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"Something wrong?" I slipped into my bathroom and quickly lined my lips with peach gloss, adding a dusting of emerald shadow and a thin line of black around my eyes before finishing up with a sweep of mascara.
I'd never felt the need for makeup until my skin color decided to move beyond the pale. Even then, it took coming Earthside to jog me into action. After a few disasters thanks to the twenty-four-hour drugstore cosmetics counter, Camille had gotten into the act. She went shopping for me during the day, when the department stores were open, and came home carrying bag after bag of cosmetics until we'd found the perfect look using cosmetics that didn't react with my skin's chemistry. Now, five minutes in front of the mirror made me go from death warmed over to glamour chic. I was still terribly pale, but at least I looked good.
She sighed as I returned to the bedroom. "I spent the afternoon with Morio. Trillian walked in on us."
I let out a loud guffaw. "Oh boy, I wish I'd been a fly on the wall for that one! What happened?" Unlike Delilah, I dove right in with questions unless the topic was off-limits. Blunt was my middle name. Okay, it wasn't. My middle name was Rosabelle, but I wasn't reticent about poking about when the door was left ajar.
Camille leaned back, her arms folded behind her head. She stared at the ceiling. "Morio had partially transformed and we were getting pretty damned hot. His fangs were out in full force and his claws had emerged. Not only that, but his eyes were glowing and he looked like he'd jumped right out of the bowels of hell. Gorgeous, but scary."
"You really don't like vanilla, do you?" I stared at her, grinning. So she liked fucking Morio when he was in his demonic form? And apparently this hadn't been the first time. "Go on, what happened?"
"The thing is, Trillian's never asked much about what I do with Morio. As long as we all keep our calendars straight." She sat up, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "Oh Menolly, I had such a hard time keeping from laughing. Trillian looked like he was going to have a fit."
"Pissed, huh?"
"No, that's the thing. He wasn't mad, he was just… well… he looked almost shocked. I guess he didn't know just how far on the fringe I'm willing to play. But you see, when Morio transforms, he takes me to a whole different place—it's like we enter a different world. I can't reach there with anybody else."
"Did Trillian threaten to Cuisinart Morio?" Her oath-lover routinely threatened to slice up the fox demon but we all knew it was just talk. At least, it was just talk as long as Morio acknowledged that Trillian held alpha male status in Camille's life.
With a visible swallow, Camille shook her head. "Not exactly."
"Then what's the problem?" I asked, getting a little impatient.
"I don't know if there is one. You see, Trillian demanded to stay and watch. Before I knew what was happening, he was right in there with us. Trillian isn't bi, he isn't into men, and neither is Morio. And I ended up having the best sex of my life. Now Trillian's decided that a real triad isn't such a bad idea. He likes to see me… happy."
Well, this wasn't what I'd expected to hear. I scrunched up beside her, folding my legs into the lotus position. "So how does Morio feel about this?" I asked, suddenly grinning. It felt so good to dish like normal sisters about something other than Shadow Wing and war and bloodshed.
Camille let out a low laugh. "He's hard to read. He's not possessive, though if I were in danger he'd kill for me without a second thought. But he… he just welcomed Trillian onto the bed." She gave me a soft smile.
"As long as you're happy," I said, gazing at her.
"I am," she said. "I guess I take after our father's people a lot more than Mother's, but I know I'll never fit into either world."
I shook my head. "You fit fine in both. You just stand out. Delilah's the one who has trouble fitting in, back home in OW. Regardless of the mercy fuck she gave to Zachary, you know her heart belongs to Chase."
Camille made a face. "Yeah, and only the gods know how she ended up with him. But that's her business." Abruptly she stood and shook out her skirt. "Ready to go? We'd better get to the meeting before too many people show up. Trillian and Morio are going to join us at the community center. Smoky said he's busy and won't be there. I have no idea what he's doing, nor did I ask.">"May I?" I pointed to a rocking chair. Single seat, so Sassy couldn't sit too close.
"Of course. Make yourself comfortable."
I glanced around the room, taking in the fine art and sculptures and baby grand piano, all of which reminded visitors they were in the presence of old money. "I wondered if you'd heard about anything odd going on in the vampire community during the last few days?"
She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? What's happened?"
"There have been seven murders this week that we know of. Three last night in the Green Lake area. They were all killed by vampires, and all of them rose." I watched her closely, looking for some sign of recognition in her face, but she only looked shocked.
"No," she said, her hand fluttering to her throat. "Seven? Are you sure? How horrible."
I believed her. Sassy was good, but not good enough to hide guilt. Unlike a lot of vamps, she still had a conscience.
"All too sure. I had to kill three of them tonight. Staked them with the help of an incubus bounty hunter." I paused, then plunged ahead. "I've only told you a little about my own transformation. Thing is, we think that the vamps who tortured and turned me have made their way Earthside. For what ends, I'm not sure, but whatever it is, trust me, it's not good. Their leader—Dredge, my sire—is a sadist. His greatest joy is inflicting pain on others."
Sassy's look of disbelief shifted into dumbfoundedness. "Oh my God. Menolly, do you think they're after you?"
I stopped short. That particular thought hadn't really occurred to me. We'd assumed they were searching for a way into the Subterranean Realms, but maybe we were wrong. Wisteria also had a grudge against me—against all of us, actually. If she had paired up specifically with the Elwing Blood Clan, there might be a personal motive behind the attacks, rather than some grand plan involving Shadow Wing.
"Holy shit, I hadn't thought of that," I said.
Sassy shook her head. "I'm not sure what else you think they might be up to, but that would be my first line of thought. Does your sire have a grudge against you?"
