and not that he was in some random guy’s tub ?”
“You sure you don’t have cameras in my house?”
“ I’m unfortunately getting used to how you guys roll. I’m just as upset about this incident as you are. It means the insanity is getting predictable and I do not approve. All right, you called me for a reason. What is it ?”
“I need help finding and contacting his people.”
“ So this is something I can do remotely ? I don’t have to travel ?”
“See? I do look out for you.”
“ I’d much rather watch the show from the ringside seats, trust me. Names ?”
Because he was lazy, Ross snapped a picture of the written names and emailed it to K. “Sent to your email.”
K grunted. “ Got it. Whoa, second name looks Thai to me. Not even sure how to pronounce that. Uh, okay, I’m finding some social media activity for both men.
Facebook for both, Insta for Gunnar. I’ll have to send a message request and hope they see it, but let me do some more digging, see if I can’t find an actual phone number. I’ll ping it to your phone when I do. ”
“Thanks, K. I appreciate it. This guy obviously didn’t have a phone on him, and no one remembers phone numbers these days. Besides, between me and thee, this guy isn’t…it’s like he’s not fully tracking? Like, if looks were a job, he’d be a CEO. If brains were a job, he’d be fired.”
“ Oh, one of those situations. Is he just, um, challenged ?”
“I don’t know, but he’s not reacting the way I would in this situation, that’s for sure. Let’s hope we can get him back to his people quickly. Oh! He did say he lives outside of Detroit.”
“ Ah, a good clue. That’ll help me verify if I have the right person. Stay tuned. Hopefully I’ll be in touch soon .”
“Thanks, man. Name your price and I’ll send you goodies as thanks.”
K just laughed. “ Let’s just say you owe me a favor .”
“Fair enough. Talk to you soon.”
Ross hung up. A favor, huh? Sadly, it was probably the best thing K could ask for.
Their two groups were comingling more and more because of various semidisasters and shenanigans, so high chance his favor would come due sooner rather than later.
But, well, K was doing him a solid, and Ross definitely owed him something in return. So no biggie, right?
Glenn blew through the front door, looking as if he’d basically flown here. His burnished copper hair looked windswept from the incoming storm, and while he looked delectable as always, he also appeared peeved. Worried, but mostly peeved, that telltale furrow between his brow a dead giveaway.
He paused in the foyer, kicking the door shut, and regarded their guest for a long moment. Declan and Keane had fetched the grimoire out of the freezer and were doing…something to it. Their backs blocked his view, so Ross wasn’t sure exactly what.
Glenn chose to leave the duo alone and approached Ross instead, giving him a quick kiss before studying him. “All right, astór?”
“I’m not day drunk,” Ross answered the real question, tone dry as he lifted his wine glass. “Just struggling organically. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be both.”
“I’m sure it was a shock to find him in our bathtub.”
“Oh, for sure.” Knowing he was anxious, Ross gave him some facts to help diffuse his nerves.
“Seems this was the result of wild magic, not something he planned. Keane’s helping him figure out what went wrong even as they’re attempting to save the grimoire.
I called K. He’s looking for phone numbers, so we can have Declan’s people come fetch him.
The situation should resolve itself by this evening, as they’re from Detroit, so it’s only going to take them a minute to fly here. ”
Glenn accepted this information with a slow nod. “He doesn’t seem alarmed.”
“No, he’s taking this in stride. Mostly, he’s upset about his book.” Which Ross sort of understood, being a book lover himself.
Glenn rubbed a hand over his face before blowing out an explosive breath. “Shit. The wildness of the situation is…”
“Trust me, I get it. Want some wine?”
“I suppose we’ll not be getting back to bed anytime soon. I’ll pour myself a glass.”
Frankly, Ross was all for staying buzzed this afternoon as they worked out logistics. He refused to raw dog reality. That was for amateurs, thank you.
He watched as Glenn walked into the kitchen, introduced himself to Declan, and poured himself a glass of wine. Then looked at the grimoire a little, pointing at something, and Ross could hear with perfect clarity as Declan perked up, his voice sounding cheerful.
“It didn’t occur to me that ó Riagáin…” The delight was obvious in his voice as he said, “My name is actually Déaglán, though I have forgotten my surname. I think we had no concept of such when I was young.” Then he sounded thoughtful. “Was I ever young?”
Ross smirked when Glenn merely patted him on the shoulder. “All is well, Déaglán.”
They started conversing in a language Ross hadn’t learned yet, and one he didn’t think he’d ever heard. Then Declan switched to English with a put-upon sigh that Glenn accepted with a commiserating nod.
“Yes, well. Such is the life of a Master,” Glenn said with a knowing grin.
Declan groaned. “My children are such that I am always on my toes.”
“I know how that feeling well. Mine are also a handful. Ross takes better care of them than I ever could.”
“My children are wonderful,” Declan murmured.
“But they keep trying to take my books and stop me from buying more! They say they will not fit, but I know better. Well, I resorted to hiding the fact I keep buying books. It never works, mind you. They dislike my resourcefulness, you see. Especially my daughter, Kassandra. Oh, she’s a sentient library, you know—one who throws books at my head! How dare she—”
Glenn cut Declan’s tirade short with an elbow to his side, just a gentle nudge. “Do you remember the songs from centuries ago? I remember many, but some are simply various snippets, but rarely in their entirety.” He began singing a tune Ross had heard him hum on occasion.
Declan gasped. “Wait, you know this song?! I wrote down what I could of the lyrics ages ago, but I could never remember the last part. Do you?”
This was an age-old problem with the older generation of vampires and supernats.
They’d lived centuries, but music came and went.
Of course, in the past, there was no such thing as recording.
They often walked around with snippets of a tune in their head and no hope of ever remembering how the rest of the song went.
Glenn possessed a pleasant singing voice, so he started the tune, which made Declan incredibly happy, as he started singing along. They were two men enjoying a nostalgic moment.
It was honestly sweet to witness. Ross rose from his chair, deciding that if they were going to be cute and all, he might as well come in closer and enjoy the scene. Why not get a good story out of it if there was going to be random craziness in the house, right?
Hopefully, they could get Declan back to his family without any further incidents.
Such thoughts felt like tempting fate, and Ross made a gesture to ward off bad luck. Then did it again for good measure.
Hopefully, he was just being paranoid.