Page 23 of Bottoms Up
“No, don’t give him money. God, Jules. That’s a really fast way to fuck up a relationship.”
“I have plenty, and it just keeps coming in.” I grunted while hanging from one hand and reaching with the other. This part of the wall was an overhang, and man, was it a bitch.
“You do, and a hundred K isn’t going to put a dent in your finances, but still, just don’t.”
We were silent while I maneuvered until I was well above him, and then it was his turn. He’d watched me, which made it easier for him, but still, he handled it a whole lot smoother than I’d managed.
“Slaves don’t get to keep all their magic,” he told me when he made it to me. “A magic drain is installed when they’re made a slave, and most of their magic is funneled to their master. He isn’t going to be at the top of the hierarchy, but he isn’t likely to be at the bottom once he has the use of his magic.”
“Is it possible he doesn’t know about the drain? That seems like a really big deal, for him to be stronger and not know it.”
Benji shrugged. “From what you said, he was made a slave before he fully came into his power. Vampires and shapeshifters who are turned into slaves long after they’ve gained control and come into their power, I understand the process of putting the drain in is quite painful, and then the loss of their power is a huge deal to them, but it’s possible he doesn’t even remember it happening, if he truly wasn’t in control back when it was done.”
“I don’t want to piss Marco off,” I told him. “And yet, I want Julian free. But if Julian’s right and nothing much will change? Maybe it doesn’t really matter.”
“It matters. A man who owns himself versus a man owned by another? He can’t fully give himself to you until he’s his own man.”
“But Marco will still be his Master. Not that he’llownhim, but the whole Master Vampire thing. Even the really powerful vampires call MarcoMaster.”
“The head guy in Vegas is scary as fuck, and everyone is super careful to use the right terminology with him. Still, the people close to him see him as safety. His reputation keeps them safe, right? All the big-bad guys are terrified of him, so the people he loves are some of the safest people on the planet.”
“Vegas? Kirsten’s daughter lives in Vegas. I’ve met her boyfriends, Gavin and Nick. Her dog, too. Kirsten sometimes brings them all to the house for dinner.”
“Fuck, Jules. You know Kirsten and Lauren?”
“Kirsten used to be my therapist. She closed up shop, I guess when she…”Not my secret to tell.“When her life got complicated. We’re friends now.”
“Homewood. Right. I wasn’t thinking. Ofcourseyou know Kirsten and Cora. Probably Mordecai and Nathan, too.” He turned to me with a big smile. “If you’re at Homewood, thatmeans you live near the T-Wall, and wow, am I jealous. How often do you go?”
I stared at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about, and when he realized I didn’t know about it, he spent the next fifteen minutes, while we rested, telling me about this wonderful climbing wall a few miles away from Homewood, on the cliffs overlooking the Tennessee River.
And then, of course, the conversation went back to vampires, which led to me telling him about the damned magic necklace, and my face-to-face conversation with a demon.
“You still have the torc?”
“Yeah. Sort of. I have a permanent room upstairs at Homewood now, and the torc stays in a safe in my room. There’s concern the demon might steal it to try to reactivate it, and he can’t get into Homewood, but it’d likely be a piece of cake for him to get into my place or the Beast Mansion.”
We were sitting on top of the rock by then, legs stretched out on sun-warmed granite, staring out at the endless folds of green stretching to the horizon. A breeze cut the heat just enough to keep the sweat from sticking, and I drank ice water from a bottle stashed in my pack.
I will never tire of the energy one feels on top of a mountain — wind in your hair, sunlight in your bones, the whole damn world laid out below you like it’s yours for the taking.
“I liked the other band members,” Benji said. “It’s about time you introduced me to your famous friends.”
“It didn’t seem possible, merging my childhood with what I’ve become. You aren’t just my childhood, though. We’ve stuck together into adulthood. You knew me when I was young, and you’re still here. I talk to my parents, like, eight or nine times a year, but with you, it’s every week on video, catching up and talking.”
“The first time I met you, it was like I’d always known you. If reincarnation is real then the two of us likely have quite a history.”
“Marco says it is. Says he sometimes recognizes humans he knew in a different lifetime. Their soul or aura or whatever, I guess.”
“I think it’s safe to give you some tea, since you already know the people in question, and what they are. Gavin’s the big-bad-vampire I told you about that everyone’s terrified of. He and Kirsten used to be mortal enemies — a serious battle between them that, if the rumors are true, means Kirsten held Gavin’s heart in her hands to show him she could kill him, but then she let him live.” He gave a wry smirk. “And then Gavin started dating her daughter. Dude hasballs.”
Kirsten had once said she’d done some terrible things to keep her daughter safe. I wondered if that had been one of those things? I wanted him to understand how I fit in at Homewood, so I told him, “They’ve accepted me. I mean, it’s a no-brainer that Kirsten would, but the rest have, too. They don’t care if I’m feeling male, female, or equal parts both. When I first went to Homewood and had the day to myself, I climbed on this huge boulder I found in a field, and I found out later it’s, like, this sacred boulder, but instead of getting upset at my faux pas, they thanked me for bringing the energy of joy to it.”
“Your part-time home is one of the most powerful homes on the planet, Jules. You have an ancient god, the king of the lions, queen of another realm, the alpha werewolf of nearly a quarter of the country, and the master vampire of most of the same territory — all living together.”
I wasn’t going to tell him all those details, but since he knew, I took another swig of cool water and said, “There’s more. Not people who live there, but other friends who are also powerful. Probably not as much as the people at Homewood, but still.”
I reached into my backpack, grabbed two protein bars, and handed Benji the espresso almond crunch — his favorite — while I kept the salted caramel for myself. A small luxury, sitting on sun-warmed rock with someone I trusted more than anyone else alive. “Sounds like the hike back down is around three and a half miles, give or take, but I’m pretty happy enjoying the view a little longer.”
