Authors: Stacie Simpson
A low growl rumbled in Rook’s throat and the man frowned in
response. Then he shooed the girls away as we halted in front of him.
“What brings you to my humble abode Sa’jon Ruk,” He asked
with a wide smile not offering to shake hands.
Rook glanced at me as my eyes narrowed wondering what the
man had called him. The last part sounded like Rook but I had no idea what any
of it meant.
“Kaleb, this is Angela and she is my
anai
. We have
reason to believe her daughter is here tonight.” There was another word I didn’t
recognize. Why couldn’t they just use English?
Kaleb quirked an eyebrow and asked me, “Do you have a
picture of your daughter so I might be able to help you locate her?”
“Yes, I have several here on my phone,” I replied as I
fished my phone out of my jacket pocket and showed him.
His expression turned stony and he asked, “You are his
anai
?”
I had no idea what the word meant but it seemed pretty
important. “Yes, I am.”
Kaleb looked back at Rook sternly and said, “I don’t want
any trouble here in my house.”
Rook didn’t back down, if anything his bearing became more
menacing. “Why would there be trouble Kaleb?”
“In the future Angela, I would advise you to keep your
daughter locked up at night or the time will come when not even Sa’jon Ruk can
save her,” Kaleb told me seriously, then to Rook he said, “She’s in the last
door on the left with Danarius.” Kaleb pointed down a hallway.
Rook was already in motion. That hum of energy I’d felt earlier
returned but it was no longer soothing, it felt predatory and it was gaining
strength. Doorways seemed to blur as we hurried past them until finally we
reached the end of the long corridor. Rook flung the thick wooden door open and
it banged against the wall on the other side. He stopped in the doorway and I
tried to walk around him to see what was inside. His arm shot out to stop me
but I’d already seen what he was trying to protect me from.
There was a man in the room lounging in an overstuffed armchair.
He looked about thirty-four just like me, had medium brown hair, a broad chest
and a square masculine jaw. In front of him on her knees was my daughter.
Rachel was dressed only in a red thong and matching bra and she was pumping his
cock with her hand while her mouth slid over its tip.
“Rachel Marie Ruby, get your ass over here right now,” I
hissed from behind Rook.
She didn’t hesitate, just continued going as if she hadn’t
even heard me.
“Rachel!”
“She can’t hear you, he’s taken over her mind,” Rook
informed me.
“Here to rescue stray kittens, Rook? You surprise me, but
you’ll have to get your own kitten to play with. I rather like this one.”
The man threaded his big hands into Rachel’s hair and forced
her mouth farther down his shaft. I couldn’t watch but I couldn’t turn away. I
needed to help my baby girl but what could I do? The man was obviously not
human. I wondered if bullets would do me any good if I shot him.
“Danarius, this young girl is the daughter of my
anai
,
and therefore my daughter as well,” Rook told him calmly. I on the other hand
was anything but calm, and did he just say what I think he said?
Danarius glanced at me. “You may want her to be your
anai
,
but there is nothing binding her to you. What’s wrong Rook, not demon enough to
take what you want? Until you are, this tasty young morsel is free game.”
I wanted to know what they were talking about, but with
Rachel’s head still moving up and down explanations would have to wait for
later. If Rook didn’t do something to stop this soon I was going to scream.
Danarius groaned and started lifting his hips, shoving
himself deep into Rachel’s mouth. I heard her gagging. His body tensed then
there was an explosion of energy and everything froze. That is everything
except for me and Rook.
“What the...”
“No time to explain right now,” Rook said as he strode
forward and threw Rachel over his shoulder.
When he was back in the doorway the world started spinning
again and Danarius growled furiously, “What the fuck?” He was still in the
chair but instead of emptying himself in Rachel’s mouth he was shooting his
seed up the front of his shirt.
He turned a murderous glare on Rook, his previously brown
eyes turning flat black.
“Not in Kaleb’s house Danarius,” Rook reminded harshly as
Rachel seemed to wake from a dream. She started to struggle and Rook set her
down and shoved her behind him. When she noticed me standing there she swore
and started walking down the hall still wearing her heels with her bra and
panties.
Danarius reined in his anger taking deep breaths until his
clenched fists began to relax. Rook and I stood by the doorway waiting.
“It’s seems this woman you’ve brought with you is more than
she appears,” Danarius commented, eyeing me speculatively.
“She
is
my
anai
, and she’s none of your
concern. Stay away from what belongs to me Danarius,” Rook warned.
“For now Rook, but don’t think either one of them will be
safe for long. That little kitten is going to suffer for the insult you’ve
delivered tonight, and her mother will be auctioned off for the power she could
give others of your kind,” Danarius promised.
“Let’s go,” Rook said indicating I should go first. He
followed behind keeping an eye on the door at the end of the hall to make sure
Danarius wasn’t going to try anything. I hurried to catch up to Rachel and took
her by the arm when I did.
When we reached the parlor Kaleb asked sardonically, “Get
what you came for?”
The girls in the parlor stared at us in shock as we passed
by while the men glared at Rook murderously.
We just kept walking. When we got to the car Rook removed
his coat to place it over Rachel’s shivering shoulders.
“What are you doing here Mom,” Rachel whined.
“Not now Rachel, we need to get out of here,” I told her as
I shoved her into the tiny back seat of the Mustang.
She went in with a huff and I pushed my seat back, sat down
and buckled up.
Rook got in the other side and said, “You need to take that
bracelet off Rachel. It’ll have some kind of tracking device in it and I’d
rather Kaleb not know where I’m taking you.”
I sucked in a harsh breath. These people, or rather these
demons were tracking my child’s movements with beautiful jewelry?
“But I like this bracket,” Rachel protested in a whiny voice,
“and who are you to tell me what to do anyway?”
I turned around and grabbed her wrist then I yanked the
delicate bracket off and dropped it out the window. “Didn’t I teach you not to
accept gifts from strangers young lady?”
Rook put the car in gear and squealed the tires as he pulled
away from the house.
Rachel rolled her eyes, “Kaleb’s not a stranger Mom. I’ve
known him for months. He’s going to help me make lots of money and he wanted me
to bring some of my friends along to meet him.”
“I thought you were going out with Emily tonight,” I told
Rachel.
“I brought her along but when Kaleb came to pick us up she
said he gave her a bad vibe. She didn’t want to go with him but I told her I
wasn’t going to pass this opportunity up. I could have made so much money
tonight if you hadn’t shown up.” She actually sounded sulky. How the hell had
my daughter turned out like this? I knew I raised her better.
“So where did Emily go?” I inquired. I wanted to get as much
information as I could before I broke the bad news because I knew Rachel wouldn’t
be able to think as clearly once I did.
“Oh, one of Kaleb’s friends said he would give her a ride
home. At first she didn’t want to go with him but then she just changed her
mind.”
I rubbed my hands over my face, suddenly very tired and Rook
reached over to rub my shoulder.
Rachel leaned forward between the seats. “So you didn’t
answer, who are you?” she asked Rook.
“I’m Rook and I’m a friend of you mother’s,” He told her in
a tone that didn’t really invite further conversation. His eyes scanned the
mirrors constantly like he expected trouble.
“You sure don’t look like her usual friends.” Her eyes gave
him the once over.
“Rachel please sit back and put a seat belt on.” I think she
recognized something in my tone because she actually did what I asked without
any back talk.
“Where are you going to take us?” I asked Rook quietly as we
sped along the roads much faster than he’d driven on the way there. I got the
sense Rook was worried Danarius might try something now that we were away from
the relative safety of Kaleb’s house.
“Back to the resort, it’s the only place you’ll be safe
until I can put together a protection detail.”
I put my head back against the headrest and sighed. “I can’t
stay at the resort Rook. If anyone at work found out it would be the end of my
career.”
“And if you don’t stay at the resort for at least tonight it
might be the end of your life, and maybe Rachel’s too. Is that what you want
Angela?” He pushed out through gritted teeth.
From the back seat Rachel snorted, “Kaleb and Danarius
wouldn’t hurt me or my Mom.”
We both ignored her.
“I’m a single parent Rook. How am I going to provide for me
and Rachel if I lose my job? Maybe we could just stay in another hotel for a
few days.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “There is nowhere
on this planet outside of Solomon’s wards the two of you would be safe tonight.
Trust me Angela, you don’t know Danarius.”
The air around us vibrated with tension. Whoever this
Danarius was he had Rook seriously worried. The force meant a lot to me, and
something inside of me would die if I had to leave it behind, but nothing was
more important than my daughter’s life.
“Okay Rook. I trust your instincts. Is there any way to get
us into the hotel without going through the front door? It’s always under
surveillance and I’m already going to have to explain where the two of us went
together.”
He glanced at me and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
After another moment he said, “We’ll go in the front then you’ll leave alone so
no one will wonder why you never brought me back to the resort.”
“But why would we leave alone if we need to stay at the
resort?” I asked, confused.
He turned to face me with a mischievous grin. Oh how I loved
that playful side of him, even with all the stress I was currently under. “Because
it won’t really be you leaving.”
When we pulled up in front of the hotel things happened
pretty quickly. Rook checked with the front desk clerk, then led us to one of
the suites on the top floor. It had a werewolf theme and Rachel complained that
it wasn’t a vampire’s lair. Personally I liked the artwork with the wolves
howling at the moon and the gray and blue color scheme.
Just minutes after we made it to our suite Solomon knocked
then strode into the room with two women in tow. He was slender, about my
height with sandy blonde hair cut in a short, messy style that suited his
artistic personality. Unlike most of the staff here at Myths and Legends who
appeared to be in their early thirties Solomon looked like a Gothic teenager,
nineteen or twenty tops. I’d always thought of him as a magician but he called
himself a sorcerer.
Until the night of the bombing I could never figure out how
he pulled off his spectacular shows with smoke and mirrors. Now I knew the
magic he wielded was very real and more powerful than I could have imagined. If
it hadn’t been for the protective ward he threw up around The Gateway, the
fires caused by the bomb would have spread to the rest of the hotel before the
firefighters were able to get them under control. And as a result of that ward,
the incident reports for that night would have raised a lot of red flags if not
for Dragon’s ability to alter human minds.
Rachel had been slouching on the couch but when Solomon
entered the room she perked up and let Rook’s coat open enough to show her
cleavage. Unlike me, Rachel was well endowed having inherited those genes from
her father’s side of the family like most of her other physical traits. Rachel
was only about five-foot-five with dark blonde hair, green eyes and a body most
grown women would kill for. I shook my head wondering how I was going to keep
her from the destructive path she’d chosen for her life.
“Good evening everyone,” Solomon said with his faint English
accent. “I don’t mean to be abrupt but the message I got from the front desk
said this needs to happen quickly. If the two of you would please stand here in
front of me.”
Rachel rose from the couch and sashayed over to Solomon.
When she reached him I was thankful but surprised that he didn’t seem to notice
the half-naked girl in front of him. Solomon was known as a lady’s man.
According to the rumors, he sleeps with beautiful woman of any age bracket
wherever the urge strikes him. I’m told he frequently lets women ride him while
sitting at the bar in The Catacombs, the hard rock club here at the resort, and
their skirts aren’t always long enough to hide what they’re doing. Many of my
fellow cops have gone there trying to catch him in the act and arrest him, but
somehow they always get sidetracked and wind up playing the slots in the casino
instead.
I crossed the room from where I’d been sitting at the table
with Rook.
When we both stood before Solomon, Rachel gave him her best
come-hither look and said, “I’m Rachel, what’s your name?”
I rolled my eyes and heard Rook stifle a laugh across the
room.
“I’m Solomon, the Myths and Legends sorcerer,” he answered
with barely a glance in her direction making Rachel frown. Then he said, “I
need each of you to hold one of these in your hand for a few moments while I
work my magic. If I had more time I could do this without you being present,
but I’m told we can’t wait that long.”
He handed each of us a small silver ring and we closed our
fists around them. Rachel was looking at me curiously and I thought perhaps she
would need to have her memories altered by the time this was over.
Solomon closed his eyes and started chanting quietly in a
language I didn’t recognize. The ring warmed in my hand and Rachel’s must have
too because she opened her hand and held it close to her wide eyes. I continued
watching Solomon as he concentrated on his magic.
After a few moments Solomon opened his light brown eyes and
smiled. “That should do it,” he said holding out his hand for us to drop the
rings in.
“What’s going on Mom?” Rachel asked, curiously.
“I’m not sure yet Rachel.”
Solomon turned to the table where the two females he brought
with him were talking to Rook and said, “Angela, this is Vivian and Rita, they’re
dancers here at the resort and they’ll be impersonating you and your daughter
tonight so that your friends outside will think you’ve gone home.”
“I guess they’re close to the right height but I don’t think
they’re a close enough match to fool people who know me very well,” I told
Solomon.
“Vivian,” Solomon called and the taller woman blew a kiss to
Rook who was still sitting at the table, then she sauntered over to Solomon.
As I watched the younger woman walk I realized she was
almost a sexier version of me. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were a little
darker, a little warmer than mine and compared to my straight hair and almost
curve free body, her spiraling locks and voluptuous breasts would be a wet
dream come true for most men. My eyes moved to Rook and when I found him
watching me with one eyebrow raised I forced my fists to unclench.
Vivian held out her hand and as he slid the ring on her
finger Solomon said, “I give you Detective Angela Ruby.”
Just as he finished the last syllable I blinked and then I
was looking at myself instead of Vivian. Every detail was the same right down
to the brown slacks, off white shirt and police windbreaker I was wearing.
“No fucking way, how did you do that?” Utter delight lit up
my daughter’s face.
“Rachel Marie, watch your language,” I scolded her.
“But Mom that was so cool, how did he do that?”
“Tricks of the trade Rachel, tricks of the trade,” Solomon
said with a smile then called, “Rita.”
Rita was maybe an inch taller than Rachel, in her mid to
late twenties like Vivian and she had brown eyes and shoulder length brown
hair. Solomon slid the ring on her finger and said, “Ta-dah!” as she
transformed into my daughter.
“Wow, can I have that ring when you’re done with it? Or
actually could you make another one with me wearing better clothes? That would
really help me when I cut out of school. The teachers would never even...”
Rachel stopped when she noticed all of us were frowning at
her. “Um, actually I don’t really cut out of school, so I suppose I won’t be
needing a ring after all.”
“Uh-huh,” I said thinking I needed to start monitoring her
attendance a lot better. “Why don’t you go into the other room now and get
cleaned up. I’m sure there’s a robe in there and maybe we’ll be able to round
up some clothes for you in a little while.”
“But Mom, I’m eighteen now, I don’t want to be sent away
like a child. I want to know what’s going on here and why you came to get me
tonight in the first place. How did you even know where I was?”
“Not now Rachel, we’ll have plenty of time to talk in the
morning.”
“But...” Rachel spun on her heel and walked into the
bedroom.
“What just happened?” I asked, confused.
“I just gave her a push in the right direction so we can
discuss business,” Solomon said kindly. “She’ll take a shower then she’ll get
into the bed and sleep for the rest of the night.”
I guess that explained why so many cops decide to play the
slots after following Solomon around.
“Will that hurt her?”
Solomon shook his head. “Only if someone tried to erase
large parts of her memory or if her mind was tampered with on a regular basis
over an extended period of time. If you’d like, I could suggest that she likes
school and wants to do the best she can possibly do. I could also convince her
to make better lifestyle choices,” he added with a shrug.
I thought about it for a minute then shook my head. “No, I
want her to make better choices but I don’t want to brainwash her. We’ll just
have to work things out the old fashioned way no matter how frustrating it
might be at times.”
“Okay, but let me know if you change your mind. Now, if you
could please give your keys to Vivian and tell her your address so they can be
on their way.”
I handed over my keys and recited my address then the two
women left and Rook filled Solomon in on the events of the evening. Shortly
after that Solomon left promising to have some clothes sent up for all of us
after he tracked Dragon down to give him an update.
“How are you holding up?” Rook asked as soon as the door
closed behind Solomon.
I walked over and slumped onto the couch. “I don’t know, I
think I’m still numb at this point. How are we going to get home tomorrow if
they’re taking my car?”
“I’ll take you home when you’re ready. Do you have to work
tomorrow?”
I shook my head.
He came over and sat beside me, so close that heat radiated
from him through my pants. Suddenly I was so cold, shivers racked my body and
tears poured from my eyes as all the emotions I’d locked inside came crashing
over me. Rook pulled me onto his lap wrapping his arms around me. I let him
hold me, let that hum of energy soothe me while I cried again letting all the
horrible things I’d seen and heard bleed out of me.
His hand slid up my back and neck to the clip holding my
hair in place. Pinching the two sides together he opened the clip and the long
strands fell like a white curtain around my shoulders and down my back. I
nestled in against his chest while his fingers gently combed through my hair.
My tears slowed, then we were quiet for a few moments while I tried not to
think about how good it felt to have Rook comforting me.
Looking for a distraction I asked, “What did Kaleb call you
tonight? The last part sounded like Rook.”
“Sa’jon Ruk. Sa’jon is my name. In the language of my people
it means fierce warrior, and Ruk is a title of honor given to our Guardians.”
He continued running his fingers through my hair while I rested my cheek
against his chest letting the steady rhythm of his heartbeat sooth me.
“If that’s your name where did Devin Delaney come from?”
He surprised me with a chuckle. “I don’t think you’ll like
the answer to that question after what I saw a little while ago.”
I pulled back so I could look at his face. “Why wouldn’t I
like the answer to that?”
He smiled, a big happy smile. “Because Angela,” he said,
tapping his finger to the end of my nose. “You were jealous earlier when Vivian
blew me a kiss goodbye and she’s the one who gave me the name Devin Delaney.”
I knew my cheeks turned red, but I was far more curious than
embarrassed. “Why would Vivian choose your name? Why wouldn’t you just keep the
one you were given at birth?”
“Our names didn’t used to matter, but now we have to change
them and our locations every few decades or the humans start to wonder why we
never age. The last time I needed a new name I was spending a lot of time with
Vivian so I let her pick it,” he shrugged his big shoulder like it wasn’t
important.
I was quiet for a moment wondering, not for the first time,
what kind of creature Rook was since he was clearly not human. Aside from that,
the fact that he’d obviously had a relationship with Vivian at some point in
time disturbed me more than I cared to admit.
“Hey, what’s going on in that head of yours?” He asked as
his fingertips brushed my cheek.
Moving to the cushion beside him I folded my legs across
each other and sat facing him. “Well, there are a couple of things bothering me
about what you just said.” I bit the inside of my lip trying to get the courage
to ask him what I needed to know. It was a bad habit, but I’d done it for as
long as I could remember.
He turned to face me with his arm along the back of the
couch and one leg bent across the cushion. “Talk to me Angela. Holding back
when something’s bothering you will only put more distance between us, and
personally, I’m tired of all the distance between us.”
I licked my lips then asked the question that had been in
the back of my mind since we first slid though time together. “You said ‘the
humans’ Rook. If you’re not human, then what are you?”
He tensed and his eyes narrowed on me, gauging my reaction
when he said, “I’m a time demon Angela.”
Deep down I’d known he wasn’t human, but having it confirmed
was a bit of a shock. I waited to be horrified but I wasn’t. He’d always been
kind to me and over the years I’d grown to care for him no matter how hard I
tried not to. Did it really matter if he wasn’t human?
“So I guess that means not all demons are evil soul sucking
monsters like the ones we see in movies all the time,” I said, pleased when the
comment had the desired effect on Rook and the tension drained out of him.
“No, all the races have good and evil members just like
humans do. Although time demons are usually on the good side,” he replied,
obviously relieved. “What else is bothering you?”
“Um...” I blew out a hard breath and looked down, away from
his penetrating gaze. “Did you and Vivian have a relationship?” I asked, then I
rushed to add, “I know I don’t have any right to ask after the way I’ve treated
you, but I need to know.”
He took a moment to answer and my heart ached because of it.
I told myself it shouldn’t matter, that Rook wasn’t mine and I shouldn’t have
even asked. But I had asked, and it did matter. I didn’t want to think about
Rook being with any other woman, especially not one as beautiful and sexy as
Vivian.
Quietly he admitted, “Vivian and I were together for about
ten years but it ended over twenty years ago. I won’t lie, we’ve been together
physically since then, but only as friends, and until recently I let her and
Rita feed from me on a regular basis.”
I couldn’t stop the sob that escaped me. Why did hearing
this hurt so much?
“Angela, you have to understand that our culture is very
different from anything humans are used to. Vivian is a nightshifter and they,
like regular shapeshifters can only have children with their true mates. Once
they meet their true mates they eventually fall deeply in love with them
whether they were already in committed relationships with someone else or not.