My Soul to Take (33 page)

“First was Rian, who is now Rian and Brevyn,” I mused. “Then came Vero and
then
Lesya. She was my third pregnancy. But the time schedule of things seems to have altered. Look at Horus and Hekate.”

“I don't zink ve should take chances vith our children,” Kirill frowned. “Best to keep it in correct order.”

“That would mean Vero would be next,” I said gently. “Are you sure?”

“It's how ve did it last time,” he chuckled. “I can vait, I'm just excited.”

“It's not like we can really decide who will get me pregnant next,” I mused. “I can stop the birth control spell again but I think we should just let things happen naturally.”

“Hmmm,” he considered. “Da, is probably how ve did it first time.”

“Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready to go through another pregnancy,” I grimaced. “The last one almost killed me.”

“In so many vays,” he sighed. “Okay, ve vait.”

“At least until I get this star thing handled,” I rubbed at my chest. “I definitely can't think about having a baby when my body is so unbalanced.”

“Agreed,” Kirill pulled me into his side. “Ve'll talk about it more after ve fix your star.”

“I just wish I knew
how
to fix it,” I mused as I looked across Neverland.

I have feeling zat it vill show you,” Kirill kissed the top of my head. “For now, don't vorry about star. Focus instead on keeping husbands happy.”

“Wow, that sounded a little caveman.”

“I am man vith cave,” he reminded me.

“That you are,” I laughed and turned in his arms.

As caveman as his words had sounded, they had also described exactly what I wanted to do. So I gave in and pulled my husband's face to mine. There's no time like the present for happiness.

A flash went off and I jerked away from my husband, blinking in confusion. Kirill started to growl and I felt his body tense beneath my palms. I instantly slid my hands up his chest and kneaded his shoulders in an effort to calm him. If he lost it, so would I and I probably shouldn't hurt Pan's father at Horus and Hekate's engagement party.

“Hermes,” I ground out in a low voice.

“Godhunter,” Hermes lowered his camera and made a face at me, like he smelled something nasty. Probably his upper lip. Sorry, that was childish.

“Is there a reason you're snapping pictures of me kissing my husband like you're some kind of scumbag private eye?”

“I'm the party photographer,” he huffed. “I have to take pictures of everyone... even those I'd rather not look at.”

Hermes and I had a rocky past. Mainly because I'd killed Aphrodite, who'd been his lover. Ol' Afro had lots of lovers
and
a husband but that didn't seem to bother anyone except her husband. Her lovers, some of whom had wives, didn't see a problem with her sleeping around. I had no room to talk either but my husbands knew the deal, her's hadn't. She'd even had children with some of her lovers but not with her husband. I think she even had a son with Hermes but it wasn't Pan. His mother had been a wood nymph named Dryope... see, I did know things about Pan.

“You have four seconds to run,” Kirill stepped forward and lowered his face into Hermes'.

“I was just doing my job,” Hermes huffed, his boyish face twisted in anger. He flopped around and flounced off, his golden curls bouncing as he clutched his massive camera possessively.

“Damn nosy messenger gods,” Kirill growled.

“Ugh,” I huffed. “I hadn't considered that Pan would invite his father.”

“Huitzilopochtli, God of Sun and War!” Pinocchio, who looked fully recovered, called out from the ballroom door. “Accompanied by his wife; Eztli, Goddess of the Blood Moon!”

“We'd better go say hi,” I gave Kirill a worried look and he nodded.

We hadn't seen either Blue or Eztli since the battle in Norway and I was hoping that their presence here meant she was over Morvran's death. As we headed across the crowded room, Trevor joined us. My other men were occupied in conversations; Re with a flock of groupie goddesses, Odin with his children, and Azrael with his parents. So it was just the three of us who approached Blue and Eztli.

They were such a striking couple. Blue was in a black tux with a crimson tie and Eztli wore a long, slinky dress which matched his tie perfectly. Everyone was staring at them and I wasn't sure whether it was because of how beautiful they looked or simply who they were. Whatever the case, I could see that Eztli noticed it too and it was bothering her.

“Hey. How are you both doing?” I gave Blue a quick hug.

I leaned towards Eztli in one of those hesitant moves you use with new acquaintances; are we huggers yet or do we just shake hands? She hesitated too, then leaned forward and gave me a fast, barely-there hug. It wasn't a huge step forward but it was enough to let me know that she wasn't holding me responsible for what happened to Morvran.

“We're fine,” she said. “Thank you for asking.”

“I'm glad you two came,” I went on more confidently. “I was getting worried that you might have changed your mind about joining the Squad.”

“I thought about what happened,” she said gravely and glanced at Blue. “And we talked about it. I understand what Morpheus did. I barely remember my blood relatives but I have a new family now and I've lost quite a few of them recently. Two in particular were a great wound in my heart. So I can sympathize with the need for vengeance.”

“I'm sorry for the vampires who we killed in Tuscany,” I offered gently. “But you did have my lions.”

“I'm not referring to them, Vervain,” she smiled sadly. “Soldiers enter a battle with the knowledge that they may die there. Such loss is tragic but not something which requires recompense.”

“Then who do you... oh.” I had a sudden flash of our first meeting; I was in a circle of blood and she was smiling smugly until Blue came striding in and and announced that he had killed her vampire escort.

I looked to Blue with wide eyes and he gave me a pained expression before nodding. Oh damn, Blue had been the one who had killed members of her new family. That must have been a tough hill to climb over.

“The loss of a loved one can be a consuming grief,” I offered gently. “Morpheus lived with his brothers for centuries. It was just the three of them really. His parents lived nearby but they rarely visited. Morph was closest to his brothers and Phantasus' death hurt him deeply.”

“Phantasus talked about Morpheus often,” Eztli mused. “He had felt betrayed when Morpheus joined your Squad. At the time, I'd supported his anger but now that I've met all of you... well, a new perspective can change your point of view in so many ways.”

“I'm relieved you got a new look at things,” Trevor gave her his lopsided grin. “Because my perspective at the battle included you and Blue, and I'd rather not go up against you two glowworms.”

We all chuckled as new guests were announced.

“Elena the Vampire Psychic and escort; Ajax Dimitriou...” Pinocchio stopped and turned to Elena to murmur, “Do I really have to say that?”

Elena gave him an insistent look while Ajax simply looked like a man headed to the gallows.

“Ajax Dimitriou,” Pinocchio went on in a slightly softer voice, “Vampire Sex God.”

I choked on my Pan punch.

As Elena smugly walked in with her date, the room went quiet enough that I was able to hear Re's exclamation as if he were standing right beside me.

“Blast it all, that's my title!”

“Re's the Vampire Sex God?” Trevor asked Kirill with a smirk.

“He vants to suck your-”

“Alright,” I cut Kirill off before he said what I suspected he was about to say. “That's not fair, you already have the Russian accent. You barely have to alter it to make it sound like Dracula.”

“Hey all you party people!” Elena exclaimed to us as she walked up.

“Hey, Vampire Psychic,” Trevor smiled and then looked at Ajax. “What's up, Vamp-”

“Don't,” Ajax pointed his finger at Trevor.

Ajax was a big guy. He looked as if Eztli had plucked him right out of a gladiatorial ring and turned him into a vamp because he was such a bad ass. He had long, dirty-blonde hair and almost as much muscles as Thor. Still, this wasn't enough to intimidate the Froekn Heir Apparent (and btw, I had no idea that was Trevor's full title).

“Don't what, Sex God?” Trevor smirked.

“Elena, must you embarrass us wherever we go?” Eztli cut in before Ajax could get angry.

“I bring the fun,” Elena was not at all embarrassed.

“Where's this psychic and her sex god?” Pan was practically jumping up and down with joy as he approached us. “Hello! Such a pleasure to meet you, Miss Psychic,” he shook Elena's hand vigorously before shaking Ajax's. “I'm a sex god too, you know? You've come to the right place.”

“Really?” Elena frowned doubtfully. “Cause it looked like Peewee's Playhouse out there.”

“
Peewee
?!” Pan huffed. “Are you insane? Did Peewee have a gigantic sand castle? Did he have a snow globe bouncy house? No! Peewee has nothing on the Pan!”

“Darling,” I drawled to Pan, “Disney has nothing on the Pan.”

“I love you, Vervain,” Pan threw himself at me and I caught him just in the nick of time. “Have I ever told you that?”

Pan's face had conveniently landed between my breasts and he stared up at me with supreme satisfaction. His little pointed chin was tapping my sternum and his boyish face was framed by the violet velvet of my dress. He settled in against me as if he intended to stay there forever. Then came the growling.

“Pan, I think you'd better run,” I whispered.

He shifted his eyes side to side and caught the menacing leers of my husbands.

“I gotta go handle something over there!” Pan leaped back and rushed off. “Way over there!”

Trevor and Kirill stalked after him, tracking their prey through the maze of people slowly but steadily.

A few moments later we heard Pan squeak, “I don't care what you do to me; it was worth it!”

“Some sex god,” Ajax rolled his eyes.

“You're Greek, right? Dimitriou sounds like a Greek name.” I asked Ajax as Odin sidled up to me.

It was like my men could sense when there was a husband vacuum and one of them would immediately rush to fill it.

“Yes,” Ajax looked at me warily.

“Don't you know who that was?” I kept my tone casual.

“A pervert?” He offered.

Odin and Blue both looked away and muffled their laughter.

“That was
the
Pan,” I took great joy in announcing. “The Greek God of the Wilds.”

“The one with the caves for temples and all the gorgeous women flocking around? Nymphs and pipes and hooves; that Pan?” Ajax gaped at me.

“That's
the
Pan,” I nodded.

“Ba! I just met Pan!” Ajax turned to Elena in shock.

“I get the joke but Pan's affiliated with goats, not sheep,” Re said as he joined us.

“Well, flocks,” I offered.

“Oh yes, you're right,” Re kissed me on the cheek and then looked back to Ajax. “Go ahead and baa all you wish.”

“
Ba
is a Greek expression of amazement,” Elena explained while she chuckled. “Lighten up, big guy,” she elbowed the glowering Ajax. “That was funny. I told you, you shouldn't use that word around non-Greeks. What did I say?”

“That I would sound like a little lamb,” he recounted in a petulant tone. “And you would have to rename yourself Mary.”

“Exactly,” she nodded smugly. Then she leaned forward towards me, held her hand up to her mouth to block Ajax, and whispered, “That's why I gotta tell everybody how good he is in bed. Not too bright, this one.”

“Elena, I can hear you,” Ajax growled.

She winked at me and then straightened, “Hear what, sweetie?”

Ajax sighed deeply and looked to Re, “She's amazing in bed too, which is why I put up with all of this...,” he waved his hand generally at Elena, “nonsense.”

“Nonsense am I?” Elena scowled at Ajax.

“My friend,” Re laid a hand on Ajax's shoulder sympathetically. “Might I recommend bondage?”

I choked on Pan punch again.

“We've already done that,” Elena said smugly. “It was fantastic.”

I gaped at her as I wiped my wet chin.

“And a ball gag,” Re added thoughtfully.

“Hmm,” Ajax nodded while Elena sputtered. “Good idea.”

“Just a suggestion from one sex god to another,” Re smiled.

“Is this room full of sex gods?” Ajax lifted his brows.

“Nope, just this group,” I rolled my eyes and then looked consideringly at Odin. “Actually, that's pretty accurate.”

“It helps to have magic hands,” Odin chuckled.

“And tongues,” I agreed.

“I'm sorry,” Elena stopped sputtering and honed in on me. “Did you just say tongues... plural?”

“Magic is a marvelous thing,” I waggled my brows at her.