Kissing with Fangs

Chapter 8

Anthony had talked Claudia into believing she was just very tired and ought to nap until she had to leave for her meeting. He said he’d wake her. He hoped she’d fall sound asleep and stay in for the evening. He could come up with an excuse for not waking her later.

Meanwhile, he had to research why his mesmerism wasn’t working. Maybe Kurt would know. He stepped into the hall and dialed Kurt’s number.

“Anthony. What’s up?”

“Are you busy?”

“Kind of. I’m in Cambridge. Nick and I might be getting close to locating the lab.”

“That’s great! What makes you think so?”

“We keep losing the trail over the Memorial Bridge, but at least we have a consistent direction. I believe it’s a matter of following a fresher scent. We might need your help when we finally find it.”

“If it has to do with my powers of mesmerization, I might not be as helpful as you think.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t mesmerize Claudia. Was it something you did in the protection spell? Maybe by protecting her from Ruxandra, you made her immune to my powers too?”

“I don’t think so…at least not on purpose. I used a piece of Ruxandra’s hair to represent any and all malevolent forces, but maybe one of yours wound up in the circle too. We did it in your office, after all.”

Anthony nodded absently. “Maybe. Or maybe it means I’m evil too.”

Kurt laughed. “You? Evil? You won’t even kill to live. How’s that chicken-blood diet, by the way?”

“Meh. But getting back to Claudia, is there any way you can fix what’s happening—or rather, not happening?”

“Other than removing the spell and doing it all over again?”

“Yes.”

“Then, no.”

“Shit. I don’t think your wizardry includes the power to erase memories, or does it? Otherwise you wouldn’t have needed a vampire when all hell broke loose at the bar last year, and you wouldn’t need me now.”

“Correct,” Kurt said. “I could freeze everyone in their tracks…at least all the humans. Then I need a vampire to wipe their minds.”

“Who did you use last year? Some day-walker?”

“Yeah. Nick knew him. Do you think he might be able to help?”

“Possibly. If I’m losing my touch, maybe he knows why.”

Suddenly a female voice he didn’t recognize came from around the corner near the upstairs landing. “Yes. Get in touch with him. You should have a competent vampire handy who can erase minds, seeing as how you’ve become useless.”

Anthony’s jaw dropped as a strange woman gracefully descended the stairs. She had long white hair and wore a full-length, filmy ivory robe belted in front with vines.

“I—I’ll call you back.” He dropped his cell phone into his jacket pocket without taking his eyes off the mysterious woman.

She paused one step above him. “Do you know who I am?”

He cleared his throat. “Mother Nature, I presume.”

“Good. You’ve heard of me. It gets so tedious having to explain that, yes, I really do exist. I am to be called Gaia or Goddess. I watch what’s happening on the earthly plain—when I feel like it,” she muttered. “Yada, yada, yada…”

“What are you doing here? I mean, why are you interested in me?”

She smirked. “I’ve been watching you for some time. Ever since you opened your little watering hole for paranormals.”

Anthony sucked in a breath. She’s been watching me for five years?

“Yes. I’ve been aware of your experiment,” she said as if she could read his mind. Now he was really unnerved.

Anthony stood his ground. “It’s helped diffuse the tensions between many shifters and vampires. I’d like to continue—”

“Hush. I’m not here to talk about your tea shop. It seems harmless enough. At least tea isn’t a fire accelerant.” She crossed her arms. “Is there somewhere more private where we can talk?”

“Hmmm…” He didn’t want to take her to his lair. It was bad enough that she knew where he worked.

At that moment, Claudia’s door opened and she stood there holding her coat and purse.

“Hey. You were supposed to wake me up.”

“Sorry. I got sidetracked.” He cast a quick glance toward Mother Nature. Suddenly she was wearing a sky-blue dress. Weird.

The goddess folded her arms. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Uh… This is Claudia. My…uh…” How can I protect Claudia from a deity’s interest and keep her off Gaia’s radar? Call her my tenant? My friend?

Claudia sighed deeply. “His girlfriend. Who’s this, Anthony? Another ex?”

“No. Nothing like that. This is…uh…”

Mother Nature rolled her eyes. “His business partner. I saw you at the tea room, but I didn’t know you were Anthony’s girlfriend.”

Anthony slipped his arm around Claudia’s waist. “We’ve been keeping things on the down-low. You know, since she’s dating the boss and everything.”

A light of recognition entered Claudia’s eyes. “Oh, I remember now. You were one of our first customers at our grand opening. Beautiful hat, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

An awkward moment ticked by. Anthony hoped that Mother Nature didn’t spill the beans about his being a vampire or that she was a goddess or that paranormals were frequenting the tea room. He’d have to tell Claudia at some point, but he’d hoped to wait until she had more sobriety under her belt. If anything could trigger the craving for a drink…

At last, Claudia shrugged. “Well, I’ve got to get going, or I’ll be late.” She shook Mother Nature’s hand, then kissed Anthony’s cheek and said, “G’night.”

“Wait. I want to go with you,” Anthony said.

Gaia jammed her hands on her hips. “You’re busy. You’ll see her later.”

Bloody hell. There wasn’t much he could do. Defying a goddess was probably a bad move. He’d just have to trust Kurt’s word that Claudia was protected by his spell.

Claudia turned, gave them both a confused look, then shook her head and left.

“Nice girl. So, where can we have that heart-to-heart?” Gaia asked.

Crap. If I’m in trouble with the powers that be, I might as well get it over with. “How about the office downstairs? I can get you a nice cup of tea.”

“Darjeeling,” she said. “No sugar. Light on the milk.” Then she passed him and descended the remaining stairs.

I must be nuts. I know Ruxandra is hot as hell, but do I really want that psycho babe transferring her obsession from Anthony to me?

Kurt looked at his watch, which wasn’t a watch at all. He had changed the analog dial to act as a homing device. Soon he’d be zeroing in on Ruxandra—and dusk would be descending on Boston.

Anthony had said that if anyone could “handle” Ruxandra, it would be Kurt. Now he wondered why the challenge had seemed so irresistible. What was he trying to prove?

Suddenly his watch hands pulled together and pointed in the same direction. He was close. The second hand was slightly off, pointing toward the eleven, so he adjusted his direction accordingly. At last, all three hands lined up. He gazed directly in front of him and faced a brick building in the Beacon Flats. Here?

How could a vampire afford to live in this part of Boston? Real estate in the Flats cost less than on the Hill, but it was still pricey for a woman who had no job. Or did she?

Kurt decided to hang back and observe. The streetlamp wove shadows with a few trees and nearby bushes, affording a spot where he couldn’t be seen, but that didn’t mean he was safe. Ruxandra could smell him. He tested the wind and found the best place to stand where her scent would travel toward him, not the other way around. Fortunately, she wore the same perfume all the time, and he’d know it anywhere. Not that he knew the name, but the fragrance was heavy with oriental spices.

A door leading to the building’s basement creaked and opened slightly. Kurt flattened himself next to the tree trunk and peered over his shoulder. A male voice said, “Thank you, mistress. Will there be anything else?”

The man came stumbling into view with Ruxandra right behind him, arm extended. It looked as if she had just pushed him toward the brick sidewalk.

“One more thing, whatever-your-name-is…”

“It’s Louis.”

She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t asking for your name. I don’t care who you are. Just come back tomorrow night at eight, and bring more money.”

“Yes, mistress.”

She held his gaze and said, “You will not remember anything about me or where you’ve been. You won’t even remember my asking you to come back. You’ll simply find yourself here for no explainable reason, and you will wait outside until I let you in.”

“Yes, mistress.”

“All right. You can go now.”

With that, Ruxandra swiveled him toward Charles Street and gave him a shove. He caught himself before he fell and glanced at the ground, as if wondering which cobblestone he had tripped over. Meanwhile, Ruxandra strode off in the opposite direction.

Kurt groaned inwardly. She had a thrall. That explained a few things. Where she got blood, for one thing. And it sounded like she’d found someone of means to support her too.

Now where is she off to?

Kurt followed at a distance until she rounded a corner and he lost sight of her. Jogging to keep up, he was about twenty feet behind her when she stopped. Without turning around, she asked, “Why are you following me, Kurt?”

He slowed his pace and she pivoted, waiting until he came face to face with her.

She folded her arms. “So? Why are you following me?”

Kurt tried to charm her with his smile. “Ruxandra! I thought that might be you. Lucky for me I was able to catch up.”

“Oh? Why is that lucky?”

“I had hoped you’d consider a proposition.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Why, Kurt Morgan. You know I don’t do that anymore.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t mean it that way…” Then he raised a brow right back at her. “Unless you wanted me to.”

She spat out a sound of disgust and strode off in the direction she had been heading.

“I was kidding,” he called after her. She didn’t stop, so he trotted until he caught up with her and they were striding side by side. “I need your help with something.”

She didn’t look at him or even slow down. “You need help, all right, but I’m not qualified to give it to you. Look in the phone book under psychologists.”

“Oh, you kidder,” he said, trying to maintain his sense of humor. This is harder than I thought.

When she arrived at the corner of Beacon Street, she stopped momentarily before crossing the busy road.

“So, where are you going?” he asked.

“What’s it to you?”

He shrugged. “Just curious how a beautiful woman spends her time.”

She stuck her hands on her hips and gazed at the oncoming cars, waiting for a break in traffic that didn’t come. At last she let out a frustrated breath. She whirled on him and stared right into his eyes. “You will step out into the street and raise your hand to stop traffic. You will stay there until I cross, and then you will go back where you came from.”

He took a step back. “Why would I do that? I might get mowed down.”

Her jaw dropped.

“Were you trying to mesmerize me?”

At that moment, the light changed and traffic came to a stop. Without answering him, Ruxandra scampered across the street toward the Public Garden.

He caught up to her again. “Wait.

She broke into a run and crossed Arlington Street.

“Ruxandra. Wait up,” he called. She was fast and easily outran him.

She kept running until she turned the corner onto Newbury Street. Ah, she’s probably planning to spend that guy’s money at the designer boutiques. By the time he reached the corner, she was gone. He’d lost her to some store, café, or salon.

Kurt stuffed his hands in his pockets and slowed to a leisurely stroll. He kept his eyes open for her, but doubted he’d find her again. If she applied her vampiric speed, she could have already reached the Prudential Center.

The fact that she’d tried to mesmerize him and it hadn’t worked really sparked his curiosity. Anthony had had the same trouble with Claudia. What’s going on? Are vamps losing their powers one by one?

He decided to ask Anthony about it and turned around. At least he knew where to find him. He was at Claudia’s a few minutes ago, and by now he’d probably returned to the tea room. A nice, hot cup of tea and company that wouldn’t run away from him sounded good. Maybe they could puzzle it out over a pot of Bombay chai and a plate of cookies.

Anthony sat at his desk across from Mother Nature. He steepled his fingers and waited for her to speak.

She took a sip of her tea and set it down on his desk. “Mmm. Not bad.”

Anthony didn’t acknowledge the compliment, hoping she’d just get to the point and leave. “So, what’s your proposition?”

“I have no business proposition for you. Not really. I just came to deliver a warning.”

He sat back and hoped he wasn’t in some kind of serious trouble.

“Or maybe it is a business deal. Do what I say and I’ll let you stay in business. How’s that for a proposition?”

“I don’t understand.”

“The human girlfriend. Get rid of her.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“What does my love life have to do with you?”

She laughed. “What does love have to do with nature? I’m not going to honor that idiotic question with an answer.”

He leaned forward. “All right. Let me put it a different way. What’s your objection to my relationship with Claudia?”

“You’re a vampire. She’s a human. Even a simpleton should be able to see the problems inherent in that.”

Anthony hung his head. “I know. It isn’t ideal.”

Gaia laughed. “Not ideal? Now there’s an understatement.” She rose and paced. “How and when were you planning to tell her?”

He sighed. “I don’t know.”

She rolled her eyes. “Let’s pretend for a minute that you get up the nerve to tell her everything. What’s to prevent her from laughing in your face and telling all her girlfriends about it?”

“Claudia’s not like that.”

“Oh, yeah? Is she going to believe you and accept you just the way you are? Is she as delusional as you are?”

“She’ll ask questions, but she’ll listen open-mindedly. She’s very intelligent. Not to mention loyal, caring, resourceful—”

Mother Nature raised her hand. “Fine. You think she’s the greatest. For now. What about later when you see the faults I’ve given her?”

“I already know them, and I don’t care.”

Gaia threw her hands in the air. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you? Oh, wait. You have an answer for everything except how to tell her you’re a vampire.”

Anthony slumped. “When the time comes, I imagine we’ll have an honest, adult conversation.”

“Dream on. She won’t believe you. Were you planning to give her a demonstration?”

“No.”

Gaia stopped and whirled on him. “You’ve really thought this out, haven’t you? I have a suggestion. Break up with her before you have to explain yourself.”

“Apparently, even vampires can’t choose who they fall in love with. If you’re worried about her, just know that I would never harm or drink from Claudia.” Unless she wants me to.

“So, you’re telling me you’d go against your own nature to be with this human?”

“Yes.”

She folded her arms. “I don’t believe you.”

Anthony rose. “Why not? I’m telling you the truth.”

She smashed her fist on his desk. “Because I know the power of nature. Here. Let me give you a demonstration.”

Anthony didn’t have time to blink, much less speak, before he found himself shivering on a snowy mountaintop. A goat walked up to him and stared him in the eyes.

“What did you do to piss her off?” he asked.

The goat bleated.

A moment later, he was back in his office. Mother Nature shook her head. “He can’t answer your question. He’s a goat, stupid.”

Anthony folded his arms. “What do you want from me? Besides walking away from Claudia, because I won’t do that.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Isn’t it obvious? I want you to dump your human girlfriend right fucking now. But, I’ll let you think about the consequences if you disobey me. Someone is about to barge in on us, and I don’t want to be here when he does.”

A knock at the door drew Anthony’s attention for a millisecond. When he turned back to Mother Nature, she was gone.

Kurt poked his head around the door and saw Anthony standing in the middle of his office, clenching his fists.

“Is everything all right, buddy?”

“Uh, yeah. Come in.” He rounded the desk and sat behind it. Unusual for Anthony. Back when he owned the bar, he was much less stiff and formal. Maybe he was trying to seem more professional for some reason.

Kurt took a seat on the opposite side of the desk, but stretched his legs out and leaned back with his fingers interlaced behind his head. If Anthony didn’t want to be comfortable, that was his problem.

“You came to see me about something?”

“Yeah.” Kurt sat up and leaned forward. “Ruxandra tried to mesmerize me.”

Anthony’s spine straightened even more than it had been with the broomstick up his ass. “What do you mean, ‘tried to’? It sounds like she didn’t succeed.”

“Correct. She looked directly into my eyes and told me to step into traffic.”

“Jesus!”

“Yeah. Her eyes turned some kind of funky gold and purplish color, and she seemed genuinely shocked that I didn’t do as I was told.”

“I’m sorry, Kurt. I didn’t think she’d try anything like that. Stay away from her. I’ll figure something else out.”

“No. It’s okay. I’m glad to know she can’t make me do her bidding. In that way, I’m probably the best man for the job, Operation Distraction. Even more than that, though, I think she can be useful if and when we find the lab.”

“Have you gotten any closer to locating it?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Sadie described her surroundings and tried to get back to the place, but she’s being blocked for some reason.”

“How is that possible? Who could prevent her from astral projection? That specter of a security guard?” Then, for some reason, Anthony pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. “Never mind. I think I just realized the answer to my own question.”

“Really? Because the only explanation she can come up with has to do with her spirit guides protecting her. Have you got some other possibility in mind?”

Anthony took a deep breath. Something Kurt had never seen him do. He seemed to be mulling something over. Finally he said, “Never mind. Let’s get back to Ruxandra. I need to know that your spell to protect Claudia is rock solid. There’s no way she can be mesmerized by me…I know that. I tried. But do you think Ruxandra could make her do something like step into traffic?”

“I doubt it.”

Anthony shot to his feet. “You doubt it? That’s the best reassurance you can give me?”

Kurt held up both hands and pushed Anthony into his chair without touching him. By the look on Anthony’s face, he seemed surprised and a little impressed.

“How did you do that?”

Kurt grinned. “I don’t give away my trade secrets.”

“Hmmm…maybe I should hire you to be Claudia’s undercover bodyguard.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Yeah, she wouldn’t catch on to that at all.”

Anthony slumped over his desk, his hands covering his face. “What the hell am I supposed to do? I need to protect her, but I can’t.”

“I don’t know. I’ve done what I can. I’m not ready to give up on Ruxandra, as long as I know she can’t mesmerize me. By the way, why do you think that is? Are vampires losing their ability to mesmerize humans?”

Anthony rose and came around his desk. “Let’s find out. You are human, right?”

Kurt leaned away from him. “You’re going to mesmerize me?”

“Why not? I’m a vampire. I think you’re human.”

Kurt smirked. “Watch the insults. I’m one hundred percent human—just a well-trained wizard.”

“I won’t make you do anything dangerous. I hope you know that.”

“Of course. I trust you. You need me.” He smirked.

Anthony let out the long breath he’d inhaled a few minutes ago. He leaned down and caught Kurt’s eye. All Kurt had time to do was blink—at least it felt like he’d just blinked. He was sitting in Anthony’s chair, looking at a piece of paper on the desk with the word “black” written in his handwriting.

“Impressive,” he said. “Why did I write the word ‘black’?”

“I asked you to write down your favorite color. Black seemed like an odd choice, but you’re an odd guy.” Anthony shrugged.

“Hey. I thought I told you to watch the insults. I said ‘black’ because I love all colors and black is what you get if you mix all the colors together. Besides, I look awesome in it.” He tugged the shoulders of his black T-shirt.

“Okay. So, vampires aren’t losing their touch. Maybe your spell to protect Claudia from Ruxandra protected her from me and you from Ruxandra?”

“Not very likely, but I don’t have a better explanation.”