Blood Love (God Wars Book 4) (25 page)

"Are all hyperactive vampires this insufferable?" I asked. Yes, my grumpy side is always in control when I wake. It's the law of inevitability, sort of like death and taxes.

"I'm insufferable?" He pointed to his chest in mock disbelief.

"No, honey, I'm just teasing," I pulled myself into a sitting position and raked tangled hair away from my face.

"I like it when you call me honey." Charles rose and settled on the side of my bed so he could put an arm around me.

"Yeah." I leaned my head on his shoulder with a contented sigh. "Where's everybody else?"

"Having breakfast. I offered to get you up," he kissed my forehead. "But I wanted to watch you sleep for a few minutes first."

"Sounds like a chore," I muttered.

"No—none of that. It makes me happy. Fills my heart with good feelings," Charles murmured before kissing me again.

"Can the good feelings extend to the bathroom, so I can clean up and brush my teeth?"

"Haven't you discovered you can do that with power yet? The Saa Thalarr do it all the time."

"Really? What do you know about that?" I asked. Yes, he'd know that in the future, but this Charles? That puzzled me.

"I'll have you know that Adam Chessman, our former Chief Enforcer, is Saa Thalarr. Wlodek knows it. Merrill knows it and my sire Flavio knows it. I'm naturally curious. Haven't you figured that out, yet?"

"So you admit you're nosy," I pointed out.

"With an enormous amount of pride," he chuckled. "Now get with it, clean up with power and let's get to breakfast before they eat everything."

"If Trajan orders, that's a real possibility," I said. Charles laughed.

* * *

"We killed four Sirenali, but I'm still concerned that they might bring in more," Hank said during breakfast. I sat across the table from him, squeezed between Charles and Jayson. Jayson looked like anyone might after losing a parent, so I'd sent him
Love
the moment I took my seat at the table.

He'd perked up a little afterward, so I resolved to send him more
Love
later. Kevis was seated on Jayson's other side, so I figured somebody had deliberately placed him between the two who might do him the most good.

"They may have already done that," Kal said. "If the Khos'Mirai is operating true to form, he may have advised such."

"That's not good," I said. I knew from reading Lissa how dangerous Saxom's twin could be. "Who knows how many Sirenali he might tell them to bring? How much danger do you think we're in because the Khos'Mirai is interfering?"

"I think it's one of his clones, but the results will be the same." Hank blew an aggravated stream of smoke. "There is no way to tell how many Sirenali were rescued from their destruction in the past by our enemy. With the Khos'Mirai directing the movement of Sirenali, that will be a convenient way for the enemy to trap the unsuspecting and pull them into their forces. If all are eventually obsessed, what might we do to intervene?"

I stared at Hank in alarm. Somehow, I wasn't sure he wanted that information revealed—at least in the way it was. "I understood that the Khos'Mirai's agenda was to cause destruction—for everybody, and not just for the opposition," I said. "That his heritage makes him desire chaos. To think he might be on your side is to court disaster."

"What heritage are you talking about?" Bill leaned in so he could see me from farther down the table.

"He's half Bright Elemaiya and half Dark Elemaiya—just like his twin, Saxom. I worry that since Saxom appears to be back in business, that his obsession with Kiarra may manifest again." I shook my head—how easy would it be to blame Griffin for that? He'd chosen Saxom as a healer long ago. For a time, Saxom had performed his duties and hid his true nature. His obsession with Kiarra finally caused him to reveal himself, and he'd died for it.

Except he was back again, and likely ready to create havoc again. This time, however, he had powerful, rogue gods at his back. I shivered, just thinking about it. Well, there wasn't anything else I could do except send mindspeech to my sister.

Lissa?
I'd had to gauge the time difference, but it wasn't difficult.

Bree? Where are you?

Same place
, I sent.
I just wanted to warn you—with Saxom likely back in the saddle, I worry that he'll ask for help to get to Kiarra. Has she been warned? Are they taking precautions?

Adam and Merrill are keeping her at NorthStar as much as possible, because Ashe has it shielded, in addition to SouthStar and EastStar
, Lissa replied.
I'll let her know you're concerned, too, in case she feels like escaping for a while.

Yeah,
I said.
We don't need anybody else captured or killed.

I hear that
, Lissa agreed.
I'll tell Merrill, Adam and Pheligar, too
.

Thanks
, I said and ended the conversation.

* * *

NorthStar—present

Adam's Journal

"Sweetheart, it's not just this timeline—what if they come after you back then? It's only us in that timeline where Breanne is, now—you, me and Justin in Fresno. How can we protect you better?"

Kiarra frowned at me. That meant she was irritated and studying the problem at the same time.

"I see you have discovered the difficulty in all this," Pheligar appeared beside us. Kiarra and I stood on the deck outside her suite in the early morning light. A thin fog lay over the gishi trees below us as we considered the problem.

"You and I were doing a difficult dance back then," Kiarra pointed a finger at Pheligar. "You muted the M'Fiyah between us, remember?"

"I recall it perfectly," Pheligar said. "I regret the wasted time."

"I regret more than that, and one of those things I regret is Saxom. Fucking Saxom. Bastard asshat shit-sticky Saxom," Kiarra muttered. She was never one to hold back the profanity; Pheligar had gotten used to that fact long ago. I was still coming to terms with it, especially as she often invented new expressions.

"Shit-sticky?" One of my eyebrows lifted minutely.

"Don't ask," she shuddered.

"I only wanted to make sure I wasn't traveling in the wrong direction."

"Ah, fecal expressions. How little I enjoy them," Pheligar sighed.

"That doesn't solve our problem in the past," Merrill walked onto the deck where Kiarra, Pheligar and I were having our conversation. Pheligar had likely included him in the discussion wherever he was, and he'd chosen to join us now.

"It does not solve the problem," Pheligar agreed. It's surprising how he can express irritation without actually traveling the entire distance to that emotion.

"We can't pull ourselves out of there—can we?" I asked. "Wouldn't that change too much?"

"It could," Pheligar said. "It is better not to disrupt that time, as any changes could result in catastrophe later. Only the Three might involve themselves and still make things turn out as they should."

"What about placing guards? Ashe and Breanne appear to have their hands full, and we still don't know about Wisdom. He or she could be doing important work elsewhere," Merrill said.

"I can ask for Larentii guards," Pheligar said. "They can be discreet and disguise themselves as humans. Traveling in time will not be an issue for them. Shall I ask Ferrigar?"

"That's the best solution I know," I agreed. "Saxom and any Sirenali pets he has can't get past a Larentii—with power or obsession. If a rogue god shows up, the Larentii can send a message to Ashe or Breanne."

"I will visit Ferrigar now." Pheligar disappeared.

"This is crazy," Kiarra shook her head.

"That much is certain." I pulled her into my arms.

* * *

Earth—past

Breanne's Journal

He needs you
. Hank's words were a plea for me to take Jayson back to the room Hank and I shared, only this time, we'd be alone. Hank wouldn't be there, to make me feel safe with Jayson. The thought of being alone with him and his desires frightened me.

Baby, don't be scared. Don't you think he knows not to hurt you? He needs sex, not play time
, Hank attempted to reassure me.

"Come on," Jayson grabbed my hand and hauled me toward the elevator. It was obvious he and Hank had already had a conversation, and I'd been excluded until now. We rode up the elevator in silence, but Jayson hadn't let go of my hand. I knew I was shaking. He didn't comment. Maybe that's how he did things—how did I know? I still couldn't read him, and I'd never read Belinda—I was too afraid.

"Take off your clothes," Jayson demanded the moment he shut the hotel room door behind him.

"Jayson," I broke away from him and held up a hand.

"Breanne. My love. My heart. My unexpected. Please take off your clothes. I need your warm body beneath mine. Now."

I blinked at Jayson. He'd never called me anything like that. I stared at him. "And just for right now," he added, "I'd like to be me when we fuck."

I breathed a sigh as I removed his disguise—he now looked like the Jayson Rome I'd met on a cool night in San Rafael. He turned to study himself in the mirror outside the small closet. He was taller. Blond. Handsome, with brown eyes. "Yeah. This is the face I want you to see when I make you come. Take off your clothes, Bree. I want to touch every part of you before we fuck."

* * *

"Bree, it's lunchtime." Jayson brushed hair back from my face. I'd fallen asleep half-sprawled across his body, the fingers of my right hand curved around his neck.

I wasn't coherent when I mumbled a reply, I know that much.

"Here, now, what's this?" Jayson's fingers lazily stroked my face. Yes, I'd bitten him the first time we had sex—he wanted it really bad. For those people who are just dying (pun intended) to be vampire, let me tell you, the taste of blood in your mouth is no good thing to wake up to.

Need to brush my teeth
, I sent. I didn't want to open my mouth, that's for sure.

"Then get to it," he patted my behind before sliding off the bed and dragging me with him.

* * *

Bill had used the hours Jayson and I spent in bed to catch up on phone calls and track down more leads for obsessed humans. Four Sirenali had been killed, but their obsessions would outlive them. Janine was still out there unless I missed my guess, and who knew what she might end up doing?

The search for rogue-engineered gates continued on other worlds, and I had no idea how those investigations were progressing.

"At least the disappearances seem to have stopped, but we now have a shortage of plumbers, masons and such in the country's midsection," Bill grimaced. "I figure most of the missing may be at the bottom of that pit in Kansas."

"That dungeon took up a lot of space beneath the community. All of it imploded, taking the homes and businesses topside with it," Dan Kelsey said. He was still with us, although Griffin, Kal and Ildevar were gone. I'd missed seeing Griffin, and I couldn't really say how I felt about that. Yes, I was grateful for any help, but it made me feel more than uncomfortable. As for Kal and Ildevar, Hank said they'd left to run an errand and just hadn't come back yet.

"What about unusual activity—or increased crimes—murders and such?" Jayson asked. I'd given him more
Love
while he'd worked off some of his grief in bed with me, and he was ready to take anybody down who might have had something to do with his father's death.

Yes, Hank had already explained about the bodyguard, the driver and the Sirenali, but Jayson knew, just as the rest of us did, that this was a small portion of a larger plot. I was still a target, too, and I needed a new disguise to fool those hunting me.

Ashe and Kay walked in to join us for lunch—we were waiting for them before deciding where to go. I was tired of the limited vegetarian choices offered by the hotel restaurant, and the protein drinks were getting old, too.

"Let's go to NorthStar," Ashe sighed. "I got an invitation."

"But what about," I began. I didn't want Trajan or Bill placed in danger, because they were close by.

"Bree, we're with them. They'll be protected," Ashe said without mentioning names.

"Yeah," I hunched my shoulders. Ashe had been in the Mighty business for around four hundred years. I was still getting used to it. He'd recognized his power at age sixteen. I hadn't realized what I was until I was nearly sixty. Even then, somebody had to tell me. Just as Graegar said, it was a given I wasn't the Mighty Mind.

Bree
, Ashe sent,
your circumstances interfered. Stop worrying about that, okay?

How did you know what I was thinking?

Sweetheart, I love how your thoughts are on display at times.

Oh, sure
, I returned.
Make fun of me, why don't you?

Hey, if you two will stop mind texting, we can go eat
, Salidar DeLuca informed both of us.