AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She let out a snort. “Vampire or not, you’re not telling me what to do. I love you, but I want to contribute, and this, this I can do. All you’re going to do is use my picture, right? And I might have to go meet somebody, in which case, you’d be following me—I know that without a doubt. I have the condo still, and nobody’s living there right now. I can use that address so it won’t lead them back here. I will use a fake name. Still going to argue with me?”
Everybody was staring at us. We didn’t argue often, and when we did, it was usually in private. And it was usually Nerissa reading me the riot act for some stupid stunt I’d pulled or attitude I’d copped. Frankly, I was amazed the woman loved me enough to marry me.
I paused. How the hell was I going to deal with this? If I pushed, I knew Nerissa would push back. “What if you did this and they caught you? How would you cope with it? How do you think I’d be able to live with myself?”
“Remember, I was trained by Venus the Moon Child. I can withstand a lot more pain than you know.”
Before he moved to Otherworld and took on the mantle of the Keraastar Knights, the wily shaman emeritus of the Rainier Puma Pride had put Nerissa through her paces in learning how to control pain and channel it through pleasure, and how to heal with her sexuality. He’d also helped her develop her inner strength. When my wife set her mind to something, there was no stopping her.
Camille caught my eye and cleared her throat. “Why don’t we wait for a little bit and talk about it later? We don’t have to decide anything tonight.”
Sometimes she could actually be a good diplomat. Grateful, I nodded. “I’ll agree to that. Nerissa?”
“Fine. But this isn’t over.”
I arched one eyebrow. “I never said it was.” Leaning back in my chair, I shook my head. My cornrows clicked as the ivory beads threaded into them clinked lightly. I was the shortest one of the group—five-one if I was an inch, and I was petite. And my hair was burnished copper, unlike anybody in the family. We never had figured out where that recessive gene came from.
“I do appreciate you volunteering. I’m not saying you can’t do the job right—I’m just frightened for you.” I slaked my gaze over my wife. She would certainly catch Lowestar’s eye, no doubt about it. And that was the problem.
Nerissa let out a loud sigh. “I wouldn’t have offered if I hadn’t meant it. I’m part of this family, too. I want to pull my weight like the rest of you. It’s not like I’m human. I’m stronger, faster, and far more dangerous than any FBH. Ask Chase. He’s thrilled to have me on the job.”
Chase was our friend—a detective and leader of the Faerie-Human Crime Scene Investigation team, or the FH-CSI—who was currently living on our land with his newborn daughter.
“We’ll talk again tomorrow night. If—and that’s a big if—you do this, I want to be here when you create that profile. Speaking of FBHs, where is Chase tonight?” I had half expected to find him hanging out up here at the main house.
“He’s at Iris’s, learning how to be a father. I think he and Bruce are going to be doing a lot of bonding over their mutual experience in fatherhood.” Delilah smiled softly. “I just wish Sharah could be here with him. I hope she’s okay.”
“Everyone back in Otherworld is in danger. Elqaneve is under siege from the goblins right now. Svartalfheim is gearing up for the sentient storm that destroyed the Elfin City. I wonder… if King Vodox’s defenses can’t destroy it, where will sorcerers send it next?” Camille looked at me bleakly.
I knew where the next target would be, and so did she. And so did Delilah. We weren’t kidding ourselves over that one. Nobody wanted to say it out loud. So I decided to be the one to call out the white elephant in the room.
“Y’Elestrial. Where else?”
As a hush fell through the room, a soft chiming sounded from the living room. The Whispering Mirror, summoning us. Which meant we had incoming news. I just hoped that whatever it was, it wasn’t another emergency.
Chapter 3
As we crowded around the mirror, Camille took her place in front of it. She was the one who understood it the most. I couldn’t see my reflection, of course—that part about vampires is true. And anybody looking through from the other side wouldn’t be able to see me, though they could hear me if I spoke.
We waited for the fog in the silver-framed mirror to clear. It was like having our own private Skype program hooked up to Otherworld, only the video portion was always on and we didn’t need headphones and the mirror was the magical computer.
A moment later, Trenyth appeared. He was advisor to Queen Sharah—the new Elfin Queen. Until a few days ago, she had been a medic at the FH-CSI and Chase’s very pregnant girlfriend.
Trenyth looked weary, beyond tired. I wondered how long he’d gone without sleep now.
He didn’t waste any time on chitchat. “Girls, we found your father’s body. I’m sorry. Sephreh was killed when a collapsing piece of wood… it…” Here he paused, looking down at the table in front of him.
“Just… please tell us.” Delilah’s voice quavered and she bit her lip. “We need to know the truth.”
I gave a sharp nod, even though Trenyth couldn’t see me. “She’s right. Tell us. No gory details, but the facts.”
Trenyth started a bit. “I never get used to the fact that I can’t see you through the mirror, Menolly.” He sighed, and met Camille’s eyes. She was our anchor and rock—every time there was bad news, it somehow found its way to her first, even when the rest of us were there in the room.
“Your father was impaled by a broken beam that fell from the ceiling. We found him beneath two cross beams that had held up some of the debris. We have his body. What do you want us to do?”
Camille looked over her shoulder at Delilah and me. “I’ll make the arrangements.” Her face was drawn but the fact that she needed to do this was apparent in her expression.
Delilah must have seen it, too. “We’ll do whatever you need us to.”
