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Ever since he’d volunteered to give me some sense of my old life back through food-flavored blood, I hadn’t felt quite so much the outsider. I realized I’d never fully told him how much this meant to me. I’d have to remedy that. Maybe a present, or maybe just a quiet word when we had a moment.
Nerissa returned to the kitchen, wearing an off-the-shoulder cream top that gave full vantage to her ample bosom, and a high-waisted pink miniskirt with ruffles that grazed her mid-thighs. I set down the bottle of blood, the fire rising as I stared at her. I wanted to drag her down to the floor and fuck her brains out right here. I let out a low growl.
She picked up on it; her eyes met mine. “Tonight,” she mouthed, and I nodded. It had been several days—too long for us, but what with all the crap going down, sex wasn’t exactly high on the priority list.
As she passed by, resting a hand on my shoulder, I grabbed her fingers and brought them to my lips, turning them so I could kiss her palm. Then I let go, and she settled in front of the laptop.
“What should I say? I guess I use the webcam to make a video?” She licked her lips to moisten them, then glanced over at me. “I really don’t flirt. Well, I haven’t much since I met you.”
As the others dove into their food, I took notes.
Delilah and Camille threw out possible lines. Some of them Vanzir and Morio nixed on account of “a guy wouldn’t respond to that,” but finally, we had a short, sexy script and Nerissa fluffed up her hair, adjusted her off-the-shoulder top to reveal as much as she could without showing her boobs in toto, and she stood back so the webcam could catch her entire outfit and recorded the canned dating video. After that, she created an account under the name of “Puma Girl” and filled out the forms, uploaded the video, and that was that.
“Now we just wait for them to take the bait.” She sat back, frowning. “I just hope they do.”
“I think… whoever Lowestar chooses to replace Hanson will want to make a name for himself. He will probably be trolling the new members for any likely subjects.” Delilah frowned. “That’s what I’d do.”
Nerissa bit into a biscuit. “I have e-mail on my phone, of course, so I’ll add the account I created to use for the profile. I didn’t want them checking into my personal account. I tried to leave as little of a trail as possible that they might be able to track back here. Can’t help if they figure out that I’m not just renting my condo. But I doubt they’ll check on who owns the place. And I’ve been seen with you guys, but I’m not that high profile.”
My wife had just bought a condo when we decided to get married. She rented it out now, but it had stood empty for the past month after the last renter had to abruptly vacate for a new job.
“With a little luck…” Camille let out a sigh. “And we need a little luck right now.”
As they ate, and I drank my bottle of blood, there was a noise in the living room. I was closest so I ran in to find out what was going on. As I entered the room, I saw Smoky and Venus standing there. Roz showed up a moment later, his arm around Trillian.
For a long time, Roz had been unsure about ferrying people through the Ionyc Seas, but after a little practice on me—I was already dead and he couldn’t do much to hurt me—he’d discovered that he could take a passenger with him. One at a time, but he could do it. That little discovery had made life easier over the past months.
Delilah, who was right behind me, gave out a little squeal. The others followed behind her.
“Venus!” She ran to the old shaman. He looked older than the average Were, which meant he was incredibly old, but his hair still streamed golden down his back, and his eyes were the same color as Nerissa’s—a brilliant topaz. He was handsome, sturdy, and solid.
As he stepped forward, it seemed odd to see him without a limp, but then I remembered. The spirit seal he had carried in his leg for so many years had caused that limp. Now the fire opal was hanging around his neck, sparkling in a way that was almost frightening. It seemed a part of him—and he a part of it.
Venus the Moon Child had been the shaman for the Rainier Puma Pride, until he’d been conscripted by Queen Asteria for the Keraastar Knights. I wondered how the grizzled and crude puma had fared among the regal elves. Chances were, he could strike any one of them down without a problem. The man wasn’t just a Were; he was magic incarnate.
He held out his arm and pulled Delilah to him, kissing her on the cheek. With his other arm, he motioned for Nerissa to join him and he squeezed her to his chest, kissing her soundly on the lips. He had taught my wife how to handle pain, how to translate it into pleasure and use it as a healing force. And he’d taught her well.
Camille let out a shout and ran over to Trillian and Smoky. The dragon caught her up, whirling her around, kissing her soundly as he set her back on the ground, for Trillian to take his turn.
I turned to Hanna. “Can you fetch Amber and Luke? They’ll want to say hello to Venus.”
She nodded and took off for the parlor as Venus motioned for room.
“Let an old man have a chair, would you?” His eyes sparkled, though. As ancient as he might be, he was far from old.
As he dropped into the rocker, Venus gave us a long look before leaning his head against the back of the chair and closing his eyes. It was then that I could see the weariness below the surface that seemed to ooze out of his pores. Smoky and Trillian looked beat, too. So did Roz.
“Trillian, Smoky—why don’t you two go shower and change? Roz, use Delilah’s bathroom.” Camille motioned to Vanzir. “Meanwhile, somebody fix a plate for Venus. Soup and biscuits… whatever we have. Unless you’d like to wash up first, too.”
As Vanzir vanished toward the kitchen, Venus shook his head. “I took a shower at the Elfin camp this morning. I’ll bathe after eating. I know you have many questions for me and I’ll do my best to answer.”
At that moment, Luke and Amber entered the room. They greeted Venus in an odd dialect, one I knew I’d heard before but wasn’t conversant with.
But Camille touched her nose. “You speak in Melosealfôr?”
Venus nodded. “Queen Asteria ran us through an intensive course. It’s a rare dialect, and not many goblins or other miscreants would speak the tongue.”
She nodded. “It’s said that if the language falls from the tongue of an enemy, it will burn their lips with every word. Most of the powerful Cryptos—the ones who are of relatively good nature, that is—know it. And all of the Moon Mother’s witches and priestesses are schooled in it.”
