Flesh And Blood: House of Comarre: Book Two (House of Comarre 2) (12 page)

‘Then why does she need help?’ She peered at him. ‘What are you cooking?’

‘Nothing. My friend is … dead. Kind of.’

Aliza lowered the shotgun and pursed her mouth to one side. She narrowed her pale gray eyes in thought. Finally she nodded. ‘You can come in. Your behavior determines how you leave.’

Lunatic. He tied up the airboat, stepped onto the dock, and climbed the steps. Chewie was still out of sight. Aliza looked the same as the last time he’d seen her. Maybe her yellowy-white dreads were a little longer, but other than that, she was the same albino crackpot she’d always been.

She motioned with the gun for him to go in. He pushed through the door and walked to the center of the kitchen. The house smelled like swamp and women. In Aliza’s case, that was probably the same smell. How she’d ever turned out a daughter like Evie, he had no idea. That girl was beautiful. Or had been, before Dominic’s drugs had turned her to stone.

And there she was. In front of the wall of sliding glass, facing out toward the Glades, the statue that had once been Aliza’s daughter stared blindly into the vast swamp. Her hands clutched at her throat just like they had that night. He swallowed and rubbed a hand over his scalp as if there weren’t anything unusual about such a thing.

The screen door slammed shut behind Aliza. She pointed toward the kitchen table. ‘Sit.’

He took a chair that let him keep his back to the wall and twisted slightly so Evie’s statue stayed out of his peripheral vision.

Aliza tucked the shotgun under one arm and poured a cup of coffee, then brought it to the table and sat opposite him. ‘Talk.’

He explained everything he could about Fi, how she had come to be a ghost through Mal’s curse, how she’d gotten killed again, how she’d started coming back, reliving the past … everything
he could think of, except that he was in love with her. No need to give the old witch any further ammunition.

‘Your friend’s not a ghost anymore.’

‘Yes, she is. I saw her with my own—’

‘No, she’s a shade now. It’s different.’ Aliza sipped her coffee, wrinkling her brow. ‘She’s caught in a time loop and will stay that way, dying again and again every night.’ She shuddered. ‘Shade’s a horrible thing to be.’

‘Then help her.’ He relaxed his jaw and forced out a difficult word. ‘Please. I said I’d do whatever it took and I meant it.’

‘Hmph. And I suppose in exchange for helping make Evie right, you’re also going to want your curse lifted.’

He blew out a long, unsteady breath. ‘I’ve wanted that for a long time. But I’ll settle for just helping Fi.’

She arched her thick white brows. ‘That so?’

He nodded, ignoring the widening hole in his chest. Having Fi back would be enough. She’d help him forget about the curse. She always had.

‘You love her?’

‘That’s none of your damn business.’

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’ Aliza drained the last of her coffee and sat back, judgment clear in her harsh stare. ‘The kind of magic that turns a woman into stone isn’t easy to undo. It’s heavy. Means sacrifice. Can’t just whip that kind of thing out of thin air.’

He sighed, steeling himself. ‘What do you need?’

‘Some of the drug she took that night.’

‘Done.’ Evie had scored an eighth of Medusa, a highly potent love potion that gave the user the ability to keep a man hard for as long as she wanted.

Aliza leaned her head forward. ‘I’ll also need blood.’

With a calm that surprised him, he laid his arm on the table. ‘I’m prepared for that.’

She laughed. ‘Not yours, fool boy.’

The small, sharp teeth of his sixth sense nipped the back of his neck in warning. ‘Whose, then?’

‘Dominic Scarnato’s.’

If she’d asked for the blood of an unborn child, he’d have been less stunned. ‘Do you know what you’re asking? I can’t just walk up to him and say, “Hey, I need some of your blood.” The man is a powerful crime boss. He pretty much runs the supernatural business that goes on in Paradise City.’

‘Told you.’ She shrugged. ‘I need the blood of the one whose magic made those drugs.’

‘I can’t get it. Pick something else.’

‘There is nothing else.’ She stood and walked her empty cup back to the sink. ‘Come back when you have it.’ She leaned against the counter. ‘Or don’t come back at all.’

Anger made him bold. He jumped up, almost knocking his chair over. ‘Anything else? Pot of leprechaun gold? A unicorn horn?’

‘Nothing quite that tough.’ She crossed her arms and smiled, crinkling the corners of her gray eyes. ‘I need the blood by Samhain.’

Samhain was Halloween. Son of a— ‘That’s less than two weeks away.’

She inspected her fingernails. ‘Well, then, you’d better get cracking.’

‘D
o you know what I hate about this place?’ Tatiana asked Nasir as she stared out the window of her private jet, watching the horrifically bright landscape blur past the landing aircraft.

‘What’s that, my love?’ He curled a lock of her hair around his finger, leaning into her space.

She hooked her finger around the lock he’d claimed and tugged it from his grasp. ‘Besides the fact that this place is full of fringe, fae, remnants, and all sorts of undesirables, besides the fact that the Americas are a mess of human politics and infighting, besides the fact that several people who’ve tried to kill me reside here, it’s too damn sunny. All the time. Why would any vampire in his right mind want to live in such an awful place?’ She collapsed back into her seat with the appalling weight of returning to this forsaken land, her eyes fixed on the world beyond the helioglazed glass.

‘Well … ’ Nasir started.

She glared at him, willing him to continue and give her a reason to strike him.

‘I was just going to say that it’s warm. You know how good that feels to those of our kind. My homeland is very much the same.’ He tipped his head. ‘It will be dark in a few hours. The day is almost past.’

She returned her gaze to the window. ‘If I don’t kill something soon, I’m going to be in a very foul mood.’

He leaned in and stroked the side of her neck. ‘There are other ways to improve one’s mood, my sweet.’

She squinted at him, but it did nothing to improve her ability to suffer foolishness. Perhaps she should have bought him some picture books instead of the comarré. ‘You realize there are twelve Nothos on board this plane, as well as a fringe pilot and copilot, and my private bedroom is currently occupied by two comarré? Where exactly did you imagine this mood enhancement would take place? Out here, in front of these aberrations?’ She waved her hand over her shoulder toward the monstrosities taking up most of the plane’s forward space. The stench of brimstone was enough to ruin anyone’s mood, forget that it might never come out of the beautiful leather covering her seats.

‘Surely the comarré can spend a few minutes out here with—’

‘I realize you’ve never owned a comarré before, but you must understand that putting them out here with the Nothos would be like asking a feral dog to watch your steak.’ Bloody hell, he was an idiot about certain things. She tried to focus on his talents in bed and with alchemy and patted his hand like she’d once done to the child Malkolm had allowed to die.

‘Yes, I suppose it would.’ He gave her a conciliatory smile. ‘Later, then.’

‘Later you’re going to be out searching for my cover.’ She
couldn’t go around looking like herself and risk being noticed by that wretched comarré or her shoddy group of friends. Someone local, someone connected just enough to get her in the door … that’s what she needed. Unfortunately, she had to rely on Nasir to bring that someone to her.

The plane taxied toward the hangar, slowing to a crawl as it eased into the large metal building. As soon as the doors were shut and sealed against the invasive sunlight, she disembarked. Nasir followed behind, but the comarré and the Nothos stayed safely ensconced in their separate spots on the plane.

The head of her household staff, Octavian, waited, hands crossed behind his back, posture as crisp and unyielding as his charcoal suit, even in the humidity. Behind him were two vehicles, a sleek black limousine and a rather dodgy delivery truck. He bowed as she approached. ‘My lady.’

‘I assume you’ve taken care of things?’

He looked extraordinarily pleased. ‘I have, my lady. I have located what I believe to be the center of much othernatural activity. A nightclub of all things.’

‘We shall see, won’t we?’ She gestured toward the nondescript delivery truck. ‘And this?’

‘For transporting your Nothos.’

‘Very good. The pilot and copilot will be bunking here.’ She would be ready for anything this time.

‘Whatever pleases you.’ He swept his hand toward the sleek limousine. ‘And this is for you, of course. The house I have arranged has several interior rooms and one side that is sufficiently shaded by large trees, as well as other features you may find useful.’

‘A house?’

He smiled. ‘A grand estate, one befitting a noble of your status
and rank, I assure you. There is even a guesthouse where the Nothos may be kept.’

She pursed her mouth. ‘How much did that cost me?’

His smile grew. ‘Nothing, my lady. I simply displaced the kine occupants.’

She almost laughed. That Octavian referred to his fellow humans as kine was significant proof of his desire to leave them behind and join the vampire world. ‘Displaced?’

‘I secured them in the estate’s wine cellar.’ He lifted one shoulder nonchalantly but failed to hide his pleasure at what he’d done. ‘I thought perhaps you might require some sustenance after your trip. The wine selection seems to be above adequate as well.’

Now, this was the kind of brain power she needed around her. She lifted a finger toward Nasir. ‘Be a dear and get the bags, would you?’

Nasir grunted. ‘Shouldn’t he be doing that?’

She didn’t turn but simply layered the power of persuasion into her voice. ‘Nasir.’

He tromped back into the plane like a good little boy.

She flashed forward until she was inches from Octavian. He didn’t flinch at her rapid advance. Didn’t stutter a breath or miss a heartbeat. Clearly, he wanted what she had to offer so badly he’d already begun to imagine himself a peer. She stared at him, really seeing him for the first time. Brown hair, brown eyes, but not unattractive for a kine. Ever respectful, he dropped his gaze as her inspection continued. Fit. Young enough to still have hope.

At last he began to tremble ever so slightly. ‘Have I displeased you, mistress?’

‘No, Octavian. You’ve done well.’ If she’d praised him before,
she didn’t recall it, but the time to cultivate a higher sense of loyalty in him had come. They were on dangerous ground in this wretched place. She needed every soldier she had.

He flushed and his pulse quickened. Desire wafted off him, smoky and sweet. Her fangs descended, and she made no effort to hide them. Unlike her other servants, Octavian would undoubtedly enjoy seeing them. She smiled. ‘Look at me.’

‘Yes, my—’ He lifted his head and his mouth fell open. He closed it to swallow. ‘What else might I assist you with?’

She leaned in, inhaling the perfume of his blood. ‘You would do anything for me, wouldn’t you?’

‘Yes, my lady, anything.’ His gaze darted to the ground for just a moment, then returned to her face before he finally turned away again. ‘Anything.’

She slipped a knuckle beneath his chin and brought his face up. The heat of his skin melted into hers and awoke a craving she’d never before felt for a mortal. The urge to kill him and put an end to such unwelcome desire coursed through her, instantly at war with the knowledge that he could do more good for her alive. She broke the contact. He looked genuinely bereft. ‘I may call upon that willingness very soon.’

‘Yes, mistress.’ He barely got the words out before a shiver of unbridled pleasure rolled through him.

Power sparked electric in her veins. She wanted to laugh with the giddiness bubbling up inside her. It was going to be so much easier this time. Nasir came down with the bags as she pointed to the car. ‘To the estate. We have work to do.’