The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (30 page)

“Well
Draven goes in it
,
” I said pleading
my case one last time. But she just let out a snort
ed
laugh.

“Yes well
,
he is a fool in love and clearly would do anything to keep you happy because have no allusions Keira, he would have never been seen dead in that thing you call a car before he met you
.
”

“Alright Sophia that is enough
, if she wants to drive she will drive or she won’t go at all
.
” He said firmly but from the look on Sophia’s face I was going to
have to
cave quicker than these two.

“
I
ts fine
,
we will go
in something ridiculously fast,
with a shin
y paint job.
”
I said in defeat but
Sophia smiled which told me that
she had something else in mind.

“What?”

“Well I was thinking
...
Limo
!
” Oh no
,
this was getting worse
by the second
but
now
they laughed when
my face drop
ped
. I had only been in a Limo once and that was
a
Prom and
it
was filled with
a load of
drunken teenagers!

“That’s a little over the top for shopping
.
” She shook her head and again I caved.

“Ok
,
but I need to get some food on the way back
.
” They both looked shocked but what did they think
,
that I was getting the maid
in
to cook!

“What?
I’m cooking tonight…Libby can’t cook for toffee
.
” They hadn’t heard this expression before and Sophia giggled.

“Are you sure?” Draven came up to
me and I looked up to his bemused
face.

“Yeah I’m sure, I
mean that girl burns everything.
Once she
...
”

“No
,
I mean
,
do you not mind cooking tonight’
s meal?” Aww bless
,
he must be
looking at this as a chore.

“No of course not
,
I cook most nights. B
esides
,
I enjoy it and I’m quite
good
at it
.
” I said being modest about something
for the first time and Draven noticed
it.

“Oh really
?
” He said as he kissed me and Sophia just cleared her throat to indicate that she was
still
waiting.

“Ok
,
I’m ready
,
” I said but it was a lie as all I wanted to do was stay there
having him kissing me
all day.

“Sophia
, you
remember what we talked about
?
” He said as he threw her something I didn’t see. She caught it like it was part of her body she’d been missing and she slid it into her pocket before I could see.

“No problem, leave it to me
.
” She said winking at him and now I was doubly worried.

“What are you up to?” I asked before she dragged me away from my happiness. I could just make out him laughing as she pulled me out
of
the door.

There was a car waiting at the side of the building and it was like she said
,
a
long black
Limo. I really didn’t want to turn up at home in this so I used the excuse that I needed my truck at home and that I would meet her there. She moaned a bit but agreed in the end.

I walked over to my blue beast and found Ragnar
,
my guardian stood leaning against it. I sighed and hoped my car door wasn’t dented from his
immense
size. I knew I would
n’t
get away with driving back on my own. I couldn’t believe ho
w protective Draven was over me.

“Do you want me to drop you off somewhere
?
” I said sarcastically
but he just grunted.

“To your home
!
” He said not getting my humour. Ok
,
I was going to have to work on this. He got in the cab and I could almost hear the suspension cry out in pain. I tried to get it to start
ed,
but it was cold and didn’t want to move like last time. And like last time I rubbed the dash and said
,

“Come on baby
!
”
M
aking
R
agnar stare
at me in disbelief
.

“You speak to your car?” His question was serious and I coughed back a laugh.

“Oh yeah, I don’t have many friends
.
” I looked across to him and he thought I
was serious
. I started the car and then turned to face him.

“I’m joking but it worked didn’t it
?” At t
his he
finally
laughed
,
making me jump. Would I ever get
used to his version of a laugh. It was
a
cross between a deer’s mating call and sandpaper being sw
allowed, then being
thrown back up!

“You are a strange human girl
.
” I couldn’t tell if this was his idea of a good thing or bad
,
so I stayed silent. I swung the car round and made for the main road. I could tell he wasn’t happy with my slow driving but my m
otto was ‘
I preferred to get there late
r
than dead’
but c
onsidering he was immortal I doubted he would agree with me on this one.
I was wracking my brain to try and bring up a conversation but come on
,
what did I have in common with a Viking Demon?

“I know it must be very boring for you to be babysitting me
,
” I said but he seemed not only surprised that I was speaking to him but also that I had sympathised with him at all.

“It is differe
nt. But I have been entrusted with
guarding My Lord
’s most prized poss
ession
,
so it is an honourable one
.
” I let out a growl of my own.

“I’m not a Ming vase or his family’s crown jewels and I am mos
t definitely not one of his poss
essions!” I said
trying to get it through
,
bu
t he remained unmoved by my out
burst.

“Humans are too sensitive
,” he stated but I counter
acted his statement for one of my own.

“And you? Were you not once human?” He turned toward
s me and I got a bit scared that I had
gone too far.

“Yes I was
,
but I was a Warrior King a
nd our women weren’t out
spoken. They knew their place well enough.
”
He said this as a warning for me to behave for my Master but I just chuckled as it was
clearly
far to
o
late for that.

“Well times have changed and I doubted even back then tha
t Queens kept their mouths shut.
”
I snapped back
making
my point
.
H
e didn’t
reply but he did at least look
as though he
was giving what I said some thought
but then his thick lips curved on one side and his eyes moved sideways at m
e.
I however
,
was confused by his sudden amused behaviour
but I was smart enough not to question it.

We pulled up outside my house
and the Limo pulled up after
. Thankfully Libby and Frank were out. Ragnar walked over to the Limo and waited for me there. I made a motion at the blacked out windows and one rolled down.

“I will be five minutes
,
” I shouted to Sophia before running in the house to get ready. It didn’t take long but I remembered to grab my purse with my bank card and some cash
,
as I really did need to get some new clothes. I quickly changed my clothes and picked up my
mobile
phone that had been left to charge.
And that was it, I was ready. I checked myself in the mirror and for a moment I didn’t recognise the happy Keira staring back at me. It wasn’t long ago that it had been a rare sight but these days I just couldn’t stop smiling. Then the unbelievable hit me…

Draven really had fixed me.

The drive there was interesting but this was more down to its passengers. Three Demons and a
lip biting
human. If I wasn’t already a little crazy this would
have terrified me. But
let’s
face it
, I wasn’t exactly
normal. If anything I felt more comfortable than I would do with most humans.
This was probably down to the fact that finally
,
I didn’t feel crazy anymore. Being around these Demons and Angels made every second of my life real. Every sight, every dream and every scary touch
,
I now felt that it had all pointed me to this strange family that I felt so
much
a
part of
,
that it in itself scared me. I was terrified but for reasons
opposite than what they should be.

I never wanted it to end.

Zagan sat in the front with the driver and Ragnar sat at the front of the Limo
’s long seats
. He looked a little cramped but I could imagine this he would be used to. I think he’d even look big in a hummer
!
. Me and Sophia sat next to each other at the very back and I really didn’t understand the need for this car for a simple shopping trip. But then we passed the turning to the mall I knew
,
so it made me speak for the first time.

“Umm
,
did we just mis
s the turning?” Sophia laughed at me
in response
.

“Keira did you really think we were going sh
opping in that tiny little mall? F
or starters they don’t have any designer stores
.
”

“I don’t buy my clothes from designer
stores....
remember
,
boring non rich human here
.
” She was laughing again, only this time she flicked her hair back.

“Well you do now
.
”

“OH no, I
’m
not been dragged around some fancy store and spending a ridiculous amount of money on stuff I won’t wear.” She let out a moan but I ignored it.

“Draven likes
me the way I am
,
not becaus
e I come with diamonds, an expensive handbag and a five hundred dollar haircut!
” She was now pouting and this might have worked around Draven but not me. Although
,
it was adorable. When I didn’t budge she spoke.

“Fine! We can go in your boring plain shops but you have to at least come in some of mine
.
”

“As long as you don’t make me buy anything in them, then sure
,
no problem
.
” She was happy with this outcome. Well this was a first, I had never had to get the rules straight before going on a shopping trip.

“What did Draven mean back there?”
I asked once again breaking the silence.
She tried to put on a blank expression but it was hard when she really wanted to smile.

“I don’t know what you mean
.
”

“Oh come off it! What did he throw you?”

“You will just have to wait and see
.
” And that was all she would say on the matter. I could tell we were heading
in
to the city as I vaguely remembered coming back from the airport this way. The Limo got a lot of attention, especially when we got into more populate
d areas. People
beeped their
horns and wave
d
as
if
we could have been celebrities. I was going bright red even though no one could see me through the blacked out windows.