Page 3 of A Vampire in a Pear Tree
He thought about it for a few moments, really thought about it.“You may believe me to be unfeeling when it comes to them, but Rhain harbors too much rage to be anything but a danger to the mortal world, and should not be released.Rhys ...Rhys is Rhys.I have no idea what he’s thinking.I never have, but he has never been fond of mortals.Cadell is evidently not a threat, but regardless, until I can have the curse lifted, it’s better if they stay where they are.”
“You refuse my request, then?”Jericho said, her voice as soft as the wind as she faced him, but instantly, Owain was on his guard.
“Goddess!She’s going to smite us on the spot!Run!We must escape!You can’t end my curse until your own is broken, and there’s no way you can do that if you’re dead!”Orla flapped her wings in warning, making him squint to keep her feathers from his eyes.
“I will return what was given to me as soon as the curse is broken,” he said, anger rising at the idea of Desislav the Destroyer being once again in possession of the blood moon.
Bitterness mingled with regret.Why his brothers and he had thought destroying Abaddon was a good way to save mortals was now beyond him.He’d had almost two millennia to realize the sheer folly of their plan.
It didn’t mean he was ready to martyr himself by imprisonment in the Hour, however.
There was no doubt that Desi in possession of the blood moon was a direct threat, one he would move the stars in the sky to avoid.
“Very well,” his mother said, and, before Owain could say another word, threw her hands wide, the spell she’d been weaving slamming him in the face and sending him reeling backward into darkness, her words following him into its inky depths.“You want me to be part of the Morrigna again?Far be it from me to deny my child at Christmas.I will summon my sisters, and with their help, I will extract from you what is mine.”
TWO
BERRY
“The Respectful Orderof Knockers, Coblyns, and Bluecaps can bite my shiny pink ass.The nerve of them kicking me out over nothing!And so close to Christmas!I tell you, Savian, it’s all politics with the knockers now.You put so much as one toe out of what they consider a reasonable line, and boom!You’re booted out into the cold, hard, unemployed world.It doesn’t matter how many decades you’ve devoted to them, oh no, you take a stand to protect Gaia, and they have the hissy fit to end all hissy fits.I won’t even repeat the things they said about me, but you can rest assured that it was all bull.”I panted a little at the end of the rant, but that was mostly because I’d worked myself into a rage during the walk to my cousin’s house.
Savian, who sat in a wheelchair at the front door of his house in a London suburb, blinked at me a couple of times before he gave me a bright smile.“Hullo, Berry.I suppose you shouldn’t have helped with the downfall of that fracking company if it was going to get you fired.”
“Fracking is bad,” I reminded him, entering the house when he wheeled backward and gestured me in, careful to avoid his legs, both in casts from the knees down.“It’s harmful to the earth, and what is a knocker if not a being who devotes her life to protecting said earth.How are you feeling?You have color back in your face, so Maura must be taking good care of you.”
“She is, I have, and better, thank you.Still can’t take a shower, but Maura has been very inventive in helping me bathe.”His eyebrows waggled even as he grinned before spinning around and preceding me into a sunny sitting room that faced a narrow, but tidy, back garden.“She and the kids are off seeing her mum, but they’ll be back by dinnertime, if you’d like to stay.”
“Wish I could, but I have to try to find someone who’ll take on my unemployed self.If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them, because I can’t even get an interview.”
“As a matter of fact—oh, ta.No milk, and one sugar, please.As a matter of fact, I might have something you could do, although it would require you to pass a background check with the Committee.”He accepted the cup of tea that I’d poured him when I realized his wife, Maura, a lovely dragon with a wicked sense of humor, had set an electric kettle and tea makings on a side table within his reach.
I paused in the act of pouring myself a cup, studying his face.Although Savian had been born mortal, he was now a dragon’s mate and, as such, had stopped aging.His long, very English face had a few more lines than I remembered the last time I’d seen him, but he looked much the same.Spurred by a sudden rush of emotions, I gave his arm a squeeze and said, “I’m so glad you found Maura.Life with her and the kids obviously suits you.You look happy despite two obliterated legs.Speaking of that, did they ever find the troll who threw you onto the train tracks?”
He gave a little shudder, and took a sip of tea before answering.“Yes, although since there were no cameras around that section of the track, it’s my word against his.Luckily, I’m healing two shattered legs faster than a mortal, so I should be mobile in a few more days.And I agree with the sentiment that Maura and the sprogs make my life worth living.But we’re here to talk about you.It’s why I invited you around.”
“And here I was hoping you wanted to feed me so I wouldn’t expire of starvation,” I said with a wry smile, one that acknowledged there was little chance my substantial self would fade away anytime soon.“How are the kids?The baby is almost a year, yes?”
