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“I have another surprise.” Grieve held up his hand and dashed into a side room, returning after a few seconds with his arms full. “While you were gone, I scouted around this rambling monster of a building and found two space heaters. They’re good-sized.”
“Heat! Glorious heat!” Luna rubbed her hands together as Kaylin took them from him and plugged them in.
Grieve frowned. “I hope they still work. The burn barrel helps, but it doesn’t do much good over here by the table.”
Kaylin flipped the switch and bingo, a draft of air began to blow toward the table. The space heaters must have been used during power outages, because they were big enough to heat a small room. As the elements heated up, warm air began to take the edge off the biting chill. I smiled, and so did the others. There was nothing like heat to lift the spirits when the wind was howling at the door.
“Good job, man.” Kaylin clapped Grieve on the back. “I’ve lived here for quite a while and didn’t know about them.”
“I’ve a knack for finding things.” Grieve smiled then, and laughed. “I wish I could have gone with you today.”
“Yes, but the Veil House is so close to the Golden Wood, it would be too easy for Myst to latch onto you again. And this helps us so much more—we needed the heat.” I leaned in and kissed him soundly. My stomach rumbled. “First heat and now, I hope…food?” I looked at Luna. “Is there anything to eat?”
She nodded, and while Kaylin and Wrath sorted through what we’d brought back with us, Rhiannon and Luna set out a loaf of bread, some peanut butter, and a large packet of beef jerky. Rhiannon added a two-liter bottle of Coke, while Luna carried a large pot of chicken noodle soup over to the table. Peyton brought the mugs and plates.
I stared at the meal. Good. I could eat everything. I knew the soup was safe, and that was the only thing potentially a danger. I was deathly allergic to fish and carried an EpiPen wherever I went.
Luna shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry it’s not anything fancy, but…”
“Hey, it’s food. I ate out of Dumpsters when I was a kid, so this is a feast in comparison to some of the meals I’ve had. I’m not turning up my nose at anything on this table.”
The soda was cold and I chugged down two glasses before moving on to the bread and peanut butter. Grieve stared at the food, finally accepting a hank of the beef jerky and a plain piece of bread. My father sniffed the peanut butter and opted for the jerky and bread, too. Chatter decided to be adventurous and bit into a p.b. sandwich, his face taking on the look of a confused cat with peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth.
The soup was like those Lipton soups—mainly just noodles and broth—but it was hot and salty and filled that need for something warm in my belly.
After the gnaw of hunger faded, we began to sort through the bags, able to take off our jackets thanks to Grieve’s space heaters. I held up Heather’s journal. “I found this. We might be able to use it.”
Kaylin handed me a small bag and I stared at it, knowing exactly what was in there. “You found my magical tools.”
“I checked upstairs. It wasn’t all that dangerous. The steps were in no hurry to collapse under me. I think they’re still structurally sound. Anyway, yes—I found your magical tools. I also packed a bag with clothes for all four of you girls. I brought whatever seemed appropriate for our situation.” His dark eyes flashed with a glimmer of a smile and I found myself grateful he was on our side.
Peyton let out a delighted cry. “My cards—you found my tarot deck!”
Lannan chuckled. “I’ve seen gamblers less thrilled to see a deck of cards. Yes, I found your deck and thought you might be able to use it.” For a brief second, he sounded almost pleasant.
“We also have a bag full of herbs, along with some of the charms I made. I managed to grab a big bag of cat food, too, by the way. So somebody should go feed the cats. They’ll be glad for something other than the tuna we’ve been giving them.” Kaylin had laid in a large store of tuna, and out of deference to me, he’d moved it into the room we set up for the cats. I was willing to scoop the litter boxes, but I wasn’t about to take over feeding duties with fish on hand.
“Don’t bet on it,” Luna said. She rolled her eyes. “But that means…well…there’s tuna for those of us who can eat it. But we’ll save it for a last resort and I’ll warn you well in advance,” she added, turning to me. “I’ll make certain we keep your food away from anything that might have fish in it.”
That wasn’t terribly reassuring, given our circumstances, but I knew that if push came to shove, they’d need to eat whatever they could find.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” I glanced through the rest of the bags. “Good, somebody brought The Rise of the Indigo Court and The History of the Vampire Nation.” The words popped out before I realized that Lannan was standing right there. I jerked up my head. He was standing, arms crossed, head cocked to the side, one booted foot propped up on a chair. His leather pants shimmered in the dim light hanging over the table.
“So…you have a copy of our history. You know, not a terribly wise idea of you to advertise so in front of me.” He slowly lowered his foot to the ground and slid his hands in his pockets and sauntered toward me.
“I wouldn’t have, if I’d thought about it first.” My mouth had gotten me in trouble more than once.
Lannan backed me up to the wall, lifting the book out of my hands. He flipped through it, occasionally glancing at me. I had no idea how vampires read, considering their eyes were jet with no white, no gleam other than the sparkle that made them look like obsidian orbs. But read they did. And Lannan Altos was actually a professor at the New Forest Conservatory. I had the feeling he’d abused his authority far more than once.
Grieve let out a low growl and shifted into a wolf, shoving himself between the vampire and me. Peyton and Luna gasped. Wrath stiffened as Kaylin stepped forward. Lannan just stared at the beast with unblinking eyes.
I caught my breath. Grieve was really pissed. Anger wasn’t the only reason he took wolf form, but Lannan had pushed his buttons—his territorial instincts had been invaded. He stood his ground, forcing Lannan away from me, his gaze never leaving the vampire. I poised, ready to throw myself between the two. But then Wrath came to my rescue.
“Altos, put down the book. Leave it for now. Grieve—back away. The vampire will not hurt our Cicely tonight.” It was a command, not a question.
Lannan turned to my father, locking his gaze. After a moment, he shrugged and deliberately dropped the book on the floor at my feet. “No matter if you have it. We are not terribly vulnerable to your kind, so feel free to read it. If nothing else, perhaps you’ll learn why you should pay proper respect.”
He sauntered past Grieve, refusing to acknowledge him. Grieve shifted back, but I could feel my wolf tattoo still snuffling. Chatter reached out, touched Grieve on the arm and gave him a warning shake of the head. Grieve glowered and shook him off but did nothing.
