Dominion 4 - Ascendance (10 page)
Read Dominion 4 - Ascendance Online
Authors: Lissa Kasey
“You were the caretaker.” That made sense. His father had given him the responsibility, but when Timothy turned to drugs and away from the Ascendance, he was cast out. “The house in the back was yours.”
“Yep. The bastard didn’t care that I had nowhere else to go. After I left, he just got worse and worse. Paranoid of everyone and everything. Refused to talk to anyone, answer the door, or even leave that office of his in the wall. He complained of noises and strange lights.”
“Heart attack. Or at least, that’s what they told me. I got a call from someone at the hospital. I don’t even know how he got there. He never left the house. They never did let me see him. Said he wanted to be cremated.”
“It wasn’t his to leave. Your father left you the house years ago. My father claimed he was just caring for it until you were old enough to take over. He really just wanted the power, but he couldn’t control it. The wards, the tree, none of it responded to him. They were Dorien’s power, fueled by the earth at each turn. When I was a kid, I’d hide up in the top branches of that tree. After they changed me, the tree no longer welcomed me, and I had no place to hide.”
Was there a way to change him back? To release the power he’d wrongfully been given? Nothing in school spoke of something like that, but stealing another’s power was so dark, it would never have made it into the curriculum anyway. Maybe my father’s journals said something, or Jamie could find out something. I’d have to call him later.
He sat down and glared into the pale-brown water. “It feels odd, but quiet in my head. Maybe I can have my powers bound permanently.”
Binding spells were fairly simple, but rarely used. My mother probably had more information on that. The Dominion had entire archives of spells and information. Even working as a paper pusher, I’d have access to it. Maybe that alone would make the job worth it. “I’ll do what I can to help. Go get your things. You can stay in the caretaker’s cottage.” I wondered if he knew anything about the body that had been left there, but the police thought it might have been a squatter. I’d have to call the police station to make sure it was clear, but since they hadn’t been back or left up tape, it was unlikely they planned to return.
Timothy got up to leave.
“And Timothy?”
He turned back. “Yes?”
He nodded his head and practically ran for the door. I dumped his cup, washed it out, and poured one for myself before making a few calls. If Timothy proved to be genuine, he could take care of the house in my absence. However, I’d have to deal with the fairy ring first. No more would die if I could help it. If all that was left to the Ascendance was evil, then it was time to put that demon to rest.
phone rang several times before a female voice answered, “Hello?”
“Hi, Hanna.” I felt like crap for just calling her now. Was she mad? I should have been there when there was an issue with the babies. I wasn’t just a sperm donor. I wanted to be their daddy.
“Hey, Seiran. How are you? We were all a little worried.” Her voice was warm and soft as always, no hints of hidden anger.
“I’m fine. It’s nice and warm here in California. How are you? How are the babies? Is everything okay?”
“We’re all fine.” I could almost hear the smile in her voice. “It happens sometimes in the early stages of pregnancy. It’s more troublesome if it’s later. Ally and I think the stress got to me. But I’m rested now, and the babies seem back to normal. I can feel them moving. Just occasional twinges, but it’s enough to know it’s not gas.”
“Oh, sweetie, no. I know you’re searching for stuff about your dad. I’m fine. I promise. The babies are fine. We just needed some rest. The new house will have to come together a little slower, is all. There’s time. The twins won’t be here until April at least.”
“I didn’t tell you? We bought a house. Well, it’s a very large house, lots of land. We closed on Wednesday. Your mom helped us find it and get a great deal on it. Jamie helped us with the down payment. Ally and I figured we’d need the space for the twins. And she’s been talking about having a baby too, once the twins are a few years old. I know she’s always wanted a big family.”
Her comment made me realize how little I knew about Hanna’s mate, Ally. Was she a witch? If so, what kind of witch? How did she feel about Hanna having my babies? “I can’t wait to see it. I can help clean and move stuff when I get home. Don’t push yourself.”
“I won’t. Jamie’s been following me around and making me sit and rest all the time. I’d forgotten how overprotective he can get.”
No kidding. I was glad he had someone else to be protective of for once. We talked a little longer about the babies and the house. When I finally let her go, I felt better, but still a little sad I wasn’t home to see more ultrasound pictures and help get the nursery ready. Maybe coming here for the holidays hadn’t been such a great idea.
The call to Jamie was much the same. The sound of his deep voice made me relax a bit, even when he went off on some medical tangent about the babies. Just as Kelly got on the line and started talking away about some football game the Vikings had lost, I felt a prickle of pain down my spine, much like the first twinge from my previous back injury when I strained it.
“Hold on, Kelly.”
“Huh? Okay.”
I waited another moment. When the pain didn’t come again, I turned back to the conversation. “What about the football players?”
Pain sliced through me so hard I fell from the stool to the kitchen floor. My gut convulsed, my spine spasmed, and my head filled with piercing white light. I lay there blinking and trying to breathe for a moment, then it happened again. Kelly’s voice shouted through the phone, which lay inches from my fingertips. I couldn’t function through the pain.
Then I heard it—the sound of a chainsaw. Each spurt of noise was followed by a burst of agony slicing through my limbs. I dragged myself to the back door, finally pried it open, and stared into the mostly trimmed backyard. The chainsaw whirred again. I lost my lunch this time, though at least it was in the grass instead of on the kitchen floor. When the sound paused, I screamed, “Stop!”
The noise didn’t come again. A few seconds later Caleb appeared, covered with sweat and leaves. I pulled myself upright, told Kelly quickly that I’d call him back, and turned to my lawn guy, feeling enough rage at that moment to level a city.
The lower rungs of some of the largest trees had been cut, branches left where they were fallen, like a forest of severed limbs. The earth cried, and I had to fight back a sniffle myself. “I told you not to cut any trees.”
He glanced back at the shaded backyard then wiped his brow with the bottom of his shirt. “I just trimmed them so you can walk under them. Didn’t cut any down.”
“Okay. Sorry.” He turned back toward the area he was working, walking away as fast as he could without running. I closed the door, then leaned against it to catch my breath. That had never happened to me at home. Sure, the trees shared things with me, but never that kind of pain. Here, the house was the tree, the yard, the earth. Maybe that’s why the connection was so strong.
When the sound of the equipment didn’t begin again, I dialed Kelly back to assure him all was okay. I really hoped Timothy worked out as a caretaker, because I was pretty sure I couldn’t stay here much longer without losing myself to the earth.
After that, the day moved along incident free. Timothy had returned with his car full of things, and I decided it was a good time for a nap. The sun would be setting soon, which meant Gabe would be up in just a few hours. Maybe we’d go out and do something tonight, just the two of us. After all, we were in California; was that likely to happen again anytime soon?
Timothy began hauling his things back into the caretaker’s house while I passed the windows upstairs to the secret room. He told me he’d clean it up. The stink of death probably still lingered inside. I wondered if Timothy knew anything about it, but didn’t ask. His secrets would come out eventually. Everyone’s did.
Sam dozed on the cot, curled around a blanket, looking very human and young for once. Neither of them had left to go feed. Maybe the house and my power fueled him better than blood could. Another thought to ponder.
Up in the attic room, Gabe lay sprawled on the bed, chest down, face buried in my pillow. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and glared at my short hair in the mirror before returning to the bed. Gabe had flung off the blankets as he usually did, and took up a good part of the huge mattress. Taking the blankets for myself, I swung them over myself and lay beside him, staring at the ceiling. The pain from the trees that had been cut still hurt, and all I could think about was how to destroy that awful ring. What if there wasn’t a way to break the magic? What if there were millions of rings all over the world being used this terrible way? How did I fix something I knew nothing about?
Gabe inched closer, making me smile. I threw the link wide open between us and let him have all the jumbled thoughts. His trickled back warmth, hope, and desire. He wanted to snuggle. I let him throw his arm over me and pull me into a tight embrace. He adjusted the pillow beneath my head, breath soft and warm on my face. We stayed that way for a while, holding each other. He didn’t move much, but peppered my face with soft kisses. With the link wide open I could feel his excitement, but knew he’d only push for sex if I wanted it.
“I’m sorry for being a hypocrite,” Gabe said against my hair. “I shouldn’t tell you to compromise and talk to me when I’m not doing the same. If I’d told you about the bar, we probably wouldn’t have had this fight.”
“You love the bar.” I loved the bar. It was a second home to me. No one judged me. I got to make up some cool menus and spend time with the guy I loved while still earning a living.
“There’s an opening in the Magic Investigations department. Entry-level research and analysis. Your mom sent it to me. Her not-so-subtle way of saying it would be a good fit for you.”
MI researched anything unusual in magic, Sam being the most recent subject to pique their interest. Their methods were a lot like the FBI or any other investigative body—lots of research, questioning, observation, and analysis. At an entry level, I’d be doing mostly book research while training for other things. It sounded interesting and intimidating all at once. “But I’m a guy, and that’s a pretty important job.”
Gabe kissed me again, then wrapped his leg around mine to pull me closer. “You’re Pillar, and kind of nosy. Perfect for that job.”
“You have to submit your résumé by next Wednesday. Your résumé looks good, by the way. I snuck a peek at it before you left home. Was a little surprised when you didn’t send it out anywhere. Do you have it saved to your phone?”
Yeah, it was in my phone. The idea of applying for such a lofty position made me both nauseous and excited at once. Sure, not everything about the job would be interesting. In fact, it would probably be a lot of tedious work, not much different than the paper pushing of a desk clerk. Yet it had so many more opportunities.
“That was awful!” I pushed him over onto his back. “You’d think after two thousand years you’d be able to think of a better joke.”
I laughed and ground my hips into his, letting his emotions and mine mingle. “That’s probably a good thing.” Gabe’s humor was a dry wit not many got. Still, he made me smile, and he, unlike Max, seemed to have no problem feeling emotions. Right now he was happy and filled with lusty ideas. One of them had me raising a brow at him while I straddled his waist. “Really?”
He flushed, pale pink touching his cheeks so sweetly I was more than willing to make the vision come true to keep that image in my head. “We don’t do that often. I was thinking maybe….”
Yeah, I was definitely all for keeping that shy smile on his face until he dissolved into a mass of pleasure-filled jelly. Gabe’s hard cock ground into my balls, and precum wetted his boxers. I stripped out of my shirt, pants, and socks, wanting to feel him against me. Through my bikini briefs I rubbed my ass over the length of him, driving a groan from his lips. His hands fisted my hair and dragged me down for a kiss. We shared the flavor of my mint toothpaste and his copper taste.
The dueling of tongues and bodies moving together lasted for a while, both of us panting and devouring each other in endless moments of peace and pleasure. This was what I’d missed these past few weeks. Not just the sex, but the closeness. His body pressed to mine, our lips connected, minds open to one another. His pleasure heightened mine to feverish levels. We didn’t need hours of foreplay, just kisses and bodies pressed together.
He let go of my hair to run a hand down my spine and dip into my undies. The vision in his head was so different than what he was doing. He hesitated to ask for what he wanted. Had I made him this way? Afraid to request something for fear I’d turn him away? I kissed his lips one last time before trailing more little nibbles down his chest and to his bulging boxers below. Tugging them off his legs, I threw them aside and licked the length of him, across his balls, and below.
Gabe’s breath hitched in a sexy way that made me grab my cock a little harder than usual to keep from coming right away. He expected me to swallow the whole of him, bury my nose in his golden pubes, and suck like I always did. The image replayed strongly in his mind. I smiled while I delivered soft, teasing licks instead. The saltiness of his balls made me want to roll them around in my mouth. The desire was so strong I gave in to it, taking them in my mouth and watching Gabe writhe and grip the bed to try to keep from coming. His eyes were closed, head thrown back, shoulders and arms straining, but I was nowhere near done.