Three Parts Fey (9 page)

She dozed with
her head against Argyle’s shoulder until they pulled up to the XIA
headquarters. Argyle’s phone was in his hand, and he winked. “We
have an hour.”

She blinked.
“What?”

“The king is
waiting for us to present ourselves at his home. As this was our
only assignment tonight, we are now free to attend at his
pleasure.”

Benny groaned.
“We are so not dressed for that.”

Argyle opened
the door and slid out, extending his hand to hers. “I am sure you
will think of something.”

After they were
logged out and changed, she did indeed think of something and her
companions’ clothing was changed from denim into leather with a few
choice bits of spell work.

Andrew sighed.
“I suppose that my family is last.”

Benny chuckled
as Pooky took them through the calm and old neighbourhood where the
vampire king mayor resided.

“You had a
chance to pounce. You didn’t pounce, so now we are going to see the
vampires first.” She wrinkled her nose at him as her clothing
shifted around and under her in the car.

Pooky entered
the long, sweeping drive, and Argyle spoke into the security
camera, gaining them access to the surprisingly understated
home.

“We are lucky
in Mathias. He is a calm and understanding ruler.” Argyle seemed to
be making a point to both Tremble and Andrew.

When the car
settled in front of the home, two shadows emerged from beside the
doors to the house and stepped down to open their vehicle.

As Benny slid
out of the car, her dress flowed into configuration around her—a
leather overdress and trousers in contrasting black. Argyle took
her hand, and they led the other two into the mayor’s home.

Miss Leonora
Wicks was waiting in the frame of the doorway as it opened at their
approach. “Miss Ganger. I am delighted to see you again.”

“Thank you,
Leo. It is good to see you as well.”

The woman still
had the grey cast to her skin that had been there on their first
meeting at the crime scene a few weeks earlier.

Once again, she
smiled and her face went from blank and sober, to beautiful and
welcoming. “He is waiting in the gardens. Your timing was
perfect.”

Argyle cleared
his throat. “Allow me to introduce our bound companions.”

Leo gave him
another sweeping smile. “I don’t care. This way.”

She moved
silently; her chiffon gown gave her the appearance of a floating
spectre as they moved through the modest mansion and into the
floral-scented darkness of the back garden.

The vampire
king was tending his flowers and checking out his peach tree. “Leo,
come here and taste this.”

Miss Wicks
rolled her eyes. “If I had a nickel for every time I heard
that.”

With a grin,
the woman stepped toward the mayor, and he held out the fruit to
her in a reverse of a biblical moment.

Benny watched
as Leo reached for it with her hand, but Mathias held it so that
she had to take it from his grip with her teeth.

Her face wasn’t
visible from that angle, but Benny knew that sound. Leo chewed
furiously. “Not ripe!”

Mathias grinned
and nodded. “I thought that was the case, but you know, I can’t
really tell.”

Leo wrinkled
her nose at him. “Your guests are here.”

Mathias nodded
and the peach arced through the air. Benny caught it and ripened it
in her hand. She took a bite. “Thank you, Mayor Mathias.”

He grinned. “It
is good to see you again, Benny.”

She released
Argyle’s hand and walked up to her family friend. “It is nice to
see you so happy, Uncle Matt.”

“It is good to
feel it, Benny. Now, what can I do for you and the good
Argyle?”

Benny looked
toward her vampire, and she smiled. “I wish to have him for my own,
Uncle. We are bound, and now, I wish it to be formal in the eyes of
the vampire nation.”

“It will not be
easy. He will outlive you if he does not suffer an injury.”

She wrinkled
her nose. “He is not quite one of yours anymore.”

Mathias moved
past her, and he grabbed Argyle by the chin and turned his head
from side to side. “What did you do to him?”

Benny twisted
her lips before biting into the peach again. “Nothing that he
didn’t consent to. They are mine; I am theirs; we are bound.”

Mathias moved
faster than she could track, examining Tremble and Smith as well.
“All of them have a touch of demon in them.”

“My blood.”

Smith’s teeth
extended in surprise when the vampire king was suddenly in front of
him. Mathias calmed him down.

“Easy, beast. I
am just looking into...and there he is.” Mathias looked into
Tremble and nodded when he found the traces of Argyle he was
seeking.

Benny blinked
when Leo took the peach out of her hand and finished it. “Sorry. I
had to get that sour taste out of my mouth.”

A moment later,
Mathias was next to her. “Well, you have given me three more
subjects, so giving you one is fair enough.”

Argyle came
forward. “You are authorising our union?”

Mathias smiled.
“Of course, Cairbre. I know what I am looking at and am both glad
that I can call upon it and am willing to come if you call.”

Leo took a call
and walked into the house; Mathias watched her go.

Benny looked
from the doorway to the ancient power standing next to her.
“Love?”

“As close as I
can come. She has been through much, sacrificed much, and is always
willing to give more. She is a woman to be admired, and I have not
met one such as her before.”

Benny nudged
him with her arm. “Fire and ice under one skin.”

He nodded.
“Precisely. Now, dawn approaches and your companions look
exhausted. Take them to bed.”

She wrinkled
her nose at him and gathered the men around her, ushering them back
to Pooky and, from there, back home.

As sweat dried on their
bodies, Andrew asked her. “What exactly is passing between you and
the heads of our clans?”

Their fingers
were tangled together, and she rested her head against his
shoulder. “Each one we speak to is acknowledging that your first
duty is to our group, and each one knows that they are obligated to
come to our defense, just as I am agreeing to come to their
defense.”

“I still don’t
get it.”

“If your pride
tangles with another, we will stand on the side of your pride, for
the purpose of increasing numbers and to bring power. For Tremble’s
family, we bring fresh blood and energy, not to mention my family
ties. That gives them added political clout when it comes to
dealing with other principalities on the continent. They can get
higher-ranking brides and husbands from other groups now.”

“What do the
vampires get?”

Argyle
answered. “Protection. Protection from Benny’s namesake. She can no
longer hunt here unless Mathias requests it.”

Benny yawned
and snuggled against Andrew. “I am quite a catch.”

Argyle reached
out and patted her hip. “Yes, you are.”

Tremble was
reading a book across the room, and as she watched, he put the book
down and crawled into bed.

She smiled as
he curled around her. Given a choice, they preferred to be
together. It was starting to feel like a family.

“Hey, Benny. We
have a court date for an inquest.” Her father’s voice came through
the phone as if he was next to her.

“When?” Benny
finished brushing her teeth and held the phone to her cheek.

“Because of the
publicity, we are going in tomorrow. They want to get everything
settled and have me punished as quickly as they can.” Harcourt
laughed.

“You are
sounding...better?”

“I am. The cut
ties to Yomra have done wonders for my aspect. Your uncle Imriod is
my counsel. I am sure things will turn out as well as they
can.”

“You know that
they don’t have call to be charging you.”

“I know that
they feel they have reason. The spell would have been passive if
not for someone coming after you, but if you were not in danger, it
would not have been needed.”

Benny nodded,
though he couldn’t see her. “Right. Keep me posted. I want to be
there.”

“I believe you
are being named as a witness of some sort. You will be there,
love.” She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Good. Glad
that is out of the way.”

“Now, finish
your teeth and get to work. We are hearing good things about how
you are handling yourself.”

“You have spies
watching me?”

“Of course.
Just because you are an adult doesn’t mean we will stop trying to
take care of you or make sure you are safe. It just means we do it
from a distance. Have a good shift.”

The call was
over in that light rush of speech, and she chuckled and spit out
the foam. It was nice to know that she was still being cared for,
even in her own place with her own family starting up. It was
creepy, but nice, just like her parents.

Andrew was
grilling ham steaks and Tremble was on waffles. Argyle was slicing
fruit.

Benny checked
her messages and texted a reply to Freddy that everything seemed to
be going fine. Freddy demanded details, but Benny told her to get
bent.

A plate slid in
front of her, and she glanced up to see Andrew’s smirk. “We have a
half-hour appointment with my brother-in-law before work. Most of
the pride won’t be there, so it will be a little less tense than it
would be on a weekend afternoon.”

“Won’t that be
a little weird? I mean, it is usually a formal introduction for a
mate from outside the pride.”

“Well, when I
mentioned that you had already met the other portions of our unit,
he accelerated things to save face.”

Tremble
chuckled. “That shows he is more than an alpha; he is a
politician.”

Argyle nodded.
“Very nice. Do you need us to do anything before we go?”

Andrew grinned.
“Rub up against Benny and myself a few times. We still scent cue,
so it will be faster if you smell like us.”

Benny’s fork
froze halfway to her mouth as Argyle hugged Andrew without any
delay. He stroked his cheek along the tanned skin of his partner,
and Andrew’s eyes closed for a moment.

When the
embrace was over, Tremble stepped in and bent his head to repeat
the caress on the other side of Andrew’s face and neck.

The shudder
that went through their lion was hard to miss.

Benny had to
admit to being turned on by the sight of so much male muscle
pressing together before parting. It was as if their clothing
wasn’t even there.

Argyle
chuckled. “Benny. You might want to give us our shirts back.”

She looked at
him and blinked slowly. “Hmm?”

He lifted her
free hand and pressed it to his cool, bare chest. “Shirts.
Back.”

She sat up and
blushed. “Right. Sorry. Got caught up in the moment.”

She sent the
spell to clothe them through the air, and magic wrapped around
them. Part of her sighed and kept replaying the scene over and over
again. It was going into her foreplay memory file.

Benny made a
mental note to figure out why her instincts had stripped them
without any conscious direction. Unconscious magic could get
dangerous very quickly.

She finished
breakfast quickly and loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. Andrew
pinned her against the counter.

“I just need
your scent on me now.” Andrew leaned in and brushed his cheek
against hers.

Benny shook and
reached up, looping her arms around his neck. “Done.”

She leaned and
pressed her lips to the column of his neck, exhaling against his
skin.

He pressed
firmly against her, and a low, rumbling purr sounded deep in his
chest.

She nibbled,
licked and stroked the hair at the back of his neck while she
worked. When Andrew was vibrating under her touch, she relaxed and
leaned back.

The husky tone
in her voice was unmistakable as she said, “I believe we have an
appointment with your alpha?”

His glare said
a thousand words. “If he says one wrong thing, this is going to get
very ugly.”

The guys
jostled each other as they headed for the door; the XIA would be
their first stop, to check on Miaka and then the trip to Andrew’s
family seat would be next.

Spirits were
high, but there was an underlying tension that hadn’t been there
before.

Miaka was
sitting with a notebook and a necromancer when Benny arrived.

The necromancer
got to her feet and smiled. “Good afternoon, Agent Ganger. I have
heard wonderful things about you.”

The woman
extended her hand, and Benny reached out to shake it. The contact
was a little startling, but the shock of cold didn’t stop Benny
from shaking the hand of the self-animating woman in front of
her.

“I am glad to
know it. You have the advantage of me.”

“Ah, I am Kima
Remiller. I specialise in instructing those who have specific
talents, like Miaka here. I will be her private tutor during her
time in the restricted facility, and when she is released, she will
join us at a school specialising in the arts of the undead.”

Benny released
Kima’s hand and glanced over at Miaka. “You have been
sentenced?”

She nodded, and
Michael gave a thumbs-up behind her head. “I was sentenced under
the magical-stress provision. Michael testified for me. Your
statement on the matter carried some weight.”

Benny paused
before she realised that Miaka was referring to the report she had
written in the car and the follow-up report when they had brought
Miaka into the XIA.

“I am glad it
helped. Grief can make folk do extraordinary things.”

Kima nodded
wisely. “It can indeed. She has a lot of potential, and it needs to
be directed so that she and society can feel the benefit.”