Facets of Feyrie Box Set, page 26
part #1 of Facets of Feyrie Series
Especially to the delicate child in front of me.
“It’s okay, Knox. This is my friend, and he has some lunch cakes in the car, chocolate ones—your favorite. Isn’t that cool?” Those bright mossy eyes turn back to me, and after a moment, he nods.
“Ruthie.” At the summons, she is at my side as well. “I’m going to send you outside with them, cos it’s going to get really messy in here. But,” I say to Knox, “We have this cool ride outside full of buttons. You can play with them all until I get out there, okay?” I rub his cheek with my thumb again and drop my hand to grab a blanket off the floor. I wrap it around him.
“Take him to the car. No one will bother you.” I pick him up and for a moment, hold him close to me. I kiss the top of his head and hand him to Ruthie, who gives me such a sad look that it almost makes me lose my composure.
So much suffering. I will see more suffering. I’m sure of it. As I watch Ruthie and Michael make their way outside, escorted by my fiends who keep the shifters back, my eyes slit in anger.
I will see more, yes, and I will make the guilty pay for it.
“Ryan, keep your fucking ass standing right there, in that spot.” I feel the darkness seething out of me. Feel the temperature around me drop. Feel the monster I revel in, rising.
I am my father’s daughter. But this time, I’m all my mom.
“Let’s see if those boobs are real or not, shall we?” I smile, teeth sharp. I let my glamour completely fall, let my Magiks push out as my eyes meet those of the alpha bitch.
Finally, I can let my rage free.
“Oh, gods. Run!” But the Schoth’s warning comes too late. I am already moving.
Chapter Fifty-One
I look for sympathy inside myself for making Ryan stand there and watch it all. There is none. For the entire fight, his wolf kept him rooted to the spot. He couldn’t even look away. The minute I killed his alpha, he became tied completely to me. Something his wolf recognized in the beginning.
“There’s a bus over there. Load all the kids into it and take them to this address. The wards will let you in. You have a lot to make up for, and this is the first step.” I hand him the address while I tell him what I want him to do.
“As you wish. I will get the boy and be on my way.” Like I said, submission looks good on him.
“No!” Grabbing my composure, I try again. “He can stay with me. Take the money the pack had stashed, use it. And Ryan…” He turns to look at me. “If a single hair on any of their heads is harmed I will take it out of your skin, literally.” He nods again. Without a word of protest, he goes to do as bid.
“He looks terrified,” Ruthie comments out the window. Good.
When I get into the back seat of the car, the weight of Knox crawling on my lap surprises me. He doesn’t seem to care about the gore covering me. So, I don’t care either. I wrap my arms around him and hold him close to my heart. I don’t know why I decided to keep him with me, but I am.
“You both need clothing and food,” Ruthie says after a few miles. Look at her, playing mommy! I nod and stare out the windshield.
“I get what you said now, Dad,” I whisper. I don’t want my supposed fate, but it’s leading me to things that I do want like helping those like Ruthie, Michael, and Knox.
“Others will not be as easy as this watered-down lot.” His voice coming from beside me in the backseat should’ve surprised me, but it doesn’t. I turn to him.
“I know.” And I do. Things will only get harder from here. I have no idea how I’m going to do this, or if I’m strong enough to.
“You two were close in that hole, weren’t you?” I know who he’s asking about. My heart rate speeds up like some doofy teen. Thinking of him always does that. Stupid hormones.
“He saved me, Dad.” He opens his mouth to say more and then closes it, changing his mind. I decide to let it drop. I don’t really want to talk about Phobe either. Not right now.
“I guess I’m not getting my stroll through the country?” I ask. Dad chuckles softly at my half-assed attempt at a joke.
“You knew that when you started.” I did, but I didn’t really acknowledge it until now. Fate has a hold of me, and I can’t deny it anymore. I look down at the dark hair just inches from my nose.
Not when those like Knox are waiting for me.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Knox needs clothing. There aren’t a lot of stores open at three a.m., but we manage to find a Wally-World. Knox waits in the car with Michael while Ruthie and I head in. The store is exactly like I want every store to be. Empty. Other than a guy pushing around a loud machine with a flat spinning wheel on the front and people stocking the shelves, there isn’t much of anyone.
Which suits me just fine.
Knox is sleeping and safe, so we have a little time to shop. Ruthie and Michael both need clothes as well. And I want to get that tablet I forgot to get at the mall.
Grabbing a cart, Ruthie follows me closely as we weave through the aisles. When I see something, I want, or we need, it goes in the cart. Pajamas for Knox, underwear, socks. I turn Ruthie loose in the young women’s clothes, and I round up a bunch for the boys, including shoes for Knox.
I can take him another day to get a better pair. Ruthie already got his shoe size so at least I don’t have to guess that. Funny how she did it too. She held her shoe up against his foot and using a marker, drew a line where his foot ended on her sole.
Clever.
Socks, underwear. Michael will just have to make do with the size I toss in the cart; I’m totally guessing. Skinny is the option I chose. I need another bra. Mine is soaked in blood, which is all tacky and gross now. I’m so glad I can glamour.
With the clothes shopping out the way, I head back to electronics. I almost forgot the damn tablet again. I also got little odds and ends, more toothpaste, soap, etc. Lots of toothbrushes. I’m not sure which kind Knox will like so I got one of each. Even a fancy one that spins and plays music.
A video game system for the kids that I have to pay for in the back, along with a tablet for each kid and a laptop computer, and headphones. I watch TV, and I know how teens are. I don’t tease Ruthie about the box of maxi-pads she sneaks into the cart, either.
Thanks to the science channel, I know what those are too. Shifters have menses very like humans. Right now, I’m sitting happy; I only have mine when I have a heat cycle once every few years. Grabbing some medical supplies, I feel like we’ve bought all we need to at this point. Now to pay and get out of here.
Knox is still asleep when we get back to the car. Sleeping like he’s never slept a full night. More than likely he hasn’t in a long time, poor thing. Tucking the blanket up around his chin, I slip a seat belt around him and load our purchases quietly into the back.
“Where are we going, Iza?” Ruthie asks from beside me.
“Wherever. We’ll end up in the place I don’t want to go, regardless,” I say, turning to look at her. “For now, we keep looking for… more people. The lost.” While I slowly make my way there.
“Okay, you just tell me which direction, and I’ll go.” As she speaks, she puts her hand on my arm, reassuring me. Ruthie is reassuring me, so I make myself stand still.
“First, food and a hotel. A nice one with fancy rooms, okay?” I suggest. Ruthie smiles.
Kids are so easy to please, sometimes. I love that about them.
Ruthie doesn’t let me down either. She finds the Gilden. Not like the one you can find on the side of most highways. Nope, she finds one of the rich-people-ones. This will be fun.
The inside is just as posh as I expected it to be. Their potted plants are real too. I know this because I accidentally tear the branch off one of the trees as I walk past. In my defense, they’re normally plastic and can withstand my curiosity.
Looking around, I throw the branch in the elevator when it opens. Hope the startled woman inside forgets my face until I have a room key in my hand.
As I take the final steps up to the counter, my anxiety grows a bit. The way the clerk is eyeing me is not promising, but it does piss me off. I swing my backpack around and dig out my ID and the black credit card. I have The Google God; I know what black credit cards with no logos on them mean.
Smirking, I put them both on the counter. The counter made from real marble.
“Can I—” The male clerk starts to greet me. Rudely. It’s all about the tone.
“Madam, welcome to the Gilden. George that will be all.” The heavy-set man with the nice gray hair steps around George and smoothly takes over. His eyes are all for the black credit card.
This one has dealt with rich people who don’t look rich, before.
“I’m Harvard, how may I be of assistance this evening?” His greeting is pleasant. Not one bit of contempt bleeds through his voice or face. He’s good.
“Hi, Harvard. I need one of your largest suites, please. For the week.” I smile as I speak. Might as well treat the kids. “And we will need room service. Steaks, rare, lots of them. Wait, bring up four of everything.” Nodding as I speak, he starts to check me in. Two swipes and both cards are returned to me.
“We also have a variety of stores that carry any item you will need. If they do not, we can make arrangements for you.” His smile is genuine as he hints that I might need clothes, without sounding insulting. Now, this is service.
Oh, Harvard, where have you been my whole life?
An idea strikes me. Snagging the fancy pen off the counter, I sign my receipt and write an address on it. “Can you please have business cards printed with this address on it? Simple ones.”
“Of course. When do you need them completed by?”
“As soon as possible. Also, do you have pay-per-view? The kids like movies.” I do, too, but I don’t need to admit that.
“Yes, Miss Black. Are you by chance related to Ms. Nisha Black? You have the look of her.” The bottom of my stomach falls out at his question.
“Yes, she was my mother.” His jaw ticks when he realizes what I’m saying without saying. The smile softens with sympathy, but Harvard is smart enough not to give me pity.
“I will make sure your accommodations match hers. She was a welcome, frequent guest here. Would you also like to have a pool prepared in the morning? I know she liked to take early morning swims,” Harvard offers, somehow knowing I will appreciate the offer simply because she used to do it.
“I’m more of a night person, but we will love trying out the pool tomorrow evening. Also—” I write an amount down on the credit card slip in the tip section. Five figures. Harvard deserves it. “—This should tide you over until I check out.” The only sign of emotion is a slight widening of his eyes.
“If you need anything else, Miss Black, please, don’t hesitate to ask. We will be at your service.” I hear the amusement in his voice as he hands me my room key card.
It’s so nice to be treated decently for once. Go, go, black credit card.
Casting a wave over my shoulder, I go outside to get the kids. A very nice doorman opens the door for Ruthie and patiently waits for me to unload the heathens and our stuff. Of course, I tip him. A bellhop meets us at the door with a cart. Loading everything on it, he follows up with a friendly smile. Thankfully, I remembered to glamour myself and Knox.
I’m pretty sure the dried bits of gore all over both of us might raise a few eyebrows.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Our room is just... wow. My mom had excellent taste. There are three bedrooms, at least, a large sunken living room with a large, fully equipped kitchen off to the side. The bathrooms… yes, plural, tickle my inner dragon.
“Holy shit,” Michael exclaims, looking around him in awe.
“Right? This room is fantastic. Look at the size of the TV,” says Ruthie skipping to the living room to flop onto the sectional sofa. It’s curved and almost as large as the room. I laugh as she sinks into it with a contented sigh.
“I’m going to get sleepyhead into a shower and some pajamas. You two, go wash up.” Ruthie groans at my instructions but gets up to do as bid. I hear her “Whoa!” in her bedroom’s bath.
The bedroom is huge, but I ignore it, focusing instead on getting Knox and myself clean. “Hey noodle, you ready to get all clean?” Knox is standing there with the blanket wrapped around him like armor.
“I get to take a bath in that?” His voice is barely above a whisper, but I have really good hearing.
“Oh, yeah. The swimming pool tub is all you, bud. Do you need any help?”
He chews on his fingernail as he contemplates me. Nodding, he turns to look at all the soaps and such they have laying out.
There is a big, fluffy, black robe wrapped in plastic hanging on the wall next to the stand-in shower. Hm. I pick up the phone—why there’s one in the bathroom, I have no idea—and call the front desk.
I recognize George’s voice. “Hello George, this is Iza Black in the Elegant Suite—” They didn’t have room numbers on this floor.
“What do you want?” Wow, that’s not what I’m expecting.
“George, who’s on the phone?” I hear Harvard, muffled, but close.
“Miss Black, she wants us to fetch her something else ridiculous, I’m sure.” Does he not realize I can hear him?
“You have no idea who she is, do you? You moron. That is the owner’s daughter!” Harvard whispers fiercely. I’m sure he thinks I can’t hear him either. “Give me the damn phone.”
You get him, Harvard.
And whoa, dad owns this place? How coincidental is that?
“My apologies, Miss Black. George needs to go on his break. How may I be of service?” Now his voice sounds as polite as ever. Smiling, I watch as Knox fiddles with the faucets and jets of the tub. I smile even more when he dumps the entire bottle of bubble bath in. That might make a mess.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I was going to ask for some robes for the kids. I need one for an eight-year-old boy and two teens, if possible…and Harvard? I may have to buy a new bathroom tomorrow.”
Harvard laughs at me, then clears his throat, getting back to Mr. Professional again. “Miss Iza Black, you can burn the entire building down, and if you wish it, I’ll lend you my lighter.”
If Harvard was twenty-five years younger and a monster I’d totally do him.
“Na, I don’t think we need to burn anything down…yet. By the way, are you the manager of the entire hotel, Harvard?”
“No Madam. That would be Mrs.—” I cut him off; I don’t care about her name.
“Is she a bitch?”
Harvard laughs again. This time longer. “Yes. If I’m, to be honest.”
“Good, you have her job now. Double the pay she makes now. You can verify it with my dad. I’m sure he won’t say a word.”
‘Dad, when did you come here?’ Sensing he is either close or listening, I call out to him.
‘We searched every realm for you, Iza, including here. Your mother loved this place.’ That explains why he bought it.
‘You are a brat for firing the manager.’ Dad’s voice echoes in my head with affection.
He’s been paying attention longer than I realized.
‘Eavesdropping is a sin, Dad.’
‘So is how you were made.’ I choke on my spit.
“Miss Black, are you well?” Harvard asks in concern.
I clear my throat. “Yes, I’m fine. There was a big, fat fly buzzing around my head.”
“Oh, we can get an exterminator up there immediately!” The concern in Harvard’s voice strikes me as funny.
“You’re just adorable, Mr. Harvard-the-Hotel-Manager.”
“Miss Black, I have worked here for thirty years, and you are by far, my favorite client.”
“You say that now.”
He chuckles. “There is a tablet on the desk in the office. You can email me anything you require to save yourself the hassle of a phone call.”
“Maybe I like hearing your voice, Harvard.” He chuckles again. I hear someone talking to him in the background.
“Room service will be arriving soon. It will take multiple trips, is this acceptable?”
“Yeah. You’re awesome. Talk to you tomorrow.” Saying good-bye, Harvard disconnects the call. I’m sure he has a lot to do being the new manager.
“Look, Iza! Bubbles!” Knox says excitedly. I look up and immediately laugh. The bubbles are higher than he is tall and he’s standing in the bathtub. Well, if it makes him happy.
For twenty minutes, I let him play around, and I then help him wash a little bit at a time. Leaving his important parts for him to wash, I start washing his hair; it’s so soft and fine. Like silk thread. Now it smells good too.
A knock on the door pulls me into the living room to answer. It’s the friendly bellhop again, with the three robes on hangers neatly lain over his arm. He smiles as he hands them to me. I go to tip him again, but he shakes his head and walks away. I’ll make sure to tell Harvard to give the guy a tip from me tomorrow.
Taking the robe to Knox, I leave him with a big fluffy towel on the toilet and find my clean clothes for my shower. Well, a bra and panties. I plan on wearing that fluffy-ass robe.
We can all sit around in our robes and stuff our faces and watch movies. I think it’s a great plan.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Cleaned and scrubbed we all pile onto the massive sofa. Earlier, we found slippers just inside the door. Compliments of Harvard, I’m sure. So, there we sit; three pairs of feet on the fancy glass coffee table and one smaller pair on Michael’s knees. Knox tried to reach, but he ended up hanging most of the way off the cushion, and Michael moved his to help him have a footrest too.
Turning the massive TV on—I bet the sucker is one-hundred inches—I scroll through the pay-per-view menu for something all of us can watch.
“That one!” Knox exclaims, pointing at the TV.
