Sun God Seeks...surrogate? (36 page)

“Well,” she said, “if she’s not, maybe we can call in the naked leprechauns.”

***

My next stop was the Uchben hospital, where I received my usual debriefing from the doctors and made my rounds to check on the women, the Payals, who were now up and about, ready for release.

So what would we do with them? That was pickle number one. The women collectively suffered from amnesia. Maybe it was for the best, because heaven only knew what the Maaskab had done to these poor souls. But surely they had loved ones looking for them or who believed they were dead. Discovering their identities was a must, and we’d work around the clock until we did.

That brought us to pickle number two. We hadn’t killed off all the Maaskab and believed they had sects throughout the globe. The women wouldn’t be safe until we’d exterminated every last Scab.

Total effing pickle.

One pickle at a time, Pen. One pickle at a time.

I sighed and pasted on a bright smile. Viktor’s distinctive voice, deep with an unrecognizable accent, was rambling away when I entered my mother’s hospital room.

My pasted smiled became a real one. She was awake and sitting up in bed. “Mom? Oh my God! Look at you,” I said.

Her long, golden hair was elaborately braided and her hazel eyes were bright and lively.

“Penelope! Baby!” She held out her arms for a hug. I rushed to her side and gripped her tightly. It felt so good to hold her, to see her awake again, that I wanted to cry. But I decided not to ruin the moment with any blubbering.

“You look fantastic,” I said.

“I feel exceptionally great. Must be the company.” She glanced at Viktor, who sat in his usual place next to the bed.

He also looked different. Maybe because he wore a cream-colored turtleneck, brown suede boots, and soft, faded jeans instead of his customary black getup.

Wow. He cleans up nicely.
I’d never really gotten a good look at the man before, but with his high cheekbones and strong chin, he reminded me of that actor who’d played Thor—Chris something-or-other. In fact, Viktor could’ve been his very large older brother. Pretty dang gorgeous. But what was going on with that hair?

“Matching braids?” I asked.

Viktor, a well-built man I often heard others refer to as the Viking tank—because he really used to be Viking—squirmed in his chair. “I—uh…wanted to show her the traditional braid from my village.”

Viktor braided her hair?

“I didn’t know they had metro Viking vampires.” Of course, I didn’t know there were gods, vampire gods, offspring of gods, evil priests, and leprechauns, either. Oh. And add angels.

“Penelope, how rude,” my mother said.

Viktor chuckled and looked at my mother. “She is correct, Julie. I am metro and proud. I much prefer fashion and fine fabrics to weapons and killing—it gets old after a thousand years. My new favorite pastime is shopping. I will take you next week now that you are completely healed. We can stay at my Italian villa near—”

“Whoa! Whoa! You’re healed? And you two are planning a vacation together? You’re going to leave? What’s going on?”

My mother looked at Viktor. “Can we have a minute alone? I need to talk to my daughter.”

He bowed his head and stood. “I won’t be far if you need me.” I could tell he was about to sift, but then he realized he couldn’t. “Damn, this is annoying,” he grumbled as he walked from the room.

“This is going to take a lot of explaining, so why don’t you sit, honey,” she pointed to Viktor’s chair.

“You mean the Viktor part, the healing part, or the angel part?” I asked and took the seat.

Her face froze. “All three.”

Hell. I really wasn’t ready for this. “So it’s true? You’re not human?”

She wrung her hands and then placed them neatly in her lap. “I am human. I mean—I was. But I wasn’t always.”

Oh great. It was going to be another of
those
stories. The ones that left my head feeling like I’d taken it for a spin on a lazy Susan.

“Go on.”

“First, I must tell you it is forbidden to talk about my past life—or where I came from.” Her eyes flashed toward the ceiling. “
They
will punish me if I do. So you must be careful, Penelope. You must keep what you already know a secret.”

Oh great! More crap to worry about. Just put it right on top of this other giant pile over here.
And dammit! I couldn’t believe there was a gag order on her. I had so many questions.

Find the silver lining, Pen. Your mother is alive and healed.

“My lips are sealed,” I said.

My mother smiled and began telling me how twenty-six years ago, while she was “on duty” she’d met a man and fallen in love. At first, she tried convincing herself that her feelings weren’t real, but the more she resisted the stronger her feelings became.

“So, I had to choose. Him or my ‘job’; they don’t allow both.”

“You chose him, obviously.”

“Yes,” she replied. “And we were very happy, Penelope. Your father was…magnificent. His laughter, his thirst for life, he made me feel so alive.”

“Then why did he leave?” I wondered.

Her eyes dropped. “He died the day I found out I was pregnant.”

I wanted to gasp, but there were no gasps left inside my body. All gasped out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want your life to be marked with such a tragedy. He was murdered—killed by a very evil man who hunts people like me.”

And this was where the story got weirder. To protect me, my mother ran. And she kept running for the next ten years, finally settling us in New York. “I thought we were safe. Or maybe he’d forgotten about me, but I was wrong. One year ago, he found us.”

“What did he want?”

“What he always wanted: my blood. He believes it has powers—ones he can use to create an unstoppable army. I explained again and again that I was completely human, but he spent the next year drinking from me, anyway. I think he just enjoyed making me suffer.”

I was horrified. “A vampire?”

“Yes. And the most evil vampire of them all.”

Holy crap. The entire time I thought she’d been sick when really, some psycho vampire made her his personal blood bank. And to boot, it had been the vampire who killed my father. She must have gone through hell. “I’m so sorry, Mom.”

“He said if I did not give him what he wanted, if I tried to run, he’d come after you. I had no idea what to do until the goddess Cimil came to me with her plan to get you somewhere safe—with her brother—and make it look like I’d gone to a clinic so you wouldn’t worry.”

Okay. Now that was just messed up. “Mom,
you
made a deal with Cimil?
You?
”

She reached for my hand. “I’m so sorry for deceiving you. But Cimil said it had to be this way. Of course, everything went wrong. Probably because she’s bat-shit crazy.”

“You have no idea,” I responded.

“I’m so sorry, honey. Sorry for all the lies. But the truth wasn’t an option. Can you ever forgive me?” Guilt filled her big, hazel eyes. I wanted to be angry, but somehow couldn’t. Not when I knew she’d done what she thought was best for me and acted out of love.

“Kinich left me and I’m pregnant—thanks to Cimil, by the way,” I bitterly confessed.

“I know. Viktor told me everything. But have faith, honey. Have faith that everything will work out as it should.”

I wasn’t ready to do that.

“Let’s not talk about it now,” I suddenly blurted out. “I want my year to end on a happy note. Who is this bastard that’s hunting you?” Revenge qualified for happy, didn’t it? Sure felt like it. And I was definitely going to look him up, because now…
now
I knew “people.” Oh yeah, a lot of really fucking deadly people.

“Philippe—he is what they call an Ancient One. But that’s not important: If he finds me again, he won’t touch me. I’ve made sure of it.”

Of course. She had one of the toughest vampires roaming the planet obsessed with saving her, and now he was apparently her personal guard dog. “Viktor—he told Kinich that he dreamed about saving you for five hundred years. Do you know why?”

She nodded. “He believes he was destined to love me. That I am his soul mate.”

“So he loves you?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Very much.”

“And you? Do you love him back?” How very strange it would be if Viktor became my stepdad.

She ran her fragile, pale finger over her heart-shaped lips, giving the question some thought. “I can’t remember what happened when we were imprisoned, but I know I love him, too.”

Well, there you go. Munsters, watch out! We’ve got a vampire dad, fallen-angel mom, and pregnant sun goddess daughter.
We were just missing someone with fur and perhaps a reanimated human or two to complete our cast of zany characters.

But in all seriousness, after everything that happened, this was the one part that made me happy. She’d found love.

She sighed. “Philippe will never bite me again.”

“No. I’m sure Viktor would never allow it.”

“Likely, not,” she said. “But even so, Viktor turned me last night. Philippe won’t want to drink me, anyway.”

Wha-wha-what!?
“Vampire? You’re a vampire?”

“Surprise?” she said with an awkward smile.

“Okeydokey.”

Add fallen angel turned vampire to the species list.

CHAPTER 41

After a very long drive to clear my head, I pulled Kinich’s jeep into the garage, trying to make as little noise as possible.

I looked at my watch.

Eleven forty-five. Almost midnight.

I’d successfully avoided Zac the entire evening, and wanted to keep it that way. I’d had just about enough drama for the day and was seriously looking forward to celebrating New Year’s by calling Anne and Jess who were likely about to pass out. Not only were they two hours ahead, but they generally started celebrating the New Year’s in November.

Heading for my room, I tiptoed through the living room.

The front door abruptly flew open and in sauntered a tall man dressed in a tailored black suit, his jet-black hair pulled into a ponytail. His black eyes resembled voids of light against his pale skin.

Oh gods. Please. No more! No more drama for today!

I immediately readied to pummel him with a nice ball of fire, but then noticed he held an unconscious man, wrapped in a cloak, in his arms.

“Who the hell are you?” I spoke with a sigh. More drama wasn’t what I wanted, but I knew a heaping helping was coming my way.

Cimil, wearing pink pj’s with yellow duckies, appeared at my side, glaring with an unspoken fury. “That piece of shit is Narmer.”

The sinister man smiled, displaying two sharp incisors. “Oh, now do not forget, my dear Cimil, you made me change my name to Roberto. Right after you had me tattoo your portrait on my back and move into your Spanish abode to be your love slave.”

“I was going through a phase! You can’t hold that against me!”

His eyes narrowed. “I vowed to return the favor—to repay you for the humiliation I endured, my sweet, darling Cimil.” He strolled to the center of the room, where we stood, behaving like he owned the place.

“That video is awesome!” she exclaimed. “It’s a triple-X classic! You’re just mad because I stole the show with my hot-pink chicken suit!”

“Ha! Don’t you wish!” he chuckled with sadistic arrogance.

Cimil scowled. “Whatever! So what the hell do you want?”

He blew her a kiss. “I told you, Cimil: revenge. Eye for an eye. Tat for a tat.”

“Roberto, I wasn’t aware that you’d made taking hallucinogens into a competitive sport. How very unvampy of you.”

He made a little pout with his lower lip. “Very well, if you do not wish to play, then I will let your brother die.”

Brother? Die?

Roberto tossed the man to the floor like a lifeless sack of potatoes.

My eyes filled with horror as I realized who it was. “Kinich! Oh my God!”

I scrambled to the immobile bundle and rolled it over. Kinich was pale and emaciated. I put my ear to his mouth. “He’s not breathing!”

Emma appeared in the room and rushed to my side. “What the fuck does
he
want?” she screamed at Cimil.

Apparently everyone knew Roberto—uhhh, Narmer—but me.

“You dirty son of a vampire bitch!” Cimil barked.

Roberto tisked. “Language, my dear. Language. There are children present.” His gaze flickered toward me and then Emma.

“Language?” Cimil cackled. “I’ve got language—”

Roberto raised his palm to silence her. “Cease with the posturing, my little dove. The clock is ticking. So what will it be?”

She growled, looked down at Kinich and then back at Narmer.

“I’ll get you for this. And if I don’t, my clowns will. And if not them, then my unicorn.”

He laughed. “Oh, my little turnip, how I love you so. I would expect nothing less.”

“Quit your yapping and save my brother,” she ordered.

He dipped his head. “Very well.

I wanted to kick that smug smile right off his pasty face.

He floated over and motioned for me to move.

Protectively, I hovered over Kinich’s body. “What’s he going to do?” I looked at Cimil.

“He’s going to make Kinich a vampire,” Cimil explained, all too casually for my taste.

“
What?
No! I won’t let you touch him!” I didn’t want Kinich to die—gods no—but the one and only thing he’d ever wanted was to be mortal. And after seventy thousand years, he finally had it.

Roberto made a theatrical bow. “As you wish. But it is Kinich who came to me and struck the bargain.”

“Bargain?” I asked.

“Yes, he and I have been in negotiations for over a month. I was to kill my brother Philippe and he would deliver Cimil. Kinich came to me last week to finalize the deal. He offered his new mortal life as insurance.”

My mind scrambled. “Kinich had you kill your own brother? He let you do this to him? But why?”

Cimil gazed upon Kinich’s limp body with affection. “Very clever, my dear brother. We shall engrave your portrait in the Summit Room, right next to Kathy Griffin.”