Page 25 of Curse of Ancients

Bayu picked Juni up, snuggling him, and carried him to the bathroom. He helped him pee, then washed his hands. Juni was too short to go by himself, and when they returned to the kitchen, he said, “I need to order a stool. He’s too short to reach the commode.”

“On it,” Juniper offered. After a few minutes, she showed Bayu her phone. “You can either get a miniature toilet, or they make these inserts to go over the seat so it fits his bottom. That one has steps.”

Bayu agreed it was the best one for their needs, and before he could ask Juniper to send the link to his phone, she had it ordered. “It’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Thank you. I will pay you back.”

“Nonsense. You have given us something priceless in Juni, and the least we can do is chip in for things he needs.”

Bayu looked to Carleigh for help, but she was back to drawing the symbols. Julian appeared from down the hall, taking the ones Carleigh had finished, then retreated to the office again. Bayu didn’t want to disturb her, so he focused on his brother. “Are you hungry or thirsty?”

Juni rubbed his tummy. “Hungwy.”

By the time Bayu had fed the little cub, Jon was back with his things. Kat and Juniper once again took over looking after Juni so Bayu could help Jon unload his truck. They got the bed put together in no time, and Bayu put his clean sheets and bedding on it. The comforter didn’t match the room, but it would work until they could get a new one. Bayu helped load Carleigh’s bed on Jon’s truck so he could take it to his house.

“I appreciate you doing this, Jon.”

“You’re family, man. It’s what we do. If you and Carleigh need a babysitter, let me know. I’ll come by and hang with the little guy.”

Wow. Bayu didn’t expect that, but maybe he should have. Everyone in Carleigh’s Clan was more than he could have dreamed of when getting a mate. Jon waved goodbye, and Bayu returned inside. A phone was ringing, and it was his burner. Carleigh held it out to him, her face grim.

Chapter 10

Carleigh didn’t have a good feeling about Gemi’s text. She didn’t have to wait long to know her gut had been correct.

“She found Kiki.” Bayu tapped the phone against his forehead before placing it on the island. “She was drained of her blood, then tossed out like…” His voice cracked. “Like garbage in the forest close to my parents’ house. The only positive is Gemi found Kiki before anyone else saw her body or any animals got to her. If not, she would have had to deal with the police. Gemi now has to bury Kiki and somehow hide the fact that all three are dead.”

Carleigh pulled her mate into a hug. Fucking Black Lotus motherfuckers. She was going to find them and kill them all. She held Bayu, giving him time to come to terms with his sister’s death. Her heart broke for him. How much more did he have to endure at the hands of the evil mages? And Baekyo? She had a few words for the god too.

When Bayu stepped back, he untucked his shirt and wiped his face with the hem. “Sorry for that.”

“No. You do not apologize for grieving your sister. You said Gemi was burying Kiki. Did she already bury your parents?”

“Nuhuala turn to dust upon their passing. That much I do know. Gemi has already gathered my father’s remains and put them in the ground alongside my mother.”

Carleigh once again hugged her mate to her, wishing they had completed the bond so she could push her energy into him. Bayu didn’t hug her back, but that was okay. In the span of four days, he’d lost so much, including his Tiger. There was nothing she could do to bring his parents or sister back, but she sure as hell was going to figure out how to make him whole again. While she was drawing the symbols, she’d been texting with the witches. Luna, Solara, and their mom, Lilly, were scouring every magical spell they could get their hands on. Without knowing the curse, it would be next to impossible to reverse it, so it was imperative they located the Black Lotus.

“If Gemi buried your father without contacting the authorities, what happens to his money? How is it transferred to you?”

“I don’t know. I assume Gemi will handle that as well.”

“If she doesn’t know, I’ll take care of it, but I’ll need the bank information.”

“You can do that? Won’t the bank get suspicious?”

“I can do it and wipe the account like it was never there. I’m going to contact Lydia. She’s our archivist, and she’ll know who the Gargoyles are in that part of the world, if any. If not, we’ll gather a group together to send over there to assist Gemi in whatever way she needs. If she wants to search for the Black Lotus, we will help. If she doesn’t, she’s welcome to come stay here, and we’ll begin looking ourselves.”

Carleigh kissed Bayu’s cheek and released her hold on him. She returned to the kitchen island where she sent Lydia an encrypted email explaining everything. She copied Sebastian and Dakota as well. With them being King and Queen, they would want to know the severity of Bayu’s plight and what Carleigh was asking from their Clan.

Several stuffed animals came flying from the doorway, and Juni giggled until he saw Bayu. “Bye-bye? Why you cwy?”

Bayu sat on the floor and pulled Juni onto his lap, hugging the boy to his chest, while staring up at Carleigh. Gemi hadn’t shared a lot, so Bayu probably had no idea what to tell the child. Before he could say anything, Kat and Juniper joined them.

They noticed Bayu’s tear-streaked face, but instead of letting them ask what was wrong, Carleigh said, “We need to think about supper.” Juni had eaten lunch, but no one else had stopped long enough to join him.

“I’ll do that now.” Juniper opened the fridge. She listed off several meals she could make with what Carleigh had on hand. Carleigh didn’t care, so she kept her opinion to herself. Kat asked Bayu for his preference just as Carleigh’s computer chimed with a notification from Harlow.

“I found a reference to Shen as in the Council of Shen. It is part of the Chinese Tiger constellation which correlates to Connor’s drawing. Your dad is scanning Bayu’s designs, while I’m doing a deep dive on the Black Lotus. I set up alerts for any mention of them. We need copies of the pages from the journal. Bayu stated only the Nuhuala can read them, but if one of the council members wrote the journal, it’s possible it’s a recorded language.”