David's eyes flickered over his shoulder towards the entrance to the great room. "I'll explain upstairs."
My curiosity ate away at me as he led me upstairs to our shared room. The fire burned brightly in the hearth and a comfortable warmth flooded the room. David set me down on the foot of the bed and stepped back to stand in front of me.
He folded his arms and cupped his chin in one hand as he furrowed his brow. "You obviously know that werewolves exist."
I snorted. "Yeah, we've pretty much established that."
"And I have told you that there's an entire world of the paranormal out there," he added.
I raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Yeah."
He dropped his arms and shrugged. "Then that's it. That's all you need to know."
My face fell and I narrowed my eyes. "That doesn't tell me anything."
He smiled. "On the contrary, my little love bird, it tells you everything you need to know." He took a seat beside me and smiled. "Did you read many myths and legends as a child?"
I nodded. "A few."
"I can tell you with only a few reservations that they all held a large grain of truth," he told me.
I snorted. "Even the ones with tiny men who made wooden shoes?"
He shrugged. "Okay, maybe not all of them, but those that involved witches, vampires, and the handsome werewolves had some kernel of truth."
I furrowed my brow and pointed at the floor. "So what you're trying to tell me in this really long way is there's a vampire downstairs who has a witch on his payroll and wants you, a werewolf, to go to his island?"
David thought over my question a moment before he nodded. "Yeah, pretty much that."
I frowned. "And you can't refuse him because he'll what? Drain you dry and use your fur to make a coat?"
David smiled. "Something like that, and it isn't very good politics to cross Blake Basileus."
"Why not?" I persisted.
David stood and half-turned to me. "Because he happens to be the leader of all the vampires in the world."
I blinked at him. "Seriously?"
My mate sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "Well, self-professed leader, and anybody who's argued the point has ended up six feet under, if they can be found at all. Blake's very old, very rich, and very dangerous. Saying 'no' when he asks you to dance is playing with death." He flashed me a grin. "Not that he's asked me, but I'd say 'yes' to save face. Possibly literally."
"And this witch? She's really a witch?" I asked him.
David snorted. "Madam Bentley has power, and a lot of senility with it. She's been working the casting trade so long she really has forgotten her age, and so has everyone else." A knock on the door made us both jump.
"Sir?" Puer called through the entrance.
David turned towards the door. "What is it?"
"Lord Basileus wishes to have your answer."
I stood. "You can tell Count Dracula we're going. Just give us a bit to pack. Oh, and call my office and tell them I might not be in for a few days. Say something about a sick grandma or somebody."
"Wait a sec!" David yelled. He turned and grasped my shoulders. His eyes searched mine. "This trip's a little more serious than a short jaunt to Cotio's store. You don't have to go if you don't want to."
I snorted. "And let you have all the fun with the Count Chocula and his mad medium? No way. We're both going, or we're both staying and getting our blood drained. End of story."
David's sly grin slipped onto his lips. He leaned down and captured mine in a quick passionate kiss. I barely had time to register the delicious heat of lust before we broke apart.
"All right, you win," David told me. He glanced over his shoulder at the door. "Tell Blake we'll be down in five, and get him an umbrella. I don't want him to get fined for smoking in a non-smoking area."
3
We packed a few sets of clothes in a handy suitcase David owned and walked downstairs. Blake met us at the bottom of the stairs. In one hand was a black umbrella.
David stopped and looked him over. "I'm guessing you didn't come here in a car."
Blake glanced down at himself and smiled "On the contrary, I was driven to within two blocks of your fine home, but I thought to enter on foot to avoid any prying eyes."
David grinned. "Then I'll have Puer drive us to your car. It's not very pleasant sitting next to a half-charred vampire."
Blake chuckled. "No, I imagine for a werewolf the smell would be highly unpleasant."
Puer fetched David's car and we stepped outside. Blake made us of the umbrella for the short distance to the vehicle and avoided more face ventilation. I sat beside David in the darkened limo while Blake took the seat opposite us. In the darkness Blake's eyes took on a red tinge.
I must have been looking a little too hard before his red eyes fell on me. "Am I that interesting?"
I shrugged. "Sort of. You're the first bloodsucker I've ever met."
He chuckled. "Do I meet your expectations?"
"You're fatter than I thought you'd be."
David couldn't stifle the loud snort that exuded from his nostrils. Blake shot him a red-eyed glare that could have melted steel. David composed himself and coughed into his hand. "She got you with that one, Blake."
Blake turned up his patrician nose and narrowed his eyes at the werewolf beside me. "Don't let your inexperienced mate let you forget who I am."
I leaned to the side so I was in the line of fire between the two men and glared at Blake. "Don't forget this inexperienced mate helped drag you out of the sun. Next time I just might leave you there to cook a little longer until you're a bit more tender."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you threatening me?"
I shook my head. "No, just giving you some good advice about carrying an umbrella when you're so rude to people. Maybe a stake-proof vest would help, too."
Blake tilted his head to one side and a smooth smile slipped onto his pale lips. His eyes flickered to David. "You've chosen a very brash young woman as your mate."
"And slightly insane," David added as he grabbed my shoulders and set me back firmly into my seat. "She really needs to learn that I'm not the big fish in the paranormal pond."
I whipped my head to him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Were you neutered while I slept?" David's mouth dropped open.
Blake laughed. The strange sound echoed in the car. "She seems to have trapped your speech with her poisoned tongue."
David glanced from Blake to me. "I know I don't pay attention to my business that often, but I think I missed an important memo somewhere that read it was the day to gang up on me."
Blake glanced out the window and clasped his umbrella between his hands. "Hopefully we will find who is your greatest enemy when we arrive on the island."
The car stopped and we stepped out. A long, jet-black limo awaited us. The driver was a pale man of fifty with dark, puffy eyes and the humor of a funeral. He opened the rear door and shuffled aside.
"To home, Famul," Blake ordered before he ducked into the car.
The pale man stiffly bowed his head. David followed Blake and I brought up the rear. I paused by the door and glanced at Famul. His dark eyes stared back at me without any emotion. I gave him a shaky smile and hurried into the car.
My rush meant my foot caught on the bottom of the entrance, and I tumbled head-first into the near-total darkness. A pair of strong arms caught me and pulled me sideways into a familiar lap. David's chuckling voice broke the silence.
"Another trip like that and I'm going to insist on carrying you everywhere," he warned me.
I squirmed in his hold and ended up dropping onto the floor in front of Blake's black shoes. The vampire stared down at me with his amused red eyes. "Those who laugh last laugh loudest."
I glared at him and opened my mouth to snap some witty comeback, but something caught my attention. That something was a small grayish mole stuck into the seam between the sole of his shoe and the body.
I glanced up at
the vampire and nodded at his foot. "Your foot's got a wart in it."
He frowned and lifted his foot. His eyes widened as he beheld the small gray mole. He pinched the wart between two long fingernails and extracted the round object. The vampire tilted it and his eyebrows crashed down.
David looked from the mole to Blake's tense face. "What is it?"
"A tracking mechanism of some sort," Blake replied. He pinched the wart and there was an audible crunch of metal. "It seems someone wishes to follow my movements."
David frowned. "Maybe witch?"
Blake pocketed the remains of the tracker and pursed his lips. "Or someone involved with the matter, and not allied with us." He pursed his lips. "This is very unfortunate. I thought to bring you to my island under cover of darkness, but now it appears your sole source of safety has vanished."
A sly smirk slipped onto David's lips. "You forget I'm a werewolf, Blake. I don't die so easily."
Blake nodded at me. "And what of your mate?"
I crossed my arms and glared at him. "The mate can take care of herself."
Blake sighed, and looked from one of us to the other. "Then I leave you in the safety of your own hands. However, I know you're acquainted with the island, David, but I believe your bold mate should be warned about its unique features."
I raised an eyebrow. "Like what? Exploding candles and walking suits of armor?"
Blake smiled. "Those, and more, though the most dangerous aspect is the shifting rooms."
"Which means memorizing the place is a real pain," David quipped.
I glanced from one man to the other, and I use that term loosely. "So is this place something like those kids books with the wizards and the school where the staircases moved like the news? Every hour on the hour?"
Blake shook his head. "No. I would better describe the rooms as those in a fun house mirror. The point of entrance and intention of those who enter decides the makeup of the room."
David leaned against the back of the seat and folded his arms. "So is it true if a burglar climbs in through a window he finds himself at the bottom of a gator pit?"
Blake chuckled. "Nothing so plebeian, I assure you. The creatures in the bottom of the pit are imported crocodiles from the Nile."
I held up a hand. "Wait a sec. I still don't get these rooms."
David grinned. "What Blake's trying to say is don't go into a room with intentions to steal his stuff. Otherwise, you'll end up the main course for his exotic pets."
Blake bowed his head. "I could not have put it more succinctly myself."
I furrowed my brow. "If this place is so safe then how did the spell get cast by an amateur?"
The vampire pursed his pale lips together and looked away from us. "That remains to be seen, but I suspect a staff member may have assisted them."
David frowned. "I don't like where this is headed. So you're saying we might have two people to worry about? A witch and one of your own guys who probably already hacked your footwear?"
Blake returned his gaze to us and bowed his head. "Precisely."
David kept his attention on Blake but jerked his head towards me. "If there's trouble, how fast can you get her off the island?"
"Within minutes," Blake assured him.
I glared at David. "I'm not going anywhere without you."
Blake chuckled. "Spoken like a true mate."
David searched my face and pursed his lips. "You're sure?"
I rolled my eyes. "Are you a werewolf?"
A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. "Yes, and yes."
4
The limo took us to the port, but not the commercial area. We parked at the ramp in the private bays that housed the yachts and motorboats. Several of the boats cost more than a block's worth of residential housing. The white-painted bays with their covered ports glistened in the bright sun. Blake stepped out and unfurled his umbrella to shade himself against the harsh light.
He half-turned to me and smiled. "Have you ever had the pleasure of yachting on the bay?"
I shook my head. "No. I don't exactly have a first-born to barter for that trip."
David leaned towards me and lowered his voice. "We could change that."
I rolled my eyes and pushed him away. "Get your mind out of the gutter and onto the boat." I glanced at the dozens of private fishing boats and yachts, and turned to Blake. "Which one is your boat."
He looked past me and nodded. "That one."
I turned and followed his gaze. His eyes pointed at the largest yacht in the fleet. The ship rose a hundred feet out of the water and had a deck larger than my former apartment. The enclosed observation deck was the size of a small mansion and several floors tall. A steering cabin topped the structure. A large rear hatch was backed up to a drawbridge-type dock, and I noticed the limo pulled around and drove into the ship through that entrance.
I folded my arms and frowned. "Compensating for something?"
David grasped my shoulders and pulled me towards the vessel. "Let's get aboard before the captain decides we're a little too much trouble to be worth more than half the trip across the bay. Besides, there's something I want to show you."
He pulled me down the boardwalk and over to the railed gangplank that led onto the fine ship, and Blake followed close behind. A man in a white uniform and stiff hat stood near the railing.
He bowed to us. "Good morning, My Lord. Good morning, Mr. Dives."
My eyes flickered to David. "Does everyone know you?"
He grinned and shrugged. "I'm a popular guy."
The man in white chuckled. "You are certainly something, Mr. Dives, but I'm not sure I'd call you popular."
Blake moved to stand close beside the man in white. "If you're done with your jokes, Captain Marius, perhaps you'll prepare the ship to depart?"
Captain Marius stood at attention and stared straight ahead. "Aye, aye, My Lord. All preparations have been made. We only await your order."
Blake nodded. "You have it."
Captain Marius saluted. He spun on his heels and hurried off to a doorway at the rear of the observation deck. The windows around the deck allowed me to see him travel up a flight of stairs to the pilot house at the top.
"Your help is getting sassy," David commented.
Blake smiled and shrugged. "What can one do these days? Corporal punishment is outlawed and these blasted unions disallow even firing without some justification."
David smiled. "Makes you miss the days of flogging and beheading, doesn't it?"
Blake half-turned away from us and chuckled. "Often. But if you will excuse me I must rest in my cabin." He retreated down a flight of stairs at the rear of the ship.
I turned to David. "How long does it take to get to the island?"
He shrugged. "About two hours, if the weather's good. I was on the ship once during a storm, and it took five hours to get there."
I turned and wandered towards the railing at the front of the boat. "So it's that far?"
He sidled up to my side and shook his head. "No, only thirty miles or so, but Avalon Island doesn't quite sit in the middle of the bay. It's off to one side and close to the cliffs to the southeast of the city. The waves can be strong there after traveling through the open ocean, and they're fond of dashing boats against the rocks. It's quite a graveyard of ships at the bottom of those cliffs."
We reached the railing and I clasped the metal. David set his arms crossed on the railing and leaned forward. I looked out over the calm waters and enjoyed the fresh breeze that blew over us. Movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned my head to find David studying me. A small smile caressed the corners of his lips.
I leaned away from him and frowned. "What?"
He kept his eyes on me as he shook his head. "Nothing much. I was just admiring the way you looked when you relaxed. You should do it more often."
I turned away from him and shrugged. "It's not easy being a working girl."
"But you're not a working girl an
ymore," he pointed out.
I sensed an argument rising that neither of us would win. "Not today, but wasn't there something you were going to show me?"
He leaned down and pecked a light kiss on my lips. A sweet, delicate warmth spread through me and I regretted when he pulled away. His whispering voice kept up the flames. "You have a way with words, my love."
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and scowled at him. "That doesn't answer my question."
He faced in the direction ahead of us and nodded. "It's that."
I followed his gaze and beheld the open bay to our right and the tall, rocky cliffs to our left. Between the two was a tiny dot in the distance. "Is that the island?"
He nodded. "Yep, Avalon Island. It's got quite the history as a paranormal vortex."
I arched an eyebrow. "That's what Blake said, but why that place? It looks like Alcatraz Island with less bird poop."
He chuckled. "That would describe parts of it pretty well, but Blake's fixed the rest of the place pretty nice. Only the wealthiest of the paranormal world get a chance to view the inside. Some have been waiting quite a few centuries for even a peek."
I leaned on the railing beside him. "That doesn't really answer my question."
David shrugged. "I can't because I don't know. Nobody does. It's just a magnet for the spooks and shifters of the world."
I studied his face. "So how do you think that spook tried to curse you?"
He smiled. "That's also a mystery, but hopefully we'll find out soon." He leaned down and lowered his voice to a whisper. His words brushed against my ear and warmed my body. "But not before we have a little fun."
I blushed and pushed him away. "Is that all you werewolves think about?"
He laughed. "Quite a bit, but is there anything better to think about?"
I snorted. "Maybe not getting hexed to death."
"Good point."
The calm seas that greeted us at the port waved a fond farewell to us a few miles out in the bay. The waves colored white as they splashed against one another in ever higher heights. I leaned over the railing and watched the bow of the ship cut into the rolling water. A large wave splashed against the front and blew spray upward. I drew back, but not before I got a face-full of bay water.
I turned to David who grinned back at me. "It's a pity you're not wearing a white shirt," he commented.