Page 107 of Of Blood and Smoke

“You trap me sometimes and have your way with me. Like before.” I grinned at him, thinking of the fun we could have in his huge house.

“Oooooh... Karl, our son’s still got it. He’s a lady killer,” Ruth said, winking at me. She licked her lips and gazed at Josiah’sdad. Josiah’s eyes shuttered and he shook his head, clearly having had enough of his mom.

Josiah arched an eyebrow at me. “Yes, Little One, we can do that.” He nipped at my neck, sending goosebumps down my arms.

FIFTY-THREE

Della

We left Josiah’s parents’ home with promises to return soon. He had to explain a few things to me about why the parent-child relationship between the three of them was so unconventional. The same social constructs that applied to humans did not apply to vampires and demons. Boundaries practically didn’t exist, and it was closer to intimate friendship than adult child and older adult. Also, his mother was extraordinarily free-spirited—as became quickly apparent to me while I was there.

Josiah arranged for someone to pick up the few things I wanted from my apartment once he transitioned us into his manor in upstate New York. The teleportation he and his kind used was referred to as transitioning when they moved between realms. I had a lot of questions, of course, after my experience in the Second Realm.

Before we left, Josiah and his father discussed the upcoming changes due to Josiah’s disturbance of the entire system. He was breaking some curse or enchantment that had blinded him to many of his own abilities and caused all his actions to work in favor of the Ancients. Micah and he guessed it’d been placed early on during their training.

He’d left a gaping hole for the Court, and it was suggested he fill it. He turned it down. He had a company to run and a life to live in the Third Realm, with me. Apparently, there were lots of other Realms, but Josiah said he had no interest in visiting them. I decided to spend some time attempting to convince him, my curiosity stoked.

FIFTY-FOUR

I met Ashley in Ipomoea’s luxury cafeteria when I went back to work. It was just like old times, except somehow, I’d been gone for three weeks. The time difference between Realms was crazy; I’d thought I'd only been gone a couple days.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were going,” she complained, sipping on her soup. A buttery, golden breadstick was perched on the side of her bowl, tempting me to snag it. Her phone chimed and she picked it up, swiped at the screen, and frowned.

“I told you, there was no cell service. I would’ve. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

She eyed my chicken sandwich. “I gotta try one of those one of these days but I just love this soup.” She laughed. “I’m addicted.” Her phone dinged again, and she quickly turned it face down on the table.

“It was nice to get away. How was everything here?”

“Well, Micha disappeared for about a week. Weird with him not here but at least nobody was glaring at me.” She bangedher spoon against the porcelain a little too hard, revealing her annoyance over the man’s treatment of her.

I shook my head. “I don’t know why he’s so grumpy with you. Josiah hasn’t said anything about you so I’m sure you’re fine.”

Ashley picked up her cup of tea. “Wish I knew what I ever did to him, other than joke around about slang. Andy tells me not to stress but it's my job, you know?”

“I get it, I really do. Nobody likes to be uncomfortable at work, especially when you’re there more than home.”

I took a bite of my sandwich. “How are things with Andy?” She’d told me a while back that things were a bit rocky.

Just then, I remembered that Brett had to have known the truth about Josiah and Micha, due to his association with Vincent, who knew what Josiah was. Brett hadn’t seemed very surprised about the wraiths in the van when he’d forced me into it, and he’d been overly worried about my safety around Josiah. Brett and Andy worked together. Did Ashley know anything? She must not or she would’ve told me, I think.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Things are okay with him, he’s not abusive or anything.”

“No, it's not that. Did I tell you we moved my dad in with us?” I changed the subject hoping to avoid an awkward conversation. “We moved Melinda in too. We have all the medical equipment and everything and I get to read to my dad every day.”

It was a great feeling, having him right there with the best care. Josiah even had doctors he could call who’d be there instantly, should something go wrong. It was the best possible setup, and I loved that I had him back in the same residence as me. Everything was about as good as it could get, and Josiah had promised me a real vacation. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, just that the place was beautiful and mostly free of mortal threats. I couldn’t wait.

He also promised to take me to meet a woman associated with a clan of vampires somewhere in western Canada. He said she had access to a bunch of rare books, and he thought I could check them out since I was interested in studying magic.

He’d been in contact with a vampire named Kiam, who’d helped him rescue me and started him on a path that would develop all the skills he’d been unable to pursue before. Kiam was associated with the vampires out west and had arranged the visit for us. I was a little nervous about meeting them, but Josiah assured me I’d be safe, and he’d mentioned the woman, Devane, was human with magic blood. She was someone I really wanted to meet, as supposedly she’d spent her life having no idea what was in her veins. Maybe I wasn’t a witch, and maybe I had boring blood, but perhaps that could change?

Never give up hope.

Ashley’s phone chimed again, and she groaned. “Is it Andy?” I asked, trying to sneak a peek at her screen when she picked it up. I caught a glimpse of the contact's name, “Asshole” and the message was one, solitary word. “Now.”

“No,” she snapped. “I have to get back to work.”

“Okay, yeah, I probably should too.” I gathered up my used napkins, dropping them on my tray while she did the same. I was dying to know who “Asshole” was, but I didn’t want to ask for information she clearly wasn’t ready to volunteer. She was my best friend, but it was still rude to sneak a peek like I had.

“Is Micha giving you a hard time?” We started across the cafeteria, and I watched as she shut down, her face going blank. I’d never forgotten his overreaction that night in the limousine when he’d yelled at her.

Ashley grabbed my tray and stacked it with her own. “I’ll see you later, okay?” She refused to meet my eyes, but I knew she felt my stare. She wasdefinitelyhiding something from me. I just didn’t know what.

She took off, leaving me wondering if she really was okay. She’d open up to me when she was ready. I tried to reassure myself. Meanwhile, I had to get upstairs and go through the list of candidates to fill Christina’s position. Josiah had entrusted me with the job. Ashley’s friend Karissa kept coming to mind, but I’d look through the candidate’s file first.

After that was taken care of, Josiah would take me to Canada, and after that—the possibilities were wide open.

For the first time in my life, nearly everything was in perfect order, and I didn’t have to worry about my future.

The End

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