Chapter 7 #2
"Pfff." Romeo ran a hand through his hair.
"Variation I guess, but I'm sure you can find something about nutrition in a recipe book, maybe even the gardening book.
Leafy greens, meat, nuts, and seeds are good for iron, I think.
I'm not a food expert, though. I've always tried to eat as varied as I can when there are options, when there aren't, you eat what you have. "
Eggs. Eggs were what Eli had at the moment, and eggs were what he ate.
Thano clapped Romeo's shoulder. "Thank you." He'd check the cooking books tomorrow. Now he needed to get to Grave Ville. "Can you keep this bag until tomorrow? Don't peek inside. It's part of the surprise."
Romeo shook his head, but he was smiling and accepted the bag.
"Thank you. See you tomorrow." Thano gathered the shadows around him before Romeo could say anything else and traveled through the air to the shadows farthest away. He moved unseen, jumping three to four hundred feet between each touch point.
Soon the familiar area of the ranch was behind him, and he followed a track he didn't travel often.
The darkness was thick around him, but he didn't mind.
At one point, he landed right next to a roe deer curled up to sleep.
It spooked, but since it couldn't see him, it soon settled again, and he continued forward.
When he neared the border of their territory, he dropped the shadows and whistled. It only took a few seconds before a wolf stalked out between the tree trunks. "I wish to speak to Samir."
The wolf met his gaze, then melted into the shadows again. Thano waited. He might have a peaceful relationship with Samir, but he didn't want to get caught trespassing.
Samir lived with his coven on Big Oak Ranch not far from here. Thano had only been there once, and it was similar to The Moonlight Ranch, but in better shape.
A couple of minutes later, the shadows shimmered and Samir appeared. His black hair was messy, the nose piercing glinted in the moonlight, and he was dressed in ripped jeans and a black T-shirt clinging to a lean but powerful torso.
"Coming directly from the office, Thano?" He gave him a once-over, and Thano straightened the collar of his shirt and tugged at his suit sleeves.
"The kitchen."
Samir's eyes widened. "The kitchen? Did you get lost?"
Thano took a moment and tried to figure out if there was a way to say what he needed to say without sounding insane.
Most likely not. "I'm helping the crows in my territory--" Samir's lips twitched in an attempt to withhold a grin, but he gave up the fight a second later. "--and I need some baking powder."
Samir gave a small chuckle that quickly grew into a loud laugh. "You're...helping the crows?"
Thano waved a hand. It wasn't funny. "They want to trade cupcakes for story night."
Samir quieted. "What?"
"I want permission to go onto your land and visit one of the grocery stores." There were two in Grave Ville if things hadn't changed in the last couple of decades. "I need baking powder, so the crows can bake cupcakes to give to Romeo for story night." And Thano wanted to give some to Eli.
Confusion overtook Samir's face. "I still don't understand. What the hell are cupcakes and what do you mean by story night?"
Thano took a deep breath. "We have a human--"
"I never took you for someone who had a blood slave, Thano. Don't you know they're forbidden?"
Thano scowled at Samir. "I'm well aware, thank you."
A smile tugged at Samir's mouth again. "But you said you kept a human."
"No, I never said kept. Do you remember the lion on The Moonlight Ranch?" Samir hadn't been the leader when Leo Gallo had still been alive, but he was sure he'd at least heard some of the stories.
"The human who was killed by other invading humans?"
"Exactly. We made a deal before he passed. His kin, if they had the key to the property, was allowed to stay."
Samir nodded, his eyes never leaving Thano's.
"Romeo came last year, with the key, and he's been living with us ever since. He's mated to Ciar."
"The panther? A human and a panther?"
Thano waved a hand. It was unconventional, but no one at the ranch cared. Or the wolves had, but they'd left. "In the house, the lion had collected books."
"Oh." Interest shone in Samir's eyes. "What kind of books?"
Thano watched him for a second or two. He wouldn't try to steal their books, would he? Maybe it had been stupid to tell him. They didn't have the wolves anymore, he wasn't sure if Samir was aware, but they were greatly weakened should there be an attack.
"Different kinds. Some are factual and some are stories. Romeo reads from the story books once a week, and the crows want to show their appreciation."
Samir stared at him. "He reads, out loud?"
"Yes. He sits on his terrace and everyone who wants gathers around, and he reads a chapter. The book he's reading now is about a witch who owns a bakery, and she's baking cupcakes. The crows want to bake cupcakes."
"Witch?"
"Human with magic, they aren't real. It's make-believe."
Nodding, Samir looked around the dark forest. There was no one Thano could see around.
"And you need baking powder?"
"I was asking Eli for help since I don't know what cupcakes are. He's the shopkeeper in Last Hope, and while he's been trying to help, he doesn't have any baking powder."
"You want permission to come into my territory to get baking powder for your crows?"
"Yes." He hadn't set foot in the Grave Ville territory since before Samir had taken over.
"I'll cut you a deal."
Thano didn't want to cut any deals but held on to a blank expression. "What deal?"
"I'll fix some baking powder, and you let me come to story night."
"Alone."
"With two of my people. Have to think about my safety after all." A bit of fang showed when he smiled.
Thano breathed in deeply. "If you stay in the shadows and down wind.
I'll warn the vampires you're there, but the others don't have to know.
" He didn't think they'd appreciate the visit.
Ciar would want his throat for bringing attention to Romeo.
Thano couldn't say he blamed him. None of the Moonlight vampires would bite Romeo since he was part of The Moonlight Ranch, but The Big Oak Ranch vampires were something else.
"Deal." Samir gave a curt nod. "When is the next story night, and do you need the baking powder right away?"
"Right away, and story night is on Tuesdays." Unease slithered in Thano's gut. He'd agreed to let three vampires from another territory come to The Moonlight Ranch. Fuck. "No one can know you're there, and it's only this once."
Samir nodded. "Fair. Wait here." He disappeared, and Thano remained. He waited for a good half hour. The wolf came to watch him about five minutes into the wait but stayed at a distance.
When the air flickered, it wasn't Samir who appeared but a red-haired female with skin so pale it shone in the night and a smallish man with curly chestnut hair and startling green eyes.
"Baking powder." The female held out a bag. It looked heavy. Thano accepted it and glanced inside. There were two fifteen pound packs, which he believed was way more than they needed.
"Thank you."
"It will be the two of us who accompany Samir to the ranch."
Thano nodded. "On Tuesday, but stay in the shadows."
Both of them nodded, and Thano turned and began the travel home.
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