Wolves and the River of Stone (12 page)

“Currency ... money.” She held out the bracelet to me. “These were used as coins by the undines centuries ago. Many ages ago, from before I was born.”

I narrowly, but tactfully, avoided asking how old she was.

She held out her hand and I took the bracelet from her. “Help me put it on, would you?”

I smiled and slid the deep blue obsidian and silver chain bracelet over her left wrist. She ran her fingers over the discs a few more times and looked up at me. Her eyes were the clear, crystalline blues and greens of a brilliant ocean.

“Thank you,” she said as she leaned forward.

My heart pounded as she came closer and a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. I hadn’t noticed just how red her lips were against her skin and how soft her lips looked until she closed her eyes and kissed me, slowly, and so very softly. She was warm and her kiss felt so good. It was natural to put my right arm around her and pull her close. Her thigh bumped against mine as our kiss grew and a wave of lust rolled over us. I wanted her then and there, sprawled across the table, nude.

I pulled away and stared at her. She leaned back and did the same, casually pulling her sweater down until her cleavage was impossible to ignore.

“I like my bracelet,” she whispered in an utterly sultry voice. “We should go.”

I nodded and flagged the server down, handing her my card before she had a chance to print out the receipt.

Nixie leaned against me as we walked out to the car. I opened the door for her and kissed her on the cheek before she climbed in. I put some serious effort into not running around the car and driving back to my apartment like a suicidal lemming.

About halfway home she undid her seatbelt and slid across the bench seat. She sat there with her head on my shoulder until we pulled into the darkening parking lot ten minutes later. As soon as I turned the car off her hand moved down and massaged my groin. “Let’s go inside,” she whispered.

“No drowning,” I said with a grin.

“No promises,” she said as she batted her eyelashes.

“That’s the best I’m going to get?”

“Oh no, definitely not.” She leaned in and kissed me again.

“Oh hell, let’s go,” I said as my jeans grew uncomfortably tight.

We were out of the car and clattering up the wooden steps in seconds. I fumbled with the keys while Nixie leaned against my back, sighed, and wrapped her arms around me. The door opened with a quiet squeak, and by the time I closed it, threw the deadbolt, and turned back to Nixie, her sweater was on the ground. She had her hair piled over her breasts in two thin ropes.

I kicked off my shoes and grabbed her hand, leading her to the bedroom. I was very glad I’d washed the sheets just a couple days ago. I turned back to Nixie as we reached the bed. She pushed against my chest to sit me down, and then she stepped back a bit. I watched her bend down and peel her miniskirt off as she stayed concealed behind a cascade of nearly-white hair.

She smiled as she stood up, green hues lancing through her aura in the dark light. As she straightened, she pushed her hair behind her and revealed her body. She was gorgeous—all pale porcelain skin darkened only by the shadows of her nipples. My eyes trailed down to the thin wedge of hair on her groin and back up to her crystalline eyes.

“You’re beautiful, Nix.”

She smiled and pushed me flat on the bed. Her hands undid the button and zipper on my jeans before she slid them off, fingers dancing back up to my thighs. As she moved, her mouth wrapped around me and I shuddered at the sudden warmth. Her head rose and fell briefly before she raised her face to show me a devious grin.

Nixie ran her hands under my shirt as she climbed onto the bed and kissed me hard. Her groin rubbed against my erection as we shifted higher on the bed. I could feel the heat and tension pulsing off of her. She leaned back, grabbed me in her right hand, and lowered herself slowly.

Nixie moaned as she started to push herself up and down and I wrapped my hands around her thighs. Her hands moved up to my chest and she dug her nails in as she kissed me, without losing her rhythm. Her breathing increased and I started to get an odd sensation, as if her every touch sent sparks of power through my skin. My entire body shivered as she moved. My hands moved to Nixie’s waist and I was surprised when it had more give to it than I’d expected, but the surprise was lost in another wave of pleasure. She leaned down and kissed me again—her lips were wet, soaking wet and warm.

“I’m going to do something,” she whispered. “Don’t worry, it’s normal.”

“Normal,” I said with a chuckle, but I didn’t really care at the moment.

She smiled as she leaned back again and stopped moving. My hands felt her change. Her body became more and more pliable as she sat there, except I could feel her moving again. Her body looked perfectly still, but I could feel her pulsing up and down, her breathing increasing as the pace quickened. She smiled and groaned as an alien presence burst into my head. My eyes widened as she shuddered and I could feel everything, feel our bodies together at once. She tightened in an orgasm and I lost control in a spasm of ecstasy.

I stared at her in astonishment until our bodies stopped twitching.

Nixie laughed and kissed me again, her lips slippery and hot. “Was that okay? I don’t usually let go like that. I didn’t mean to push it all onto you.”

“That,” I said before I swallowed hard, “was bloody amazing.”

“Oh good, because we’re not done.” She grinned as her hand grew translucent and flowed around my groin, more liquid than solid as we started all over again.

***

I woke up with a water witch in my arms, and couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so content. The morning sun seemed awfully bright at the corners of the dark drapes. I glanced at the oversized red digits of my alarm clock and muttered, “Oh, crap.”

I gently shook Nixie’s shoulder until her eyes opened. “Good morning.”

She grinned, and gave me a quick kiss. She screwed up her mouth and said, “That must be morning breath.”

“Better than fish breath,” I said as I gave her another quick kiss and started to disentangle myself from her hair, which was wrapped around me and the pillows, and draped onto the floor. “We’re going to be late. We’re supposed to meet Zola at ten.”

“Let’s go then. I’m hungry.” She gave her hair a quick yank and it pulled away from everything effortlessly. She threw the plaid comforter off to the side of the bed, stood up, and stretched her back with her arms over her head. I stared at her breasts shamelessly before I jumped up, grabbed her, and threw her back on the still-warm bed.

“Maybe we have time for a quickie.”

She giggled and we managed to make ourselves another twenty minutes late.

I
stumbled through the front door of the shop with Nixie laughing at my elbow. A pair of white and black wings swooped past us and Foster landed on the shelf beside us.

“Weren’t you wearing that yesterday, cousin?” he said.

Nixie shrugged. “I’ve been busy. Besides, all my clothes are here.”

“I bet,” Foster said. “Can’t you change your clothes at will?”

Nixie narrowed her eyes at the fairy.

Foster grinned. “Glad to see you’re still breathing, Damian.” He glanced at the back room. “Company.” As he spoke, a deep rolling laugh echoed up from the back.

“Who
is
that?” I said as I moved toward the back. Nixie’s heels clacked on the wood floors behind me and I had my answer as I got close to the door. Hugh was sitting with his back to the grandfather clock, dressed in black slacks and a green button down, with Carter to his left, facing the doorway. Carter adjusted his jeans and rolled his eyes. Zola was shaking her head back and forth and laughing. She had her back to us.

Carter raised his hand and smiled. “Damian, Nixie.”

“Why do I have a sneaking suspicion I don’t want to know what’s so funny.”

Zola turned her body around and rested her left hand on the top of her knobby old cane. “Aeros suggested we invite the wolves.”

“Any particular reason why?” I said.

Hugh nodded once and spoke. “The fact you would ask says much for your intuition. Most werewolves’ auras are well balanced with the natural world. A dark necromancer is a greedy being, and their aura’s no different.” He paused and shifted his eyes to the left for a moment. “Like a hyena gifted with the hunt, not stopping until he is starved, for he has killed all his food, and must now eat his fallen brothers.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Umm, I don’t quite follow.”

Nixie squeezed my arm and walked around me to stand between Hugh and Carter. “Hugh is saying the werewolves’ auras will interfere with the Black Arts.”

Zola nodded. “But there are ways around it. Philip will know of them.”

“It may not stop an incantation completely, but the presence of a balanced aura should damage the efforts of almost any Black Art,” Nixie said as she frowned. “It is difficult to explain, but it is good to have the werewolves on our side.”

Hugh considered Nixie for a moment and then looked back to me. “Though I find it odd, I agree with Nixie.”

Carter’s head jerked toward Hugh and his eyes were wide. “You agree with a water witch? Truly?”

“Yes, Carter, I agree with
Nixie.”
Hugh flashed Nixie a quick grin and she returned it. “I trust her. I think we must if we hope to succeed in pursuing the necromancer.”

“So do I, I just ... “ Carter shrugged, “it seems unlike you.”

Hugh laughed, and I knew it was his laughter I’d heard from the front of the shop. “Even an old wolf can change his mind.”

“Is that the only reason Aeros suggested the wolves?” I said.

“No,” Zola said. “Ah think Aeros would like to see the wolves tear through Philip’s cult with a black flag. The old rock has befriended the little ghost that Happy guards.” She looked away and her eyebrows drew down at a sharp angle as her voice hardened. “She told him there was another man who abused her while she was alive. Someone in Philip’s cult, but she didn’t tell Aeros his name. Or she didn’t know his name. Ah’m not sure which.”

Foster cursed as he flashed into his full seven-foot height. His fist put a round hole through the wall beside the light switch. “Does it
never
end?!” Cara and Aideen flew out of the grandfather clock with their swords drawn.

I knew Foster’s rage. I remembered the van full of body parts and the tiny hand he found in the mass of severed limbs. I remembered the little ghost girl dancing around the flames Foster had summoned to consume that abomination. I remembered the vampire Foster cut in half and the soul he trapped in a dark bottle. And I knew the rage was all the worse for the sister he lost to the monsters.

We thought there may have been more than just the one vampire responsible for killing the little girl and all those people, and now we knew. Not even God Almighty would be able to save the poor bastard when we found out who he was.

I put my hand on Foster’s shoulder and felt the tension shaking his body. “We’ll find them. It’s alright. We’ll find them. She’s safe with Happy now.”

Foster closed his eyes and whispered, “It will never be alright.”

“The girl is blessed to be with Happy and Aeros,” Cara said. “I know you wish you could have done more for her. I know it hurt you after what happened to your sister.” Her voice grew quiet. “Your sister is in a better place, son.”

“My sister?” he said as he glanced at her, and then away. “She killed herself. She left us by her own hand. She should have killed our father instead.”

“Nudd be damned!” Cara shouted. “I strangled the worthless git with his own entrails! I should’ve done it sooner, I know, but we move on son.” Her voice fell to a whisper, “We have to.”

Foster closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he nodded to Cara. “I know. I’m sorry.”

I squeezed Foster’s arm as Nixie came around and hugged him from behind. He rarely spoke of his sister, many years gone, but I knew he still missed her dearly.

Zola sighed and turned to Carter. “Are we agreed, Alpha?”

He nodded and glanced at Foster again. “Yes, we’ll speak with the Voice of the packs we know. Find out if anyone has encountered the Black Arts recently.”

“What’s a Voice?” Nixie said as she leaned against the wall.

“Usually a wolf who likes to talk too much,” Hugh said.

Carter laughed. “That’s the truth. Voices are wolves that are more social than the rest of the pack, namely wolves who don’t mind talking to wolves outside their own pack. Maybe we’ll get a lead, but I really don’t know, Zola. I think we’ll be more help locally, as our pack is not small. We’ll stay spread out around the city to keep an eye on things here.”

“Good, we will keep you abreast of our own movement.” Zola stood up, held her hand out and shook Carter’s even as Carter said farewell to Cara. Hugh extended his hand as well.

I raised my eyebrows when Nixie batted his hand away and hugged the wolf goodbye. A small smile lifted his mouth, but his eyes were sad when he looked toward Foster, the fairy’s head resting on the wall beside the grandfather clock.