Fashionably Dead (32 page)

“Rachel give Mommmeeeey present?” she asked.

God, she was cute.
“Okay, baby,” I told her.

“Rachel’s present will hurt Mommmmmy, but she needs it. Okey dokey, Mommmmy?” she inquired, showing me her razor sharp little claws which were glowing a gorgeous sparkly iridescent silver pink.

What the fu . . . ?
Today had to go down as the weirdest day of my life.

“Okay Rachel, how long will it take you to give Mommy your present?” I asked nervously.

She giggled, “Rachel go fast. Me no like to hurt Mommy.” She jumped up on me and made her way to my chest. She settled herself under my right collarbone and went to work.

Holy hell! Hurt didn’t even begin to describe it.
The pain felt like hot poisoned lava burning my skin. I shut my eyes tight and with super Vampyre strength willed myself to stay still. I tried to count but all I wanted to do was die.

Finish . . .

God, please . . .

I was falling off of a cliff made of fire. A flock of sad beautiful white birds flew by and looked at me, but they didn’t try to save me. Angry voodoo dolls shot bloody fire arrows at my body, and Elvis was dancing on my grave. Naked . . .
WTF?
I realized I was inside Rachel’s mind and it was not a real good place to be. Then it stopped.

“Finished, Mommmmmy,” Rachel whispered. I opened my eyes and all four of them stood quietly on my chest, watching me.

“It’s a tattoo?” I asked Rachel. My voice sounded scratchy and far away. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that tattoos didn’t last on Vampyres. I was too scared she would try again.

“Angel Wings. Rachel give Mommy Angel Wing tattoo!” she trilled. “If Mommmy touches it, she gets more stronger.”

Well shit, I didn’t need to be any stronger than I already was, but I figured I’d try them out. I gingerly touched my wings. They felt hot to the touch. I shot some Glitter Magic at my Demons. It blasted out of my fingertips like bullets and knocked my little babies clear across the room. I freaked and ran to them only to find them laughing like hyenas and screaming.

“Again, again,” they screeched.

God, they were tough little suckers.
I scooped them up and gently kissed each one of them. In my hands, I held four amazingly powerful little creatures who loved me. They shared their gifts with me because they loved me . . . just the way I was.

I looked down at myself and realized I was still in my Prada dress and the kickass stilettos and I started to cry. I hated Ethan so much. I was no longer mated to him. He was no longer mine and I was no longer his. I felt broken, like I’d experienced a death. Why did it hurt so bad? I’d only known him a month. Why did it feel like my heart had been shredded? I cried harder. The mating probably didn’t even count because I was a Demon. I should have known it was too good to be true.

Men were bad. I will never forget that again. That was the only thing that my mother had ever been right about.

I would do my duty though. I would prove my worth to the King and do whatever I had to do to save him and his people, and then I would leave. I would fulfill my destiny as the Chosen One, and then I would disappear.

I would never lay eyes on the Prince of the North American Dominion again. I’d go to Europe or Australia, or maybe I’d die while I was saving everybody. I really didn’t care. My heart was broken and all I had left was my pride. He had already taken my heart. He could not have my pride. Ever.

“Asscrack?” Pam yelled, banging on my door. “Get your sorry butt out to the TV room, fast. We’ve got business to take care of and Jerry Springer comes on in thirty-eight minutes. So haul ass!”

God, I was happy to be home.
I was safe. I knew what to expect here . . . Jerry Springer, swear words and unconditional love. I quickly changed into some awesome jeans, my favorite pale coffee-colored camisole, a thick brown belt and some rockin’ dark brown Doc Marten combat boots. With my pale skin and fangs, I looked very Vamp chic. I glanced back at the stilettos and the dress crumpled on the floor and felt my eyes fill up.
Stop.
I would not cry for him anymore.

I had to stop loving people who didn’t love me back. I was so empty on the inside, but time and distance from him would heal that. I was a Vampyre, damn it. I was going to live for God knew how many years. I would meet hundreds and thousands of guys that would make Ethan look like the asshole that he was. I plastered a big fake smile on my face, threw my shoulders back and left my room.

But I really didn’t believe a word of that shit. Help me, Jesus.

“Pam? The Kev? Gemma?” I yelled as I hurried down the hall, “I’ve missed you so . . . ” I stopped dead in my tracks. Gemma was sitting on my couch between two people I didn’t know. A statuesque black woman, whose beauty was so riveting it, was ridiculous. She looked about thirty. Her skin was a creamy, dark mocha. Her lips were full and her eyes were an amethyst purple. They were shaped like a cat’s and were fringed with long black lashes. She had a big bosom and long legs. She was beyond stunning.

The man though was a joke. I was sure my eyes were playing tricks on me. I thought Vampyres were beautiful? They had nothing on this guy . . . although I personally thought Ethan was prettier. No. Stop. Ethan was dead to me. The man on my couch had blonde hair and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. He had the face of a god and the body of an Olympic champion. I felt like a total shlub in front of these strangers. Gemma looked different too, even more beautiful than usual. What in the hell was going on?

“What the fuck are you staring at, Asswipe?” The gorgeous woman on the couch bellowed at me.

“Pam?” I was in shock.

“Who in the hell else would I be, dumbass?”

The man on the couch chuckled and smiled lovingly at me. “The Kev?” I asked.

“Yes, my Krumecaca, it’s me.” His accent was gone! Imagine that. He put his arms out and I ran to him.

“You guys look . . . um . . . well . . . ” I didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

“I look fuckin’ hot is how I look,” Pam yelled, yanking me off The Kev’s lap and onto hers. Damn, she was strong. “Let me look at you, child.” She examined my collar bone and nodded with satisfaction at my tattoo. “It’s about time those little bastards branded you.”

“You know about my Demons?”
Did I have any secrets at all?

“Of course I know about them,” Pam shouted. How could someone so beautiful be so loud and obnoxious? “I know everything, jackass. They’re Fallen Angel Demons and they’re under my jurisdiction.” She pressed on my Angel Wing tattoo.

“Tattoos don’t last on Vampyres,” I told her.

“That one will,” Pam informed me, “that ain’t no normal tattoo.”

I’d heard everything now. I turned to Gemma who sat quietly watching me. “How long have you known about these two super models?” I asked her.

“Not long,” she laughed, “but I had a feeling because of their auras.” She looked at The Kev and blushed. He put his arm around her possessively.

“Is there anything I should know?” I poked her with my combat boot-covered foot. She looked up at me and I was amazed. Gemma’s eyes were a sparkling glittery silver and her skin had an otherworldly glow. She looked like a magical Fairy Princess.

She smiled, took my hand in hers and gently pulled me down on the couch. She was trembling. “Dude,” she whispered and giggled. “It’s all insane. I am totally in love with him.” She looked at The Kev, who gently kissed her. I squeezed her hand, willing her to go on. “I know what I am now and although I’m scared . . . I can do it.”

I swallowed hard when Gemma took my face into her warm loving hands. “You are the reason I can do it. Your bravery and the way you’ve kept your humanity when it would be so easy to let it go, makes me believe I’ll be okay, too. I love you so much, Astrid.” She started to cry and lovely silvery diamond tears slid down her lovely face.

“What are you?” I whispered, wiping her tears away.

“It’s what I will be. I’m not there yet,” she said.

“Can you still be a Prada whore?”

Gemma laughed, “But of course . . . once a Prada whore, always a Prada whore.”

“Thank God,” I muttered. “So?”

“So, I am the reincarnation of the Fairy Queen.”

“For real?” I asked.

“For real,” she replied.

“Immortal?” I held my breath.

“Yep,” Gemma squealed.

Oh. My. God.
This was the best news in the world. It almost eclipsed the fact that I was single again. Gemma and I could be friends for thousands of years. Literally. “Are you guys totally sure about this?” I hadn’t even realized reincarnation was possible. Then again I hadn’t known Vampyres or Demons or God only knew what else was possible either.

“Yes, we are very sure,” The Kev said. “She died about seven hundred years ago in the last major war with the Underworld. I have been waiting for her for a long time.” He was so obviously in love with her. I hated myself, but I felt a pang of jealousy.

I wanted Ethan to love me like that. Wait. No, I didn’t. I didn’t want him at all . . . ever. Besides, he didn’t want me. I would never think about him again. Good luck with that.

“What do you mean you’re not there yet?” She looked like a Fairy Queen to me.

“Well . . . ” Gemma started.

“For fuck’s sake,” Pam groaned, “you people are taking too damn long, and my program is about to come on. She has to break the four Mortal Strings before she becomes the Queen again.”

“Mortal Strings?” I asked.

“If you’d shut your cakehole,” Pam bellowed, “I’ll finish.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing. She may be beautiful, but she was still nasty. “The first string she had to break was feeding a Vampyre.” Pam pointed at me. “That was you. The second was falling in love with a Fairy . . . that was him.” She pointed at The Kev. “Then of course she had to fuck the Fairy.”

I burst out laughing as The Kev and Gemma looked mortified to have their sex life discussed so crudely and bluntly by Pam.

“The fourth Mortal String,” Pam went on, enjoying everyone’s embarrassment, “well . . . we don’t know what in the hell the fourth Mortal String is. She’ll just have to figure it out like she did the others.” Pam sat there for a moment and then looked at Gemma and The Kev. “Does that about cover it?”

“Yes.” The Kev was still blushing. Gemma was simply in shock. “That covers it.”

“What’s on your hand?” Gemma asked me, quickly changing the subject.

I held up my hand and showed them the six carat Pink Diamond that was stuck on my finger. Pam gasped, “You mated with Ethan?”

“How did you know that?” I asked her.

She looked taken aback for a moment, but regrouped quickly and shouted, “Because I know everything, Asscrack.”

“I did mate with him . . . then I broke it.”
Holy hell, it hurt to say that.

“Why?” Pam demanded. “Don’t you love him?”

“That doesn’t matter,” I said defensively. “He doesn’t want a half Demon for a mate and I forgot to tell him about that before I bit the bastard.”

Pam started laughing, “Damn, you are the right woman for him.” She shook her not so Oprah-like head and smiled, “You ain’t no half Demon. Well, technically you are, but you were raised by . . . ”

“Yeah, yeah . . . ” I cut her off. “He knows all that and he doesn’t want me and I don’t want him either.”

“Tough,” she yelled gleefully, “you can’t just decide it’s over.”

“Well, I did,” I informed her, daring her to disagree.

“Maybe, maybe not,” The Kev said quietly. Pam narrowed her eyes at him. If I were The Kev I’d be scared, but he just smiled at Pam and pinched her cheek. “Astrid, I have a gift for you, but you cannot use it in haste. If you do you will regret it greatly.” I wondered if this gift would be as painful as Rachel’s. “It’s a wish. You may use it to dissolve your mating or you may use it for whatever your heart desires.”

“I already dissolved my mating,” I insisted.

“Of course,” he replied.

“Can I use it to wish for more wishes?” I joked.

The Kev laughed. “No, you can’t. I would be very careful. Do not use it too quickly, for once you use it, it is gone.” His tone became serious. “This wish can create life or cause death. This wish extends far beyond the mortal world.”

Oh My God
, I could use this wish to see Nana again. Or to have a baby. That one was impossible since my indoor plumbing was non-functioning. The Kev was right. I would not use this wish quickly or unwisely.

“Thank you,” I told him. “I will use it carefully.”

“Good girl,” The Kev said, taking me into his arms. “When you use the wish say, ‘Hear Me, O Fairies’ and then state your desire.” I nodded. “You need to feed from all three of us now. Our time with you is limited.”

My stomach lurched and my eyes welled up. I had a feeling they would be leaving soon because they had gone back to their true forms.

“What about Gemma?” I was falling apart.

“She has to go, but she will be back.” He pulled me close and I fed from him.

Just as Jerry Springer started, Pam pried me away from The Kev and took me on to her lap. “Pam,” I was still sniffling, “you would love the Vampyre King. He looks kind of like the beefy, bald security guy from Jerry Springer, but better.”