Sebastian (Bowen Boys) (12 page)

Ama
looked at Monica, who stood there with a glass of tea in her hand. She reached for it and drained the glass and asked for more. She and Sebastian had brewed three gallons of it last night, and she figured that it might be enough. By the time she was on her fourth glass, she felt she could talk to the little man. He grinned at her.

“You are a faerie and need the sweet tea to help you. You should also try standing with your feet
in the dirt. It’s very good for you as well. That is why you are named for the earth.” He nodded and stood up. “I am sorry, my ladies, but I must go. My master is looking for me. I do wish you’d consider helping us.”

“Helping you how? I’m not going to leave my mate
, and I certainly am not going to have the demon’s child. I like it here just fine.”

He nodded at her and
bowed. “My lady, all I ask for is a safe haven for him before the Lady Darkness returns to kill him.” Then he was gone. She looked around the room and then stood up to pour herself another glass of tea.

“I forgot to give him the recipe for his tea.”
Monica sat down with the box of bags in her hand and started to laugh. “Christ, that was the strangest conversation I think I’ve ever had.”

Ama had to agree.
The man had actually asked for her to find a demon lord a place to hide. She looked at the chair he’d been sitting in and picked up the paper that lay there. It was a list of names and neat check marks by each name. She turned it over and read what it said.

“It’s a list of names of beings.
It says that the check marks indicate that they have been given a name tag. There are only two that have not. One called Benny and the other Jetts.” She looked at the other two women. “They all have names of bands or cartoon characters from the television. Bill’s full name is Bill the Cat. And here’s one called Johnny Bravo.”

Corrine started laughing.
She was laughing pretty hard by the time Ama joined her. Then when Monica joined them as well, they were crying and laughing so hard they could hardly breathe. When they picked up the list again and began reading each name, they were nearly hurting from it. Then when the cook came into the kitchen and looked at them, shocked, the three of them started again. There didn’t seem to be any name that was safe from the beings in the underworld.

Ama and the women went to the mall. They were just sitting down to lunch when Ama felt someone touch her mind. She frowned when she realized it was her father.

“I have been to your house to look for you.”
She wanted to tell him that she was a grown woman and didn’t have to answer to him when he spoke again.
“There is the scent of demon all over your house. What the hell have you been up to?”

She didn’t want to answer him and decided that she wasn’t going to.
Looking over at Monica, she took out a pen and asked her to contact Sebastian for her and ask him to call on her cell phone. She took a deep breath before speaking to her father.

“I can do what I want
, when I want. I haven’t answered to you since birth, so I’m pretty sure your parenting privileges are revoked. And just what the hell were you doing in my house with neither Sebastian nor I there?”

She heard Monica speaking on her phone just as her father began to sputter and speak again.
“You’ll not talk to me that way, young lady. I am still your father and you will respect me.”

“I most certainly will not
, you pompous ass. If you can’t speak to me any better than this, you can’t contact me at all. If you do, then…then I simply won’t answer you.”

She wrote another note and asked if
it was possible to block someone from contacting her. Monica nodded and told her to think of the person enclosed in a small room without any windows or doors and then walk away. Closing her eyes, she did that and felt the connection to him severed. Smiling, she took the phone from Monica when she handed it to her.

“My father is a shit and a pain in the ass. If he comes there
, I hope you have him thrown out of your store and then have him arrested.” Sebastian laughed. “I’m serious. If he comes there demanding to tell you how I mistreated him, you have to show him out.”

“I will.
Christ, I wish I could be there with you now. I bet your eyes are glowing as bright as an emerald.” She looked down at her ring. “Want to play in the woods after I get home today? We could end up by the pond again.”

She felt her body respond to the memory from last night.
She looked at the other women at the table and flushed because she was pretty sure they could hear him. She told him that she had to go and closed the phone. She felt him touch her mind, and he told her he loved her.

“I love you
, too. I’m with your sisters and your mom. Can you behave?”
She looked at Jonny and Caitlynne as they joined the rest of them.
“Sebastian, I really love your family.”

“I’m glad
, but they’re your family, too. So don’t try and pawn all of them off on me.”
He laughed.
“I’m sorry, babe, but my truck is here. If Daddy Dearest shows up or tries to contact me, I’ll tell him to behave or I’ll sic you on him.”

She looked at Corrine. “You feel better now?
Sometimes just talking to your mate can make a world of difference. I’m so happy he and you found each other.”

“So am I.
So am I.”

Chapter 1
2

Wanera paced the tiny office again. Where had the faerie gone to? He wondered. It was a business day, wasn’t it? And there were people within his walls that would purchase his things. He saw the woman come into the room again and sit down. He watched her closely this time. There was something decidedly evil about her.

When she took out a key and put it into a drawer
, he walked behind her, glad that she couldn’t see him. She took out a medium-sized box and set it on the desk. He was about to go back to his pacing when she suddenly stood up and went to the door and closed it. It wasn’t that that had him waiting, but the fact that she locked the door and brought her purse to the desk with her. Yes, he knew then that she was up to no good.

The little key that she took off a chain around her neck fit into the box.
When she opened it, he leaned over her shoulder and looked as well. Money, the human form of currency, lay in the box in neat piles. He was amazed at the amount in the box, and when she took it out and began putting it into more stacks, he sat down on the cabinet behind her.

She counted all the stacks
, then took some of the larger denominations off the top of each stack and put them into another stack. When she had a considerable amount of money in the last one, she gathered up the money again and put it back in the box, locked it, then put it away. When she leaned over to lock the drawer again, he blew across the stack she’d left on the desk and counted the money there, also making note of the serial numbers on several of them. When she put the nearly five thousand dollars into her purse, he sat back and watched her put her purse away, then unlock the door and leave. He was still sitting there when the faerie came in ten minutes later.

Wanera wasn’t thrilled about appearing before the man
, but he needed his help. He knew as surely as he was sitting there that Lady Darkness wasn’t going to wait the entire month. She was going to demand that he take a bride. He knew now why she was doing it. She would have to run the realm if he did not find someone to take over or have a child.

The large faerie looked at him.
Wanera was sure he couldn’t see him, but he didn’t move all the same. When he sat down on the couch across from his desk after closing the door and locking it, Wanera thought the man was smarter than he had first thought.

“Bill came to see my mate yesterday.”
Wanera’s whole body seemed to chill. “He asked her to help you. He told her that a woman by the name of Darkness was going to hurt you, and he wanted her to help you find a safe haven. He said…. Would it be possible to show yourself? This is a little weird.”

Wanera materialized before him.
He was still sitting on the file cabinet and liked the distance between them just fine. The faerie didn’t move either.

“You’re not going to attack me again?”

The faerie
shook his head and said, “For now.”

“I’m not here to take your bride.
I’ve decided that I don’t want her.”

That hadn’t come out right
, and the man seemed to know it. He laughed a little and stood up. Wanera tensed but didn’t move. When he went to the small white box in the corner and opened it, Wanera’s curiosity got the better of him and he went to see what it was.

“It’s cold.”
He stepped back from it, afraid of the thing. “Why would you have such a thing in here? You don’t think to put me in that, do you?”

“No. I keep drinks in it.
I like my drinks cold. I understand from Bill that you like things hot. I can give you a coffee if you’d like. It’s all I have here.” Wanera looked where the man pointed. “If you’ve never had it before, it could be a little much. Bill liked the tea that my mate served him. She’d meant to give him some to take back.”

“Tea. Yes
, he mentioned tea, but he never said where he’d gotten it.” Now that he thought about it, he never said where he’d gone when he asked him either. “He visited your bride yesterday?”

The man nodded and sat back down.
“He was there to ask for our help in keeping you and the others safe. That’s why I’ve not tried to hurt you as yet. Monica and my mother said they believed him, as did Ama.”

He’d given their names to him.
He wondered briefly if he’d done that on accident and decided that he hadn’t. The man was sharp. He bowed slightly before him.

“I’m Wanera, lord of the Ninth Realm of the Pits, master to thirty beings that serve me and counter of the dead.”
The man stood up and put out his hand. “You are offering me your hand?”

“It’s a form of
acquaintances. You shake my hand as I do yours. It’s the beginning of a friendship.” Finally, the man reached over and put his hand into his and showed him how it was done. “See, no harm done. And my name is Sebastian Jay Bowen, Panther and King of the Faeries.”

Wanera staggered back.
He was king? That wasn’t possible, that wasn’t…then his mate was the queen. He moved back further and stared at him. It wasn’t until Sebastian shoved him into a chair and pressed his head between his knees that he felt that he might not pass out. He spoke to him as he was being held down.

“I didn’t know. I had no idea that she was…none.
I swear it, I never knew.” Sebastian told him to shut up. “You have to believe me.”

“I do now
. Shut up and take deep breaths.” He told him he didn’t breathe. “Yes, you do. You wouldn’t have nearly fainted if you didn’t. Now do it.”

He realized he was breathing and wondered about that.
Maybe it was because he was in the human realm. He didn’t know, but he sort of liked it. As he was feeling better, Sebastian let him up. He watched as the man paced.

“That strange human that works for you?
She stole money from you today. I would think she’s done it a great deal, because she seemed to have it down to a science. She took five thousand of your human money from you.” Sebastian looked as if he didn’t believe him. “First, you must know that no one can lie to you. Secondly, I have serial numbers of some of the currency. You should know that she cannot lie to you either.”

He pulled out a ring of keys and put one in the drawer
, as the woman had, and then took out the box. He counted the money much faster than she had, then looked at him. Wanera was afraid he was going to blame him for it.

“There was nearly twenty thousand dollars in here last week.
Now there is less than five thousand. I’d say you were right.” He put the money back. “Where did she put it, do you know?”

“Her purse.
She stuffed it in the front pocket. She’s taken a great deal from you then?” Sebastian nodded and Wanera put a sheet of paper in front of him with the numbers on it. “I am sorry. If I had known earlier, I would have told you.”

“
I have to call someone. And now before she leaves, but I want to finish talking to you. I’ve talked to my mate and she said she wants to help you. She said that you need help and we have to help you. Besides, she liked Bill.” Wanera nodded and stood when Sebastian picked up the phone. “Wait. Please just give me one moment.”

Wanera paced the room as he spoke to someone named Caitlynne.
Whoever this person was, they were coming down now. Sebastian told her to hurry. Wanera turned back to him when he said his name.

“I need a way to contact you.
How do I do that?” Wanera had thought this might happen, that the man would want to see him again if he didn’t kill him. He took a deep breath and marveled at how good it felt.

“I can give you something that I’ve never shared with anyone before
, except my beings…my friends. It will give you access to my realm that no one else has ever had before. What I do for you will get me killed. You must know that.” Sebastian nodded. “The last time I was here you drew my blood. Do you have a mark on your hand, the one that held me up?”

Both he and
Sebastian looked at his hands very closely and there was no mark. Wanera took Sebastian’s hand and held it in his own, both palms up. He looked at him once more, hoping that he wasn’t making a mistake.

“You can trust me.
I swear to you that you can trust me.”

Wanera nodded and pulled a blade from the air.
“I give you my mark, not as ownership, but as friendship. You will share this with the one true love of your life and no other.” The blade cut deeply into his palm and blood oozed from it. “Take it freely.”

“I take it freely.”
Wanera didn’t know why he wasn’t surprised by the fact that Sebastian knew the right words and when to say them. He poured his blood into Sebastian’s palm and watched as it absorbed into his hand. The mark it left there was small in comparison to the amount of blood. And when he closed his hand, Wanera looked up at him.

“If I am killed
, the blood will pour from your hand as if you’re wounded and the mark will disappear. All you need to do is think of me when you look at it. It is a way for you to summon me. My death will be the only thing that will keep me from answering.” Wanera took a step back and was startled when Sebastian grabbed him and hugged him. He tightened his arms around him and hugged back. It was the first time he’d ever been hugged in his entire life. Then before he could say anything more, he willed himself back to his own realm.

~~~

Sebastian watched as Debby squirmed in the chair. He liked watching Caitlynne work. It was fun to see her in action. Debby kept looking at him as if she expected him to help her. Well, kiddo, he wanted to tell her, you’re on your own.

“Did you take the money?”
Debby shook her head at Caitlynne again. “Then what if I told you that we have you on camera that you did? And a list of the serial numbers on file? Would your answer be different if I asked you that again?”

“You don’t have those things. I work here
, remember?” Caitlynne nodded at him, and he handed her the sheet of paper. “What’s that? If you think to use a blank sheet of paper to scare me into saying something that will make me look guilty, you’re as stupid as he is.”

Sebastian’s burst of laughter made them both turn toward him. Caitlynne had warned him to keep quiet
, and he put his hand over his mouth. He might have been stupid, but he wasn’t any longer. Both he and Caitlynne knew that Debby couldn’t lie to him, but they were saving that for when the other cops showed up. And a few seconds later, three of them, including a female officer, showed up.

“This woman has a purse in her possession
. I would like it searched for possible theft.” Debby stood up and held her purse to her like a shield. She looked ready to bolt, but one of the officers stood in front of the door.

“You can’t look in my stuff. I know that law.
You need a warrant or something. And I know you don’t have one or you would have showed it to me already. You don’t have anything on me.” She sat down and sneered at him. “You’re going to regret this. I’m going to sue you for everything you have.”

“I don’t need a warrant to search you
r purse, Debby. When you signed on here, you signed an agreement that there may be bag searches if necessary. You agreed to them by signing your name.” She was shown the paper. Then Caitlynne handed it to the senior officer. “So we’re going to do a bag search right now. Hand the nice police officer your purse or we’ll take it from you.”

“You can’t do this.” Debby looked at him. “Please don’t let her do this.
I haven’t done anything wrong. Nothing.” She struggled with the cop taking the purse. “I’m your assistant. You couldn’t run this place without me. I’m here more than you are.”

Sebastian looked at Caitlynne
, who nodded. “You might have been my assistant, but that gave you no right to steal from me. And you did, didn’t you?” Debby backed up a step, fighting him. “You stole from me. You took out my cash box and took money, didn’t you? How much did you take? How long have you been stealing from me?”

“I took…please don’t
, Sebastian.” He asked her again. “I took nearly fifty grand over the past six months. I was going to pay it back, but you never seemed to notice so I took more and more. I was trying to stop it, but I knew that if I could win just one ticket, one big payoff, then I could pay it all back. But the stupid tickets never seemed to be in the right order. I never got a break.”

“Lottery tickets?”
She nodded at him. “You stole fifty grand to buy lottery tickets? Christ, if you had asked, I would have gotten you help.”

“I don’t need help,” Debby snarled at him. “I have this under control.
I can quit whenever I want. I just needed to pay you back, and then I would have had to make enough to live on for the rest of my life. And it would have paid off, too, if you wouldn’t have caught me.”

“It’s here
, sir. All the money you said was missing. There is also a list of what appear to be credit card numbers and expiration dates.” The officer showed it to her boss, then Caitlynne. “I believe there is money here that might have come from today’s sales as well. There are three one hundred-dollar bills. Should you count your drawer out?”

His money was taken into evidence
, and Debby was taken away, still screaming that it was his fault she was caught. He wondered if she would ever own up to the fact that she needed help. Caitlynne sat down opposite him and sighed.