Page 55 of Siren in Love
“I don’t know what he wants.”Mike pulled Corvin close.Corvin let him, and Mike relaxed, if only a fraction.“He showed up just before we left for the resort and declared he wanted to be with me.I told him to get lost.”
Peter nodded.“He followed you.”
“Your ex…is a necromancer?”Corvin was catching up, and his voice told Mike just how much things were churning in Corvin’s head.“Why are zombies real?”
Peter nodded once.“Yes.Quite a relevant question, Corvin.Zombies should be too distasteful for reality, but alas, no such luck.I suggest we detain the necromancer or kill him and end the zombies permanently as we go.”
“We can’t kill anyone!”
Peter bent over Corvin to squeeze his shoulder.“Of course we can.”He was grinning, and the light filtering in from the windows made his teeth stand out in the darkness.“After all, if you will keep on calling me Peter the Terrible, I must at least attempt to earn that title.”
Corvin’s eyes went wide, but before he could say anything, a moan from the hallway, followed by the noise of fingernails scratching against wood, made them all fall quiet.
“That’s the door to our suite,” Mike said, easily pinpointing where the noise was coming from.
Peter snuck to the door and looked out the peephole.“Can’t see your necromancer, but there’s recently zombified staff.I count two gardeners and a bellboy.”
“What’s happening?”Corvin whispered.His hearing wasn’t good enough for him to have picked up what Peter had said, which was probably for the best.
“There are zombies in the hallway,” Mike said.He pulled Corvin to his feet.“Peter, let’s get to the stairs and go outside.We don’t need the zombies near the other guests.”
“Agreed.”Peter was still whispering.“Oh, make that three gardeners, but this one brought his shears!How thoughtful.”
Mike was glad Corvin’s hearing was quite human.He pulled him to the door.
Corvin reached for Mike’s hand.“We can’t go out there.Unless of course this is just a murder mystery.In which case, guys, you almost had me.”His smile was faint.
“Does he need to be shown fangs?”Peter asked, and this time, it was just loud enough that Corvin could hear.
“Fangs?”
“No, thank you, Peter.”Mike turned to Corvin.“Honey, we’re going to go out there, and then we’ll run toward the stairs.We want those zombies away from other people, and they’ll probably follow us, because Dominic wants them…well, to be frank, he wants them to eat you.”
“What?”
“Michael, showing him my fangs would have been kinder than that revelation.Mind your sweet human’s sensitive nature.”
Corvin’s head spun toward Peter.“My what?”His voice was taking on a slightly panicky note.
“Corvin.”Mike let his song flow into his voice.“Calm down.You felt that, didn’t you?I just made you calm down.”
Corvin nodded.“It’s almost like when you hum…when we make love, you know?Like a warm hug.”
Mike was dumbstruck.He’d never used the force of his song with Corvin when they were in bed together.I wouldn’t have…would I?“Corvin, everything you’ve wanted to do with me, that’s been you.I never made you do anything, I swear.”
“I know that.But…when you sing, I just feel safe.Like, because you always do it, and it seems to make you happy.”
Mike gasped.He wasn’t sure he’d heard right.He feels safe with me!He’s not afraid.“Corvin—”
“I hate to interrupt this moment you two seem to be having,” Peter said, “but the zombies are getting quite eager out there, and if we want to outrun them, we need to go.Now.”
“Fine,” Mike said.“Corvin, get ready.And stay with me.”
Corvin nodded.
“Almost,” Peter said.“Ready… Now.”
Peter stepped back from the door and opened it in one vampirically fast and elegant move.Mike took hold of Corvin’s hand and pulled him to the stairs on the right, while Peter dashed to the left where the zombies were, presumably to get those shears from the former gardener.Moments later, a sharpswishand a squishy noise confirmed that.
