Blood and Loss (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) (6 page)

“Are you fucking him?”

“What do you care?”

He pulle
d me closer, his breath tickling my ear as he spoke. “I care, sweets. You know I do. He isn’t good enough for you.”

“You are overreacting
. I haven’t had sex with him. Quintus has been nothing but good to me. I am tired of this. You have to stop doing this, Declan.”

“I just hate to see his hands on you. It is very inappropriate for a boss to be all over one of his employees.”

“What do you care
, Declan? You fuck anything that walks in your bar, and I hug Quintus good-bye and you freak out. Hell, you told me once you did your manager on a pallet of beer. So don’t pull that one.”

“Those girls don’t mean anything to me. They are just a means to an end.”

“Wow, that is so romantic. What a catch you are.”

I couldn’t tell if he looked hurt or ashamed. I hoped it was both.
“Don’t be mad; I just want what is best for you.” I was mad at him, but I knew he meant what he said.

“I was hugging Quintus because he has a meeting with Illi. He is pretty sure she is going to lift the
geis
. So if you want what is best for me, then that includes Quintus. He may have finally found a way to get my magic back.” He dropped his eyes to the floor and let go of my arm. I went to my room and gave my door a very satisfying slam.

Chapter 6

The smell of waffles and coffee pulled me from sleep. Declan was an amazing cook. I often enjoyed the best meals after we had a fight. He knew my weakness for good coffee and big breakfast was the fastest way to my heart. I smelled bacon too. He must have felt really guilty this morning. He should have felt guilty; he acted like a total ass last night.

I yelled from my bedroom as I put on my robe. “If you are trying to make
up for last night, then you’re headed in the right direction. “

I came out to
find my kitchen table filled with Belgian waffles, whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and thick-cut bacon. Declan was leaning over the stove, wearing only a pair of silk boxers, the muscles in his back flexing as he worked over our breakfast. Yup, it was hard to stay mad at that.

He turned with a huge grin on his face. “Sit
; I am almost ready. I just need to pour our coffees.”

“You do know the way to my heart.”
Yummy! Fair Trade freshly ground coffee was the nectar of the gods.

“You mean acting like a jerk isn’t doing it for you.”
He leaned down and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

I winced at his referral to last night. “Do we have to talk about that except
to say you were clearly wrong and I was totally in the right?”

He sat down with our coffees
. “I was clearly wrong about how I expressed my concern. I shouldn’t have been so angry. I should have kept my temper so you could see how worried I really was. I’m not wrong to be suspicious of him.”

I sighed. This was never going to end.
“I don’t expect you to ever like Quintus and I don’t expect you to trust him, but you should trust me. I work with vampires every night. I know how they are. Quintus can ask anything he wants. I can always say ‘no.’”

“Unless you feel you can’t because he has been there for you all these years.”

“So have you and I have no problem saying ‘no’ to you.”

He laughed and shook his head.
“
Touché.
”

“Seriously
, Declan, I am sick of you acting like a jealous husband. He is my boss and my friend. I care about him. When you say those things about him, it hurts me.”

I could see a thousand caustic retorts fly through his mind. His mouth opened and close
d like a fish’s. It was killing him to hold back. When he finally did speak, his voice was tight and controlled. “I will try my best.”

That had taken a lot and I couldn’t stand to see the strain on his face any longer. I decided to take pity on him and change the subject.
“So what is on the agenda for today? Are you going to work?”

“Yeah
, not until six though. Why? Did you want to do something?”

“Quintus is meeting with Illi t
onight and I can’t stay in the house, pacing the floor all day.”

“Want to go for a hike? We haven’t been in a long time.”

I gave him a snarl. “Why do all your time wasters have to do with exercise? What’s wrong with a matinee or a pedicure?”

“Exercise is good for you and if you want to get a pedicure, you’ll have to get yourself a girlfriend.”

“I’d love to, but you’ve had sex with them all.”

His eyes widen
ed, then he continued to smile. “You are saucy this morning. It is kind of turning me on.”

“You can use that energy on our hike. I’ll go get ready. At least I’ll be able to work off this breakfast. It’s a good thing we don’t fight too often or I would weigh a ton.”

The hike was just what I needed. Declan was always happiest when outside doing something physical. He was in a playful mood, and he kept me laughing and distracted all day. I hated exercise, but between the company and the views, I couldn’t help but enjoy myself.

We got back just in time for me to grab a quick shower and head out.
My drive to work wasn’t long, but there was a big difference between my area of Vancouver and where Quintus lived. I was heading from my up-and-coming neighborhood to the richest neighborhood in Vancouver. Shaughnessy was a mixture of old stately homes and new modern wonders. Its residents were a mixture of old and new money, Quintus’ money being the oldest by far. Houses in this area cost above a million and that was for a fixer upper. There were a lot that cost above ten million.

My two
-bedroom bungalow in a nice, but much less prestigious neighborhood, had cost me a mint. For the same price in Halifax, I could have owned a mansion. It had taken a lot of searching to find a place I could afford that didn’t need too many repairs and wouldn’t require an armed guard for me to feel safe walking around the block. It was part of the reason I loved my little bungalow so much. My real estate agent really earned her money.

After I p
ulled into the circular driveway, I turned off the car and took a deep breath. The beauty of the estate always caught me off guard no matter how many times I came here. My boss might have been ancient, but his tastes were all modern. His home was all clean lines, simple design, and enough windows to make a greenhouse jealous. When you had a view of the ocean and the mountains, you didn’t want a pesky thing like walls to ruin the view. The flowers, water features, and lighting were designed to look just as good at night as in the daytime.

Quintus was one of the few vampires old enough to enjoy the day.
It was not an easy milestone to achieve, which was why the myth still persisted that all vampires had to avoid the sun. He did all his business out of his home, so he had state-of-the-art blinds that came down over every window when he had other vampires in his home during the day.

I walked up to the l
arge oak door and let myself in, expecting to be greeted with a flurry of activity. No one was in the foyer, which was odd. The house after dark was regular business hours for vampires. Seattle/Vancouver territory was one of the largest in the country. The frequent fog and cloudy skies let vampires who weren’t quite old enough for full sun still to enjoy an early morning or evening outside. To find myself alone in a quiet house was eerie.

“We are all waiting for you in the
study.”

My heart leapt in my throat and I jumped
around to find Lucius hulking over me. I hadn’t heard him walk in. Lucius was second in command and definitely the brawn of the organization. He didn’t have the long lean muscles like most vampires. He was big, bulky, and intimidating. “Lucius, you scared the crap out of me.”

His cold blue eyes studied me. I thought he would at least smile at my discomfort
. Lucius was the most daunting creature I had ever met. He was tall enough that I had to crane my neck to look up at him. His military buzz cut made him look like a drill sergeant from Hell. He used that to his advantage whenever he could. I avoided him whenever possible and that wasn’t an easy task since he was Quintus’ second in command. He was the only vampire that Quintus truly trusted. He had sired Lucius. He had made only one vampire in his very long life. I didn’t know the how or why, but they had a very strong bond.

On the occasions we did have to interact
, he was curt, but professional. He never once did anything to make me so scared of him. It was his vibe. Despite my fear, I had tried to joke around and get to know him, but he made it clear we were not friends. So we remained distant work acquaintances. It seemed to work for us.

“Quintus is having a meeting with
some of his most trusted associates. Two of them are not human-friendly. You are to sit in the back with me and not say a peep.” He turned and walked away without waiting for a reply.

I didn’t so much feel like he hated me, but that he didn’t care if I existed or not.
I stuck my tongue out at his back. Showing defiance without letting him know I did it was within my comfort zone. I was too busy mocking his back to notice when he stopped short. I slammed right into him. It felt like hitting a brick wall. “Sorry,” I mumbled. I don’t think he even noticed.

There were three
vampires sitting in front of Quintus’ desk. I knew one of the vampires. His name was Killian. He looked like pale version of a California surfer dude. If Lucius was Quintus’ second in command then Killian was a close third. The Seattle/Vancouver territory was a large and populated area. Quintus relied on Killian to help when he needed to be in two places at once. Vampires were very territorial and it seemed like someone was always encroaching on another’s territory. I had never seen the other two. That was strange because I thought I knew all the vampires in the area.

Lucius pulled me down beside him. He too
k up far too much space on the loveseat we were sharing. Did he really have to spread his legs that far? Jeez. I crossed my legs and tried to mold myself into the arm. I didn’t know what “not human-friendly” meant, but I was determined not to find out.

Quintus gave his second in command a nod and cleared his throat. “I want to thank you for coming on such short notice.
I would not have asked if it wasn’t so important.”

He took a deep breath before continuing.
“For two years, I have gathered Intel. Until tonight, I had the luxury of thinking of the information as rumor. Tonight, all that has changed, I have been given evidence from a source I can’t discredit.”

“Get on with it, Quintus. We get it. You are a very thorough man.” Mr. Tall and Spindly seemed a little cranky.

“Yes, well
, since no one in this room was alive at the time this tale started, I will give you a brief history.” He looked sadly at Mr. Tall. “Emil, I wish your maker was still with us. Lothor was a good man. He fought by my side when we went to war with the fae. He would do a much better job of explaining this than I would.”

It unsettled me to
see Quintus this rattled by something. Thoughts swirled around in my head. Why didn’t I know what he was talking about? I was with him almost every day. I was privy to some pretty high level stuff. To have no clue what was going on was a little distressing to say the least.

“Everyone here has heard of the
fae. If your makers did their job, they have passed down as much knowledge as they could to you. It is the duty of those that were there to pass down the dangers the fae present. Over 2000 years ago, we declared war against the fae. They were out of control. They say absolute power corrupts absolutely and they are right. Immortality can be a gift or a curse. The fae began to grow bored in their daily lives. So they turned to humans as a source of entertainment. They had the power to glamour a human into doing anything. They grew bored with controlling one or two and started to use whole towns, sometimes kingdoms, like pieces on a chessboard. One fae would war against others using humans as the pawns, until there was a clear winner. Some would collect huge harems of the most beautiful women. It was clear that something had to be done. Humans didn’t stand a chance facing them alone. Most didn’t even know they were in danger.

“The
supernatural community met to discuss what to do. The vampires and humans joined forces for the first time in history. The weres decided to remain neutral and we have been enemies ever since.

“
Even with our joined forces and greater numbers, the task of defeating the fae seemed insurmountable. They are immortal. They are magical beings and extremely hard to kill. Their skill in warfare was legendary. Some have been alive since before humans walked this Earth and that has given them a level of skill in battle that is beautiful to watch and terrifying to experience. The fae are not as fast as vampires and we cannot be glamoured by them, but we were out-matched.”

“This is all very interesting
, Quintus, but why are we here?” Emil looked bored and Quintus shot him a scathing look.

“Lothor didn’t do his job if you are this bored
, Emil.” Quintus leaned back and was silent. He was gathering his thoughts. I was freaking out. I thought the fae were, pardon the pun, fairytales. These guys didn’t sound like tiny creatures with gossamer wings.

“We went to war with the
fae because they had no value for human life. They played with them like a spoiled child does with his toys. He plays carelessly, knowing there is plenty more where that came from. They did not see them as beings worthy of respect. They saw them more like we see a cow or dog.”

Okay, not really enjoying the cow analogy. I didn’t think Quintus felt that way, but I wasn’t sure of the others in the room. Lucius leaned over and whispered in my ear
, “You either sit still or you will be sitting on my lap.” Sitting still now; don’t want to anger the big bad vampire.

“I won’t pretend we attacked the
fae just to champion the humans. Everyone in this room knows better than that.” He gave a dirty look to Emil. “Or maybe you don’t. We have been enemies with the fae since the first vampire was created. Hatred for the fae was ingrained in our creation.”

“
I am going to tell you the story of our conception since it doesn’t seem your sires have done the job they should have. Thousands of years ago, a fae named Tovar became enamoured with a human woman. This had happened thousands of times, but this time he took her to live with him in the fairy mound. Their magical realm allows a human to remain the age they are when they enter. The catch is if you ever leave, you will instantly age every minute you spent in the fae realm. He kept her with him for hundreds of years.