Deep Deception (15 page)

Once they were done with customs, Adin phoned Edward and left a message. He’d made arrangements to stay at his favorite hotel, but wanted to see Edward as soon as he could. The sooner he could speak with Edward’s lover Tuan about their situation, the better he would feel.

In Tuan’s official capacity in the government agency dealing with the paranormal world—what Tuan jokingly referred to as “undead management”—he might have far more insight into Bran’s situation than any of them did. Adin was wholly new to this esoteric world, but he knew how Edward and Tuan would feel about the kidnapping of what appeared to be a very human boy.

Adin hoped Tuan would be able to provide answers for Bran as well.

As they left the airport he wanted to put an arm around the boy’s shoulder, but couldn’t because he had to pull his bag with his good arm.

Bran looked so young. Maybe he was anxious from his first plane ride or intimidated by a new city in a foreign country, but the events of the past few days were taking their toll. He had smudges under his eyes, and his usual bravado seemed faint. He went wherever Adin and Boaz led him, fairly quietly, following along like a baby chick.

Once they’d piled their luggage into the trunk of a taxi, he sat next to Adin in the back while Boaz chatted up the driver in the front passenger seat.

Adin continued to observe him in silence until he heard his cell phone ring. Both Bran and Boaz watched him when he pulled it out.

“It’s Edward, calling me back,” he told them, far more disappointed than they were that it wasn’t Donte.

“Finally,” he answered, gazing out the window as San Francisco seemed to fly by.

“You’re here?”

“Yes. We’ll be at the hotel in a few minutes. Did you get a chance to ask Tuan about my new friend?”

Bran raised an eyebrow at him.

“I did,” Edward answered. “Tuan wants to see you right away. Can you come straight here?”

“I can.” Adin leaned forward and gave the driver Edward’s address. He might have wanted to go to a hotel first, maybe get cleaned up, but he’d learned recently that Tuan’s expertise in a situation like this could save his life.

Boaz turned around in his seat and shot Adin a curious stare.

Adin shrugged. To Edward he said, “Boaz is here as well as Bran. Should they come too?”

“Absolutely. Tuan wants to talk to everyone. What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“I haven’t got the faintest clue.”

“How’s Donte? Have you heard anything?”

“No.” Adin clenched his teeth. He would
not
blow his cool.

“It’s going to be all right,” Edward said gently.

“I know.” Adin swallowed hard. “I’ll be there soon.”

He ended the call and leaned his head against the window.

Once they arrived, Edward opened the door of his attractive Victorian row house and immediately enveloped Adin in a hard hug. Adin clung to him, pressing his face against the colorfully inked skin of Edward’s neck, inhaling the familiar scent of the best friend he’d ever had.

“
Fuck
.” He tried not to cry, but the emotions of the previous days and the fact that Edward was crushing his soft cast between their bodies got the better of him. Edward rocked him for a second, soothing Adin until he couldn’t help but wince from the pressure. Adin pushed him gently away.

“I’m so sorry. I forgot about your arm.” Edward jingled with the music of multiple bracelets as he put his arm around Adin’s shoulder. “I’m so glad to see you.”

They ushered Bran inside while Tuan stepped out to greet Boaz and help with their luggage.

Adin watched them briefly from a window in the vestibule. As always he admired the fluid grace with which the bookish-looking Tuan moved. His jacket stretched across his back as he easily lifted Adin’s case from the trunk of the car.

“Oh, my man.” Edward sighed. “Isn’t he the bees’s knees?”

Bran appeared to stifle a laugh. Adin nodded. “He is exactly that.”

“Right, then.” Edward turned to Bran. “Let me get a look at you. Bran, yes?”

Bran nodded, running a nervous hand through his hair. Under the long, elegant coat Adin had purchased for him he wore a vintage suit, one of Adin’s crisp, colored dress shirts, and a spectacular, horrible tie.

Adin knew Edward, who still flogged the bad-boy vibe in a tight T-shirt and low-slung jeans, would love Bran on sight. Bran stared openmouthed until Edward, pierced and tatted everywhere, which lent him a somewhat fierce air, gave him a playful growl.

“What are you looking at?”

Bran jumped out of his skin. “Jesus.”

Edward folded his thin arms and grinned. “Gotcha.”

“You look exactly the same as you do in Adin’s dreams.”

“Adin dreams about you?” Tuan had walked in the door at the precise moment Bran said it.

Bran flushed. “Not like…you know.
Dreams
, dreams.”

“Careful, Bran,” Adin warned. “We don’t know if Tuan’s the jealous type.”

“He’s got no reason to be.” Edward answered for Tuan as he carelessly grabbed Bran’s hand to pull him into the parlor.

Adin’s eyes were on Tuan in that moment, but he felt a shudder all around him, a shockwave that rocked his body back like a light earthquake. His muscles tensed, and he put a hand to the wall. Everyone fell silent for a minute, waiting, Adin thought, to see if the quake would turn out to be a big one. When nothing further happened, Adin looked to Tuan again.

“Did you feel that?”

Tuan frowned. “Yes.”

Boaz’s face held surprise as he too, looked to Tuan. “Was that a quake?”

Tuan shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Adin glanced from the vestibule into the beautifully furnished room. Not an ornament was out of place. “What could it have been? Nothing seems to have fallen…”

“Look.” Boaz nudged Adin’s good arm, focusing his attention on Bran and Edward. They simply stared at each other, hands linked, oblivious to the people watching them or the time that passed.

“Edward?” Gently, Tuan placed his hand on Edward’s shoulder. “Come back, lover.”

Edward dropped Bran’s hand and shook his head as if to clear it. “
Tuan
.”

Bran appeared pale and dazed. He stared at his hand for a minute, saying nothing.

“What just happened?” Adin touched the small of Bran’s back. “Do you need to sit down?”

“No.” Bran continued to look at his hand. “Not really.”

“What was that?” Adin asked Edward.

Edward shook his head again. He looked to Tuan for an explanation.

Boaz, standing forgotten in the hallway, asked, “Did that shockwave happen when you touched Bran?”

Edward nodded.

“But he’s not a vampire.” Bran frowned. “I know I’m bad for vampires, but he’s human. I can tell he’s completely human.”

Edward’s and Tuan’s gazes met and they communicated something without words. Tuan nodded.

“I am
now
,” said Edward. “But I wasn’t born human.”

Chapter Sixteen

At Edward’s house, no matter what else the situation called for, there would always be tea. He poured graciously from an ornate ceramic teapot into paper-thin china cups, depositing them—on their saucers—in front of each guest.

A dazzling chandelier hung from the ceiling above, throwing light onto the perfect gloss of the mahogany table. Framed art decorated the walls. Due to Edward’s work as an art dealer and his family connections to a number of well-known artists, the collection was stunning. It sometimes intimidated Adin to find himself sipping tea under what he knew to be a genuine Chagall, or the very personal Picasso line drawing of Edward’s maternal grandmother.

Edward cleared his throat. “Tuan and I wanted to talk to you before you took Bran to the hotel. I thought…well. We thought…” His gaze met Tuan’s again.

Tuan continued for him. “When you called us about Bran, everything you described was familiar. Eerily similar—in a way—to Edward’s own experience. As near as we can tell, Edward is a changeling.”

“That explains a lot.” Adin sighed.

“In my case,” Edward ignored the jibe, “the process reached completion on my eighteenth birthday as it was intended to.” Edward didn’t look at all happy about this. “I’m entirely human.”

“I knew there was more to Edward’s story when I met him.” Tuan admitted. “When we talked I realized there was something unusual about him.”

“What was your first clue?” Adin asked drily. Edward’s appearance—from his spiked blond hair to his piercings, his body art, and the Doc Marten boots he tied with rainbow laces—was so thoroughly
different
that he was a one-man traveling sideshow. Edward shot Adin his trademark smile, and Adin’s heart melted a little.

Boaz asked, “What seemed familiar to you about Bran?”

“Certainly Bran’s ability to read your dreams,” Edward explained. “When I was young, I thought all children could see each other’s dreams. I could search through someone’s memories if there was something I wanted to know about them. I could push thoughts into their awareness. Naturally I learned very young to hide everything that singled me out as different.”

“Since then, you’ve pretty much abandoned conformity on principle, haven’t you?” Adin asked. “What changed?”

“I’m like everyone else now, anyway.” Edward cuffed him playfully. “But I’m able to sense the difference between the mundane and the magical. I knew Boaz was no more human than Donte from the very beginning.”

“What the hell?” Adin wanted to smack him. “And you never told me?”

“What was I going to say? You obviously didn’t know anything and I wasn’t sure—at the time—that you needed to.” Edward pulled at the hoops in his ear, a nervous habit of his. “I had no idea why I was different when we were kids, for years I thought it was highly evolved gaydar.”

Tuan snorted at that.

“I learned never to speak of these things because people didn’t understand. Whenever I tried, even my own family thought I was a liar or mental or both. Except my grandmother, thank heavens. She told me to keep my mouth shut and my eyes wide open.”

“That’s actually excellent advice,” said Tuan.

“She was a terrific old lady.” Edward smiled at some memory. “Then later I met Tuan and he told me things I’d never known about the true nature of the world, about the vampires and other entities who inhabit it. When the supernatural world caught up with you, Adin… It seemed like too much to tell all at once. Where could I even begin?”

“We’re going to have a long conversation very soon,” Adin said darkly. “Do I need to worry about werewolves and other things too?”

Tuan didn’t meet his eyes and Edward shrugged.

“Well,
shit
…”

“What’s different about you, Edward?” Bran asked. “Now that you’re human?”

Edward put his hand on Bran’s and even though he expected it, Adin was still surprised to feel the shock when it came, as if some sort of energy—or magic—escaped into the world when Bran and Edward touched. They’d tried it several times, and the effect appeared to be diminishing.

Edward took his hand back and picked up his tea. “I’m restricted to my own head,” he said quietly. “I used to be able to come and go from…other places.”

“I understand.” Bran nodded tightly.

Edward turned to Adin. “Tuan and I think Bran should stay with us.”

“What?” Adin looked from Edward to Tuan. They both smiled. “But Bran’s my responsibility.”

“It’s a good solution,” Tuan told him. “Edward and Bran have a connection, whatever it is. We can protect him. There are no vampires here, nor are there likely to be any in the near future. And when Donte arrives you’ll need to rethink things, won’t you?”

Adin nodded. Tuan had left the words hanging but Adin knew if Donte followed him he would need to keep his distance from Bran. Maybe he was already staying away for that reason. Adin turned to Bran, his tea hovering between his saucer and his lips, forgotten.

“What do you think, Bran?” Adin asked.

Bran frowned and looked toward Edward. “Would you really want me to stay?”

“We talked about it before you came because it seemed like a good solution to your vampire-allergy problem. But now…” Edward nodded and took Bran’s hand again. This time Adin barely felt the flood of energy passing between them. “You feel like a part of me. Something I lost and found again. Maybe you give me a little of my magic back.”

“Do you think we’re related?”

Adin shook his head. “I doubt that. Harwiche said you had no living relatives. He was fairly certain on that point.”

“But maybe we’re the same type of being, right?” Bran said hopefully.

Edward grinned. “Maybe so.”

“It’s possible that’s why I felt such a strong urge to protect Bran. He felt familiar. Maybe I saw Edward in him all along.”

Tuan nodded. “He does remind me of you, but I didn’t know you at that age.”

“Did you see my dreams in those days?” Adin asked.

Edward blushed and looked at his hands. “Maybe.”

Adin gave him a shove. “
You bastard.
How embarrassing.”

Bran’s lips turned up in the beginning of a shy smile—the first real smile Adin had seen on his face since they’d arrived.

“It might be nice to stay here for a few days.” Bran looked to Adin for permission.

“You can stay wherever you’re happy,” Adin told him sincerely. “I promise you, Boaz and I will be around if you need us.”

Boaz agreed. “We’ll need to get him a phone like yours, Adin. But if he wants to stay here, I believe Donte would agree. It’s a good solution. Tuan?”

“Perfectly fine.” Tuan nodded. He watched Edward—and Bran now too–with an oddly satisfied look on his handsome face. “It’s like they’re brothers and even if it’s not by blood, that makes Bran my brother too. He’s family. We’ll take good care of him.”

“Then it’s settled, for now.” Edward clapped his hands like a child and turned to Bran. “I suppose you like all sorts of junk food and sweets that are bad for you?”

Bran blushed and mumbled, “I suppose so.”

“Thank
heavens
.” Edward pulled the boy from his chair. “I have a ton of menus. Let’s go pick something awful and have it delivered.” To Tuan he said, “We’ll be in the sunroom.”

Tuan wore an enigmatic smile as he watched them leave. His glasses reflected the lamplight. The glare, coupled with his conservative dress and how he sat holding his cup and saucer made him look more like an accountant than ever. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with
two
of them.”

“Are you certain it’s what you want? You have to think long-term.”

“If it makes Edward happy then it’s fine with me. We have plenty of room. It will take a little getting used to.”

“As long as you’re sure.” Adin smiled at how tired Tuan already sounded. “I was hoping you’d be able to tell me more about Bran.”

“There’s no real way of knowing exactly what he is. When I met Edward, it was clear he was an elemental entity who’d been exchanged for a human child, so that’s as good a guess for Bran as any.”

“How was that clear to you? I’ve known him forever. Edward is just…Edward. I mean he’s impulsive and a little wild…”

Tuan grinned. “I saw right away he had earth magic in spades. He’s still a tremendously gifted empath when he isn’t all about himself. More than that, he’s able to discern the occult nature of others. Which is distinctly uncomfortable if you’re hiding something.” Tuan grimaced and cleared his throat. “That is… I would imagine.”

Adin felt more than a little angry. “He’s my best friend. Why would he tell you and not me?”

“Remind me to tell you exactly how we met sometime. Suffice it to say that Edward has gotten himself into a situation or two where he required rescuing.” Tuan flashed his white teeth in a predatory smile. “And I have awesome ninja powers.”

Boaz interrupted. “If Bran’s an elemental that wouldn’t explain the effect he has on vampires. Elementals are only marginally magical. They’re not even like imps.”

“Unless he’s an earth elemental like Edward.” Tuan looked toward the door where Edward and Bran had disappeared. “They stand as a harmonizing agent, stabilizing the possible destructive powers of the fire, air and water elementals.”

“Ah.
Earth
.” Boaz nodded. “Santos said Bran was made of nature itself.”

Tuan sighed. “That would explain why the vampire aged. The Earth elementals are tied to time and seasons. They’re a part of the very force that makes things grow and ripen and die. A vampire in proximity to Bran is a peach in a brown paper bag.”

“Donte looked so tired right away. I thought it was just being in proximity to a teenager.”

“He would have felt Bran’s power. He might even have discerned its cause.” Boaz lifted his eyes to Adin.

Adin sighed. “Oh, man. I
suck
as a boyfriend.”

“You didn’t know.”

“Because he thought he couldn’t tell me.”

“You don’t know that,” Tuan told him.

“But I do.” Adin rubbed his face tiredly. “So much makes sense now. Boaz, you know Donte. I think he was afraid I’d be forced to choose between being with him and protecting Bran.”

“You might be right,” Boaz agreed. “It’s just the kind of—”

“Ridiculous, harebrained, poorly thought-out,
didn’t even bother to ask me first
kind of thing he’d—”

“It’s odd how he’s always using the same words to describe you,” said Boaz.

“Well,
shit
.”

Tuan laughed. “Be that as it may, that doesn’t explain Harwiche’s plan, or who else might be after Bran.”

Adin lowered his voice. “Harwiche said the changeling process was interrupted, and that makes Bran a walking stem cell donor. I don’t even think he knew for certain. I think it was all conjecture and wishful thinking…”

“
Harwiche
.” Tuan made a face. “He’s little more than a pimp. He’s greedy and amoral, and his wealth comes from the suffering of innocents over centuries. It’s not any surprise to me that he thought kidnapping Bran was nothing more than another business deal.”

“He’s dying,” said Adin.

Tuan shrugged. “He’s clutching at straws. He had a boy kidnapped on the off chance that he could prolong his life. There’s no downside to him for trying it.”

“How could he find a physician who would go along with it?” asked Edward.

“Money?” Tuan suggested. “He’s got boatloads of it.”

Adin suddenly felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. “It seems as if each day brings something unfathomable. Like
Alice in Wonderland
if it was written by Jack the Ripper.”

“Sometimes things happen like that, I’m sorry.” Tuan’s sad smile was sincere. “Where will you be heading from here?”

“I don’t even know. We were on our way to the hotel when Edward called so we had the cab bring us here.”

Boaz stood. “If it pleases you, Dr. Tredeger, I’ll call a taxi to take us to the hotel, and then in the morning we can make plans to rent a car. We can head for the estate Donte uses when he’s in the area. I telephoned Donte’s friend, and it’s unoccupied and available for use at any time.”

Adin smiled with gratitude. “Thank you.”

“Excuse me, then,” Boaz said, taking his phone from his pocket and heading to the foyer where the luggage sat waiting.

Tuan subjected Adin to his intense gaze for a while. “Do you love Donte Fedeltà?”

“I do. Very much.”

“That’s highly interesting to me. You don’t seem the undead-groupie type.”

“It’s complicated.” Adin frowned.

“Believe me, I understand.” Tuan glanced down at Adin’s tea. “Do you want something stronger than that?”

Adin shook his head. “I’m taking pain meds for my arm.”

Boaz returned to the room. “The cab will be here shortly.”

The three of them headed toward the soft music playing at the back of the house. When they got there, they found Edward and Bran on a small window seat full of overstuffed cushions overlooking the garden, fast asleep.

Edward had slung a careless arm around Bran, who snored softly. Even as they watched, the climbing vines outside seemed to grow and twine around the window frame, draping down to shade them. Maybe Bran was right. It seemed that fairytales carried more than a kernel of truth. Adin’s throat tightened.

Brothers.

“They look like brothers,” Adin whispered.

“Ah, damn.”
Tuan sighed. “This is going to require a lot more gardening than I have time for.”