She received more old-fashioned curtsies and grins than she had expected, which brought new heat to her cheeks.
Once in the car, she finally relaxed and took a deep breath until the driver said, “Good morning, mistress. It was lovely to hear the mastyr whistling. Very lovely indeed. Indeed.”
*** *** ***
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Ethan said. “You got laid.”
Gerrod frowned. He had no intention of discussing Abigail with Ethan. The vampire had a wagging tongue nearly as long as Gus’s.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Just glad you came.” He moved into the room in that lethal manner of his. Ethan was an inch taller than Gerrod, with an equivalent larger mass of muscle. He was not a vampire to meet in a blind alley, at least not without a few blade-like or preternatural powers fully in hand.
“I value Augustus tremendously, but he should learn some restraint.”
Ethan drew his brow into a knot. “What the hell does Gus have to do with anything? Oh, I see what it is. You think your gossipy troll spilled the beans. Not so, my friend. I can see by your stature you got well and truly fucked last night. Anyone I know, or need to know?” He waggled his brows.
With these words, a very odd tightening began deep in Gerrod’s gut. His hands became fists, his biceps flexing before he understood what was happening. “You are not to trouble Mistress Abigail.”
Ethan immediately threw up both hands in the surrender position. “Whoa. Didn’t mean to give offense. I take it she’s someone special.”
“No.” Too quick at that answer. But to say, ‘yes, she is special’, what would that mean?
He looked away from Ethan, glancing at the map of the Nine Realms laid out on his table and held at each corner by the most absurd cast iron scorpion weights. Abigail had given them to him for his birthday last month, a peculiar human tradition of giving gifts on the anniversaries of the day of one’s birth.
“What’s going on, Gerrod? I wouldn’t have teased you, been so indiscreet, if I’d thought it serious. Is it? Or is it something else?” Ethan moved to stand on the other side of the massive table facing him.
“The woman is human,” he said, though it only covered maybe a tenth of his present concerns.
“Holy shit, you hooked up with a…human?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Gerrod met his gaze and nodded. Ethan’s hair was in disarray. He had a mass of honey-brown curls that always escaped the woven clasps that male vampires used to hold back their long hair. Since the females of his staff tended to hang near multiple doorways when Ethan was around, he was certain that the easy look had a certain appeal.
Besides, the man was a handsome devil, big smile, big teeth, and a certain way of fixing his stare that could unnerve other males and weaken the knees of the females.
But all Gerrod saw was the concern of friendship, and for that he valued Ethan more than any of the other mastyr vampires. For all his relative youth, Ethan could be trusted, counted on.
“I don’t want to speak of Abigail at this time. I’m encouraging her to go back to Flagstaff where she lives and not to return.”
“Is she with one of the universities that she was allowed to be here in the first place?”
“No. She’s opening a bakery in Hollow Tree with an elven partner.”
“A bakery? Well that makes sense, I mean, the trolls and fae think sugar was provided by the Goddess herself.”
“Yes.” He smiled a little.
He grinned. “So, Gerrod of Merhaine in love with a baker.” He smiled then laughed, especially since Gerrod had balled up his hands once more.
Ethan sat down in the tall-backed chair opposite and chuckled. “I won’t tease you again. Now, tell me once more about the Invictus attack and just what you have in mind.”
Gerrod replayed the incident over in his mind, ignoring the parts that involved Abigail so thoroughly, although he did mention that she helped save the troll boy.
“How?”
“She pathed the need for me to extend my power and cover them.”
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head back and forth. When his eyes popped open, he said, “Uh, say what?”
“Yes,” Gerrod mused. “Abigail, though human, is telepathic. And she can attach my personal frequency.”
One brow rose, but no smile this time. “Gerrod, do I need to point out the obvious?”
Gerrod sighed, but he could feel his scowl deepening “The answer is that I don’t know what she is, or why a human would have these capabilities. Maybe she’s the missing link.”
“The creature that connects our DNA to humans.”
“Yes. I’ve wondered.”
“All right. Setting that aside, and that you have a conundrum to solve in this human female, I want to know more about what you saw with these Invictus, beyond the numbers and organization.”
“The organization is what concerns me. Their movements were more coordinated, attacking from different directions at once.”
“But no match for you.”
“It was more difficult. I got nicked a few times and one blade grazed my arm, leaving blood on my coat and leathers. That’s never happened before.”
“Shit. So, in some sense, this could have been a test run.”
“A test against me? Perhaps it was. Perhaps against all mastyrs.”
“I’ve never known the Invictus to be so intent on a single goal. What do you think is behind it?”
“An organizing force or person. Be wary, my friend. If someone has chosen to mobilize the Invictus, and also found a way to get them to work together, then Bergisson and all the realms could be at risk as well.” Ethan was the Mastyr Vampire of Bergisson Realm that opened onto a northern Louisiana city, in the same way that Merhaine had an access point at Flagstaff in Arizona.
Ethan’s mouth grew tight. “We’ve had increased activity in the west, which as you know is the location of the wastelands of our realm.”
Gerrod leaned forward. “Have you noticed a disappearance of realm-folk, of all species, but poorer, some who serve as prostitutes?”
“Not sure. The Guards in the south have been scratching their heads. I’ll ask for better stats.”
“There, you see. Some stealth is involved. This is not typical Invictus behavior.”
“You must be right.”
A knock sounded and Gus stepped into the room, his shoulders shifted forward. “Sorry to disturb, mastyrs, but there is a disturbance at Just Two Sweet?”
Gerrod leaned back and shifted in Gus’s direction. “In Flagstaff?”
“No, that would be Just Too Sweet!, T-double-oh. This is Two Sweet, as in the number two.”
Gerrod smiled. It was a little play on words, but a good one he thought.
“There it is,” Ethan said. “You’re smiling. I’ve known you a long time and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile.”
Words, of course, that brought his brow dropping low once more so that he scowled all over again. “So tell us, Augustus, what is happening at Just Two Sweet.”
“Apparently, Mistress Abigail has been yelling at the Merhaine press about the rights of all species to be free, in any realm, to conduct business however they believe they should desire to, or something like that.”
“Are you telling me she didn’t return to Flagstaff?” Hope, his enemy now, blossomed in his chest. She was still in Merhaine.
“Yes, mastyr.”
“Oh, dear Goddess.”
Ethan grinned. “If she gets the press worked up, she’ll start a fucking riot. Does she know women barely have the vote here?”
“I haven’t said anything. I suggest if you choose to come with me, you’ll keep your tongue as well.”
But Ethan merely laughed, not the most hopeful sound.
The next few minutes were spent getting the car and one taunting vampire organized enough to take to the road.
Fifteen minutes later, and within twenty yards of the bakery, Gerr
od had his driver stop the car. He saw Abigail across the street from the bakery, confronting a crowd of reporters. Something inside him twisted into a knot and held fast. She looked so different, yet the same, and absurdly wonderful.
She wore a tank top in purple, a light green sweater that barely reached her waist, and jeans. On her feet were flip-flops, much too large. Her hair was in a ponytail and the absence of makeup made her look much younger than last night.
Still this more youthful look made him want to jump from the car and haul her to safety even though he knew she wasn’t in any real danger. The press could be obnoxious but never abusive.
His heart started pounding as though it knew what it wanted and his personal frequency began a dreadful kind of wail that he hadn’t felt before or was he hearing it?
This is ridiculous.
As he looked her up and down, however, he realized she must have borrowed clothes from his staff. Somehow that made her more real in his life and his heart set up a new kind of racket.
How calm she appeared, gesturing to the crowd of reporters with her hands. Her back was straight although her neck arched forward.
Ethan rolled down the window. “I can’t hear what she’s saying but the tone of her voice sounds very passionate.”
Gerrod had grown single-minded and had only one real thought, that she had been very passionate last night.
And he wished like hell he could do it all over again.
Chapter Five
“Are you dating the Mastyr of Merhaine?” one of the reporters called out.
This question, which Abigail decided would be the last of the interview, startled her and apparently everyone else because the crowd fell silent. She thought of Augustus and his trollish, efficient, but very gossipy self. Had the news spread so fast about events last night?
Evening had descended but at least two stands of bright floodlights kept her blinking.
“Am I dating the Master of Merhaine?” she asked. “I don’t see what that has to do with my rights to open the bakery in Hollow Tree, a business that the good City Council approved with a vote of five-to-two? If you have complaints, you should seek out the council members, not me or my wonderful business partner, Elena Goshanne. And now, we have some invoices to review.”
She turned her back on the crowd of microphones and reporters and flashing cameras. Really, the news in Merhaine must be thin today if the press corps had turned out to hassle two women intent on selling cupcakes to realm-folk. Surely, all these reporters should be doing some heavy investigative work on the latest Invictus attack.
She watched for traffic and when she saw an opening, she started to cross. She glanced up the street and recognized a castle car in the distance, a big black car, a car meant to hold Guard-size bodies. Her heart added a few extra beats, but she kept walking. If Gerrod was in there, she didn’t want the press to know. That they had even asked about whether or not she was ‘dating’ him, couldn’t be a good thing. What a rumor-mill Merhaine was, feeding , nay feasting on every morsel of gossip however insignificant.
She went inside the shop. It was modeled on the one in Flagstaff, just bigger since there were a lot of sweet-tooths in the realm panting for Just Two Sweet! to open.
Two dozen round tables in stainless steel were scattered at the front of the shop, then wrapped around to the right side of the bakery. The far right wall housed a long row of red booths. At each table were stainless steel chairs and red leather upholstered seats, both types of seating comfortable yet not necessarily designed to keep anyone talking for hours.
The bakery was not a coffee shop but had a self-serve counter for baked goods and another bar for coffee and tea. All the baking would be done by a well-trained staff in the back behind stainless steel swinging doors, everything to code. Yep, there was even ‘code’ in Merhaine.
Of course larger orders would be handled separately.
She didn’t find Elena at first, but eventually tracked her down in the storeroom sitting on the floor. “What’s going on?”
Elena put her hand to her chest. “I…I don’t like having the reporters shouting like that.”
Abigail shrugged. “They have to shout because it’s their job to get the story. If they don’t, the managers of the Times, or the Merhaine Star, or the Hollow County Enquirer will fire them.”
“You must do this a lot then.”
Abigail laughed. “Never. When we announced the grand opening of Just Too Sweet, we had thirty of our friends show up, half a dozen people from off the street, and not a single reporter in sight. No, this is all about me being human. You know it is.”
“I suppose so.”
Elena tugged at her right ear, then slipped her finger up the outer groove all the way into the narrow, pointed cap. She was an elf, and had elegant ears which she had pierced a couple of times. Tiny stars dangled from silver loops.
Abigail could see she was distressed, so she sat down beside her on the floor of the storeroom and took her hand. Of all the realm-folk, the elven population was more equivalent in size to humans, contrary to earth-based myths. And fae and elves, while similar, had distinct, separate DNA.
“Please don’t worry so much, Elena. I promise I’ll stay in the back and just do the baking and decorating, or at least I’ll keep after the staff to get everything done.” Abigail had learned this much about herself, that she enjoyed management more than the actual baking. Though Megan loved to bake, Abigail was much happier checking invoices, tallying up the day’s sales, talking with the staff about scheduling problems, all basic management issues for a small business.
She’d even begun thinking of creating a franchise set-up, not because of the baked goods, but because the idea of expansion really appealed to her.
Elena smiled. “For someone who has a bakery, I think it odd that you don’t love all the baking and decorating, which I find to be very enjoyable.”
Abigail shrugged. “I like it well enough. But the truth is I opened Just Too Sweet! for my sister. She was very sickly for a long time, though she’s doing much better now, but she did like to bake. We set up a workstation for her that had a variety of stools and every electrical appliance available on the market so she wouldn’t have to exert herself.”
“What was wrong with her?”
“Bad lungs, asthma. But she’s gotten better. She even has two children now and a good husband, of course.”
“Yet you worry about her still?”
She glanced at Elena. “I suppose I do. She’s been my responsibility ever since I can remember. Even before our parents died, my mother would say, ‘You’re older. You need to take care of your little sister’.”
Elena laughed. “My mother used to tell me the same thing.”
“It’s universal. Can’t escape it.”
She heard the front door jingle.
“I like that sound,” Elena said.
“You’ll learn to love it once we open. It means customers. That’s probably another delivery.” She turned toward the door slightly and called out, “Back here.”
She stayed put and continued to hold Elena’s hand.
The swinging steel doors parted, but instead of delivery personnel, two large vampires walked through.
Each wore the traditional Guard uniforms of soft draped woven shirts, Gerrod in burgundy, the other vampire, who looked really familiar, in a deep mossy green. Topping it all were the traditional sleeveless, long, sexy-as-hell, coats, which she knew from the forest embrace was made of the softest buttery leather. Shoulder straps drew attention to broad shoulders and expansive chests. The pants were the sexiest black leather. The unknown vampire had his leathers all studded down the sides with large silver medallions.
Her gaze fell to the boots. She had unbuckled Gerrod’s for him last night, which was the only thing she could think as her gaze drifted back up to his absurdly handsome face.
She blinked and her heart flipped over a couple of times.
She hadn’t seen Gerrod since
they’d shared a bed most of the day.
The other vampire spoke. “Well, hello ladies. What’s goin’ on in here? Havin’ a little sit down? A little party, maybe? Need some company?”
Abigail shifted her gaze to the other vampire then she got it: Mastyr Ethan of Bergisson Realm. His smile broadened to reveal a set of big handsome teeth. What a flirt. But she liked his smile so she smiled back.
“Just gabbin’.” She jumped to her feet. Elena followed, but Abigail could sense that her business partner was very nervous. And why wouldn’t she be? She doubted Elena had ever been in the company of two mastyrs before.
Gerrod introduced his companion, “Mastyr Ethan of Bergisson Realm.”
“Nice to meet you,” Abigail said. She thrust out her hand and Ethan took it, but what followed opened her eyes wide. She could feel his vibration, just as she had Gerrod’s. “Oh, my God.”
Ethan, on the other hand, drew a little closer. “What the hell is that? Are you—”
But he got no further.
Gerrod moved with lightning speed, breaking the connection by putting his massive body in front of Abigail, facing away from her. He then muscled her backwards into the storeroom.
“Hey,” she called out. She even shoved at his back but it was like trying to push a concrete wall out of the way.
She glanced at Elena who had decided the farthest corner of the supply closet was a really good idea.
She tilted to get a look at Mastyr Ethan to see what he was doing. But he held up his hands like he was under arrest and Gerrod was holding a gun on him.
“I didn’t mean anything by it, Gerrod. She offered her hand and we both know it’s a polite human thing to take a hand and shake it. I just didn’t expect for her to access my personal frequency. See, I’m stepping away.” He started backing up. “In fact, I’m going in the other room, and then all the way outside. Yep, I’m going outside.”