White Lies: (The Uruwashi Series #4) (6 page)

“Jesus, what the hell was that?” Even as he asked, Tristan knew the answer.

Desmond smiled and rolled down his window to lean halfway out with his arm on the sill. The snow was coming down again, thick and heavy. A figure popped up outside of Desmond’s window making Tristan and Simon both jump again.

Tristan wasn’t really surprised to see it was a kitsune—in human form and naked. They didn’t have to rely on human vehicles to get around they could just will it and be wherever they wanted, pop in, pop out.

“Akane,” Desmond said, “beat us here.” He laughed.

She made a dismissive gesture with her hand and leaned onto the window sill, her naked breasts resting on Desmond’s arm. “Who do you think I am? You however, took longer than I thought you might. It’s nearly time, you should hurry.” 

Desmond laughed and reached out, touching her face with his free hand. She smiled, not bothered by his touch in the least. “Aye. Go on then, we’ll be right up.”

She smiled and leaned into the car to kiss Desmond’s cheek before turning away. The headlights gave everyone a good view of her naked rear as she started to run up the driveway. As Desmond pulled up behind her, the car slushing around in the snow, Akane transformed again. Tristan’d seen it a few times now, but it still amazed him every time. The world was truly more interesting than he ever bargained for.

“Yew have no idea,” Desmond said with a smile.

“Quit eavesdropping.”

Up the driveway the hulking shadow of the temple came into view.

“No can do, mate. Yew were doing well earlier, blocking us oot when we got yew angry.” Desmond pulled off the side and stopped the car. The seat moaned under Desmond as the big guy turned to look Tristan in the eye. “But yew got too rattled, lost yur focus.”

Tristan glared at him. “Yeah, pretty sure that was your point, douche.” It was almost like Desmond was testing Tristan. Desmond’s sudden dirty grin confirmed his thoughts. “Congratu-fucking-lations. You pissed me off and made me lose my mental block. Why do you give a shit anyway?”

Desmond sighed and pointed a thumb towards Simon. “This one can hide his thoughts completely. He won’t get in trouble with a vampire.”

Who the fuck said anything about a vampire?

This was about a troll… right? Dammit, he knew this was a setup but if there was a vampire involved he could be in trouble because there was no way in hell he could trust Desmond to have his back.

Simon shifted in his seat, silent and obviously just as confused as Tristan.

“But you,” Desmond said and his accent wasn’t as heavy, his expression serious. “You,
you
be trouble.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Desmond narrowed those cold green eyes on Tristan and leaned over the center console, getting all up in Tristan’s business. “You let your feelings control you too much. You let your feelings for Ash blind you. You is too young and naïve and brash, and will get us all fucking killed.”

Tristan had no idea what was going on anymore. So he answered the only way he knew how. “Get the fuck out of my face before I bury a knife in your neck…” He put on a nasty sneer. “
Again
.”

Desmond’s smile was all teeth as he gave Tristan’s cheek a quick, sharp slap before exiting the car, laughing. Simon gasped and Tristan turned to look at the fae as Desmond rummaged around in the trunk for god knew what. They blinked at each other in shock for a moment before Tristan’s rage piqued.

In a flurry, he got out of the car and stormed up to Desmond who was now standing on the temple steps with Akane, a big sword slung over his shoulder that Tristan hadn’t seen before but realized had been snuck into his car while he was talking to Yuki. The knowledge that they
knew
Tristan would do what they wanted fueled his anger further.

The vampire turned when he heard Tristan coming but wasn’t prepared for the fist he took to the jaw. The vampire grunted, head snapping back and stumbling a few steps. He might have been able to miss the hit, had he been paying attention.

“That’s for being a dick,” Tristan hissed and shook his hand to ease the pain. Fuck, he’d split a knuckled too. Desmond’s face was as hard as he remembered. And to think he actually felt a little bad for Desmond when everyone thought he’d died in Greece. “Fuck you, Desmond.”

“Aye,” he answered in a somber tone, “that’ll do. Now let’s get tae work.”

AKANE was in human form again and had, thankfully, wrapped herself in a black hooded robe. It brought back an old memory, Tristan’s first meeting with Ash. She wore a cape very similar and he wondered what happened to it. Probably up in flames with the rest of Ash’s things when she burnt down her home.

Akane smiled and gave Tristan quick look over, her gaze lingering on the gun under his arm and the sword he wasn’t too keen on at his hip.

“So where’s this troll?” Tristan asked, ready to leave. “Don’t want to be here all night.”

Akane was still considering Tristan when the sound of feet crunching through snow sounded behind him. He stiffened, bracing for the verbal onslaught that was Simon.

The fae came up next to Tristan, blinking expectantly at him. “My brother?” he whispered sounding heartbroken and it fucking killed Tristan. “Please tell me, did you find him? Did you find Sebastian Renard?”

Tristan sighed, running a hand through his hair, trying to suppress a cringe. “Yeah. I did. I met Sebastian.”

Simon darted forward, grabbing Tristan’s jacket. “You—you did! Where is he? Why hasn’t he called me, why hasn’t he come back for me? Where’d you last see him? Please, I need to know.”

Tristan shut his eyes and took in a deep breath. The last place he saw the treacherous fae was minutes before Ash threw his drained and unconscious body over the side of their cruise ship. Maybe the fae did survive, but not likely.

Someone held back a snorted laugh and Tristan’s eyes opened to find Desmond smirking. The vampire grumbled something that sounded faintly like, “monster” under his breath. And strangely, Tristan thought the prick meant it as a compliment.

“Listen, Simon.” Tristan gently pried the fae’s hot fingers from his jacket. “I uh, I don’t really know how to say this...”

Desmond grabbed Simon’s shoulders and yanked the fae to him, tucking him under his arm. Simon made a surprised noise and blinked up at Desmond around the vampire’s barrel chest. “Oi, why don’t you go inside and see Kohaku?”

“Awe, come on, Desmond. Tristan knows Sebastian and I need to know where he is—”

Desmond gave the fae a good shove, sending him towards the temple entrance and patted him on the butt like a child. “Go’n, Simon. We’ll talk ‘boot it later.”

Simon glanced over his shoulder, frowning hard. He looked ready to cry. And despite Sebastian’s treachery and deserving his end, Tristan still felt terrible. If anything, he could take it as a sign he was still human enough. He supposed.

When the fae disappeared into the temple, Tristan spun to Desmond. “What the fuck’s wrong with you today? Pick a lane and quit fucking around.”

“Or what? You’ll girl slap me again?” Desmond grinned, looking way too proud of himself even if he should have been cold in his short sleeves and thin slacks. The wind was picking up and Tristan wondered if there was a storm coming in.

“Why doesn’t he know? That was months ago.”

“Yew see how the boy is, we’s cannae be the one to ruin that.”

And he was? He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring. “Seriously? You’re telling me that Yuki hasn’t said a single thing to lead him to believe his brother was a torturous traitor? She loves breaking bad news to people.”

Desmond shook his head. “Yew don’ understand Master at all.”

Tristan groaned. He wasn’t in the mood to argue with Desmond. He was just going to get this troll, see to its successful relocation and get home. He wanted sit down and have a serious conversation with Ash about planning their departure. And surely by the time he returned, she’d have gotten what she wanted from Yuki.

“Where is the troll?”

It was Akane that answered, “The Uruwashi is eager for blood, yet again.”

“Excuse me?”

She smiled and stepped up to him. She was close enough that her cape brushed against him and he refused to move back. She was completely different from before. She was so meek and quiet at Yuki’s, perhaps that was in respect for the ancient vampire, because now she was stepping over the line. Way over and he didn’t know how to react.

“I may be young now, however, I remember your kind from previous lives, and stories my kind have been passed on to one another. Many of our tales include the Uruwashi.”

She stepped closer and still he refused to move. He could feel her small breasts pressed to his chest. “They were a noble and righteous group, befitting in their Japanese heritage to be sure. They were strong, determined and most of all, blood thirsty. And even though their attraction to their sworn enemy was nearly blinding for some...”

Tristan stiffened, a small noise leaving him. He hadn’t meant to react but she’d hit it right on the nose.

She smiled keenly. “Still, they soldiered on with their hunt, killing the vampire even if they preferred to, well, stake them with something other than a piece of cut wood.” She took a step back, twirling a hand. “And, word of your deeds has long since reached me. You’ve been leaving a noticeable imprint on the shinwa and heikō alike.”

He took his own step back, swallowing hard. “Look lady, I don’t know what you think you know, or what that fucker has told you,” He motioned to Desmond. “But you don’t know a thing about me. Now are you going to show me where this troll is, ‘cause I’m getting fucking tired of asking and I’m this fucking close to walking away.”

Her head cocked to the side much like fox in the wild might, curious. Her fuzzy ears twitched as they picked out sounds that Tristan couldn’t hear. Hell, Desmond probably didn’t either.

“The troll should be out soon. It’s about time.”

“Time for…?”

She shook her head. “It comes out about the same time every night.”

“Anything else you can tell me about it?”

Akane frowned, looking to Desmond. “It won’t be alone.”

“Excuse me?” Tristan asked, bristling. “You’re telling me it’s actually two? How the fuck am I supposed to convince two bolder sized trolls that presumably don’t want to leave to do just that, huh?”

Akane and Desmond exchanged glances. There was something they weren’t telling him. Tristan’d just opened his mouth to say as much when a deep gravelly voice behind them said in rude Japanese, “Who’re you?”

The group spun to the voice and Tristan took a step back, gasping in surprise at the thing before him. Mamoru had done a remarkable job of describing the troll, but it was still a shock to see one in person.

This one was short, for a troll, at nearly eight feet tall. The shape was humanoid if humans were pear shaped with tiny little short legs and charcoal colored leather skin. Fat Bastard had nothing wrinkle-wise on the troll. Some were just folds, like the ones where there should have been a chin, but others might have been breasts, or… something else.

This troll must have been shy because it wore a swath of black fabric, like a diaper, where its genitals would be, that was assuming the anatomy was the same as humans—that Mamoru never said. Guess humans didn’t want to get intimate with the troll. Gave a whole new meaning to bumping uglies.

It looked like an over-roasted version of the Stay Puft marshmallow man and Tristan mumbled under his breath, “Hel-lo nurse,” eliciting a snicker from Desmond.

“Can be funny when yew is not being an wee Jessie bas.”

“Shut up,” he automatically snapped.

Desmond only grinned fang at him.

“Who are you?” the troll asked again in his less than polite Japanese. “Why are you here?”

It was Desmond’s huge claymore slung over his shoulder that made the troll nervous since he wouldn’t take his eyes from the vampire.

“Troll relocation services, sir,” Tristan said with a snarky air of authority as he tipped a fake hat brim. Just because he didn’t want to do this shit job didn’t mean he couldn’t have some fun with it. “Your permit’s run out.”

Desmond snorted a laugh.

“Reloca—what?” The troll looked back and forth over the group with bright yellow eyes.

Akane hissed and flung herself to the ground and shifted. Out from underneath the cape came a red fox, hissing and chirping at the troll.

“N—no!” The troll took a step back. “I’m not going anywhere—Bird man! Where are you?”

Tristan made a flamboyant sweeping motion to the creature’s back as it continued to yell for this “bird man”. “There you have it. He doesn’t want to leave.”

“Bloody right,” Desmond grunted and tugged his claymore free.

“All yours, Leonidas. I’m sure you can handle just one troll by yourself.”

The vampire glanced down at Akane then gave Tristan a cynical scowl. “Oi, is that all you fooking got?”

“You know, it’s really not my problem if the kitsune don’t like having a troll around.” He looked down to the fox at his feet when she spit at him. “If the troll doesn’t want to leave, I’m not going to force him. Besides, I know this whole thing was a fucking lie. I’m only here because Ash wanted to get Yuki alone.”

Desmond stopped and turned to look at him completely dumbfounded. “What bloody good is yew if yew won’t take a shot or two at the enemy?”

“I told you before, I’m a vampire hunter. The rest of the shinwa and heikō are off the docket.” Even as Tristan was saying it, he wondered why. Every single race of shinwa and heikō were powerful in their own way, all stronger than humans. Who was there to police them if the humans couldn’t? Maybe, once, that was the Uruwashi’s original goal but they’d been decimated by the vampire too much to keep up and had to focus on just one out of the fourteen.

Not liking where his thoughts were taking him, Tristan let out a huff and took a step back. He was watching the troll continue to yell at the woods as he said, “I’m serious Desmond, I’m not okay with this. We don’t even know if it’s done anything wrong. And by wrong I mean hurt humans.” The shinwa could beat on each other all they wanted for all he cared. 

“Fooking pussy,” the Scot grunted.

“Yeee-up,” Tristan answered with a big, contemptuous smirk.

Desmond snorted a laugh before letting out a war cry, darting forward. Akane echoed Desmond’s cry with a fox-born howl/scream and joined the big vampire. The troll answered with his own call and shot forward. Despite his larger-than-blimp size and ridiculously short tlegs, the troll moved fast and with precision.

Content to just sit and watch the show, Tristan took a seat on the temple steps. His ass hadn’t even had time to register as cold before there was a commotion behind him in the temple. Someone screamed and wood cracked. He was just twisting at the waist to look back when Simon came soaring out. On instinct Tristan tried to catch the fae and got himself banged up for it.

He took a hit to his chin that blacked out his vision and a jab to the ribs that took his breath. When he came to a few seconds later he was at the bottom of the stairs in a tangle of limbs with the fae.

“Fuuuuck,” he hissed, touching his sore jaw. That was going to leave a mark. “Hey, you okay?”

Simon managed to sit up and frowned at Tristan, the blood from his scalp making him squeeze one eye shut. “Ye-yeah.”

“You’re hurt.” Tristan stumbled to his feet, dragging Simon up with him.

The fae swayed and his eyes lost a little focus as he looked up. “Huh? Yeah, no, it’s okay. I’m fine, I bleed all the time. Happens a lot with vampires.”

Yep, a vampire.

Tristan looked up the steps to the man silently taking in everything. Average in height, slender in build, the vampire held himself with an air of nobility. Tristan was betting the guy was the strong silent type, kind of like Ash. On the trail of his thoughts, Tristan scrutinized the man’s appearance more closely. The dude looked like a dude, but if he was old enough and of the right bloodline, he could put up an aura like Ash. And while the vampire was pale skinned, his hair was stark raven black where it fell over his face to hide half of it. Inside, Tristan’s blood knew what his eyes were telling him, that this guy was a vanilla. The vampire had no powers—well, no seikonō anyway.

Lucky for Tristan.

Despite seeing Ash with one all the time, Tristan was surprised to see the vampire holding a katana. Only just though since the sleeve of his top was so long that it nearly fell to his knee. The other sleeve was folded back to reveal light grey silk lining to the strangely modern mix of Japanese and Chinese attire of his long, form fitting robe—you know, one of those kinds with long tails that split into four pieces and stopped at the ankle. The mandarin collar looked like it might have been stiff and rubbed if it weren’t made out of velvet. Plain black slacks cut straight and loose finished off the outfit. But it was the boots that ruined the whole look.

The vampire must have notice Tristan staring and shifted his stance. “You like my boots?” the vampire asked, his one visible eye full of amusement though the rest of his expression was stoic. “Kitsune hide makes wonderful outwear.”

The realization that the vampire’s boots were made of kitsune made Tristan pale a little because, fuck, that had to hurt.

“Who the hell are you?”

Before the vampire could answer, the troll shouted, “Wren!”

Tristan spun towards the voice, careful to keep the vampire in his line of sight. The troll was shouting at the vampire, trying to avoid Desmond’s and Akane’s attacks. “Wren, they’re trying to hurt me!”