Phlox
I bristled and pixie dust scattered. It was a good thing I was surrounded by vampires that didn’t need to breath. Then again, I thought right about now that Leon asshole deserved a good sneezing fit.
Chin jutting out, my inner cat pulsed, pushing at my skin and begging for release. Of course, that form was smaller than my pixie body, but that form also had claws and teeth. Mister High and Mighty Vampire wouldn’t see that coming.
Clamping my jaw tight and clenching my fists, I put on my biggest, fakest smile. Auntie Tandra would be so proud if she could see me now.
“Haven’t you heard? Good things come in small packages,” I barely refrained from hissing, going for snark instead of outright hostility. Did this asshole think he was telling me something I didn’t know? I’d been petite all my life. Auntie Tandra said it was probably because of my father’s genes. According to her, my mother had been typical pixie size. Pictures I’d seen certainly backed up Auntie Tandra’s claim.
Leon appeared taken aback. A low, alarmingly warm chuckle slipped past his lips. “Apologies, that was a shitty opening.” A lazy grin tilted his lips, not even close to showing fang. Still, it was more emotion than I typically witnessed in vampires. Maybe this one was young yet. Although, I found that difficult to believe considering Lucroy introduced him as his second. Surely you had to be a little older to earn that title.
“It was,” I breezily agreed, refusing to sweep the comment under the rug. “The council does not view my size as a detriment, and neither should you.”
Leon held up his hands, palms out. “No, you are right. I—”
“What have we got here?” A faun appeared from behind the bar. A connecting door to a back room swung in his wake. His kilt swayed around his thighs, revealing fur-covered legs that ended in hooves.
“Johnny, this is Frost. He is—”
“My newest employee,” Johnny said, interrupting Lucroy mid-sentence. “Excellent.” Johnny clapped his hands, nearly making me jump. “Since Wendall’s not here as often, we could use the extra help and those wings will make getting supplies off the top shelf easy-breezy.” Clomping forward, Johnny held out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Frost. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Phil. You work hard, follow the rules, and don’t cause any trouble and we’ll get along just fine.”
Auntie Tandra would tell him I hadn’t always been good at following the rules. Truth be told, I found a lot of rules were itching to get broken. However, I knew the stakes and took my position seriously. I had a job to do and part of that bigger job was playing the part of bar employee. I needed to be convincing and planned on playing my part well.
“I’ve got nothing against hard work,” I truthfully answered.
“Fantastic.” Moving his attention to Lucroy, Johnny said, “I’m heading out, boss. It’s been a long night and my hooves could use a soak. I already sent everyone else home.”
“As always, your work is impeccable, Johnny,” Lucroy easily answered. I had to admit, Lucroy Moony was one of the most agreeable vampires I’d ever met, or at least he was the most praiseful, especially for a king. Most vamps were expectant divas. Glancing Leon’s way, I sincerely hoped he wasn’t one of those. If that were the case, I couldn’t guarantee Johnny that I wouldn’t cause trouble. I refused to continue swallowing insults from self-important vamps.
“Leon, you want me to show Frost to his apartment before I leave?” Johnny asked.
“That won’t be necessary. As you said, you are tired and I am more than capable. I will see you tomorrow evening. Have a good rest.”
Throwing Leon an odd two-finger salute, Johnny turned and headed back toward the door he’d entered through earlier.
“See you later, Frost. Be down no later than six p.m. Lizbeth and I will get you up to speed and useful in no time flat.” Johnny chuckled as he walked away.
“Leon, do you require anything further?” Lucroy politely asked.
“No. I’ve got it. You head home to Peaches. The sun will be up soon. I know it is not dangerous to you any longer, but I also know you are not used to it and the sun makes your skin itch.”
“Too true. Thank you, Leon. If you need me, call. I will stop by tomorrow evening to check on things.” Turning to me, Lucroy kept his hands tucked away, his face a mask of perfect vampire emotionlessness. “Frost, should you require anything, please let Leon, Johnny, or me know. I wish for your stay here to be a comfortable one.”
“Thank you,” I sincerely answered. Although I still hadn’t seen the apartment, I felt confident I’d been forced to stay in worse places while working for the council.
With nothing further, Lucroy turned and silently walked down the hall leading to the garage and his vehicle. My rental was parked in the same lot, taking up a tiny fraction of space. I had a couple bags containing my belongings I needed to get and asked, “You want me to get my things before or after you show me the apartment?”
Leon’s facial features mimicked Lucroy’s. Vamps were uncannily good at that unsettling uncaring fa?ade.
“Now would be fine. Do you require assistance?”
“No. I’ve got it.”
“I will wait here then.”
Zipping down the hall, I made quick work of getting to my car and pulling out my bags. Thankfully, pixie clothes were lightweight and nothing else I had was much heavier. Reaching in a final time, I snagged my cell phone. I had another missed call from Auntie Tandra. I really needed to do more than send her a quick text message letting her know I’d arrived and was fine. I owed the pixie who’d raised me so much more than that.
Back inside, a bag in each hand, I said, “Ready.”
Leon’s lip twitched. His blacker-than-night eyes flicked over my hovering form. Part of me wished I knew what he was thinking. An even bigger part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to know. He’d already said I was tiny. Some might not see it as an insult. It wasn’t a compliment either. Why I wanted one of those from this ginger-haired vamp I had no idea.
“This way,” Leon said, sweeping an arm toward a set of stairs tucked behind the bar. “The apartment is on the second floor. It is recently vacated, and Johnny assures me is clean and ready for a new occupant.”
Leon led the way, and I flew behind him. I could have walked and if we were in the company of those who needed to breathe, then I would have. Most pixies preferred flying. We liked being off the ground, even if it was only by a couple of feet.
The stairs were a little steep, not that I minded given I flew and didn’t climb them. My position gave me an excellent view of Leon’s backside. He wore black, fitted jeans and a dark gray three-quarter length sleeve shirt. It was casual and immaculate all at the same time. Those jeans hugged a firm tush.
My cheeks heated and I shut down my lusty thoughts. Vamps and pixies didn’t really co-mingle. At least, that used to be true. As word circulated about Lucroy and Peaches bonding, that was slowly changing. I wasn’t sure if that was for the better or worse. The Magical Usage Council reached out to the Vampire Council. Thankfully, it appeared we were all on the same page regarding pixie safety. Nirgal was very clear on this. The ancient vampire did not want any pixies harmed in vampires’ quest for the sun. No one knew if Lucroy and Peaches were an isolated case or not. Did all pixie blood allow vampires to walk in the daylight? Was it just nature pixies? Did the pixie have to be the vampire’s beloved?
There were too many unknowns for anyone’s comfort. Time would tease the answers free, but until then, it was anyone’s guess. The lure of the sun was a powerful mistress and pixies were becoming increasingly concerned that it wouldn’t be only ogres we had to worry about.
The opening of a door pulled me from my inner thoughts, and I followed Leon into a small, but well-appointed one-bedroom apartment. A quick glance around confirmed my earlier thoughts. I’d definitely stayed in worse.
“There is a small galley kitchen with a two-burner stove, microwave, and refrigerator. Our last resident had little need for more than the fridge and microwave.”
“Who lived here last?” I casually asked while setting down my meager belongings.
“Wendall.”
I perked up. “Wendall Galen?”
Leon nodded. “He was a zombie then and his dietary needs were…sparse.”
I chuckled. “I’ll bet.”
“To my knowledge, Wendall was happy here and found the apartment agreeable. The bedroom is just through there and it has an attached bathroom. The apartment has its own thermostat. You may make the area as warm as you desire.”
Pixies did like being warm. More to the point, we liked not having to wear heavy clothing to protect us from the cold. Pixie skin was sensitive. I wasn’t sure if mine was as sensitive as typical pixies. I knew I didn’t get cold as easily and even preferred it over heat which wasn’t pixie-like at all. I got my cold affinity honestly from my mother and father.
“As Lucroy said, should you need anything, you have but to ask.”
“Thanks, Leon. This isn’t bad. I’m sure it will be more than adequate for the time I’ll use it.” How long that would be was anyone’s guess. Truth be told, no one even knew if using me as bait would work. As much as being captured scared the hell out of me, I also wanted it to happen. It needed to happen. This pixie trafficking ring needed to be shut down in the worst way and the ones in charge needed to be put down in the most egregious way possible. Most likely, I wouldn’t participate in that side of things. I wasn’t averse to bloodshed, but that didn’t mean I craved it either. I was, however, vindictive—something else pixies weren’t supposed to be.
Auntie Tandra said I got my vindictiveness from my father’s genes. She was probably right. I hadn’t known my mom either, but I’d heard enough stories to know that my mother, Perovskia, wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. According to Auntie Tandra, my mother was never upset with my father’s abandonment. In fact, she didn’t view it that way at all. It had been a fling, one that no one could have expected a child from. Some species mixed okay and offspring were expected. Pixies and shifters weren’t two species known for their genetic compatibility.
Some might call me a freak of nature. Auntie Tandra never made me feel that way. She’d claimed the opposite—that I was a fortuitous gift. She said my mother felt the same. I only had Auntie Tandra’s word on that, but I’d seen photos of my mother holding me in the few precious months we’d had together, and she looked happy enough. More than happy. I was probably prejudiced, but as Perovskia’s child, I had a right. My mother had been gorgeous and in pictures with the two of us together she radiated unmitigated joy.
Auntie Tandra was right. I’d been wanted. I’d been born with an abundance of love. Maybe my mom had a sixth sense that she wouldn’t be around and felt the need to shower me with as much of it as time allowed.
It was a silly notion. My mother hadn’t known she’d be captured by an addicted ogre. She hadn’t known she’d be placed in the hot sun, withering and fading faster than a typical captured pixie. My mother had been a rare nature pixie—one that thrived in the cold and wilted in the heat. My mother’s affinity for cold was how she’d met my father. The frigid Mongolian cold isn’t a place most pixies vacation. I doubt my father had ever seen a pixie up close and personal. According to Auntie Tandra, my father had been mesmerized.
I’d been ruminating, stuck in my head, and hadn’t realized Leon was just standing there, his blown pupils a black abyss of emotionlessness.
At some point I’d stopped flying and my bare feet comfortably rested on a soft rug. Shifting toward the couch, I cautiously asked, “Is there something else you need?”
Instead of verbally answering right away, Leon’s head tilted ever so slightly to the side. It was a barely-there movement, something I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been so observant.
Was he trying to intimidate me? My wings instinctively fluttered, scattering a fresh batch of dust. If that was his game, then he’d have to try a hell of a lot harder than that. This wasn’t my first vamp rodeo.
Building up a huff of steam, I was getting ready to lay a verbal smackdown on this vamp when he finally uttered, “You are a uniquely marked pixie.”
Was that another insult?My brain struggled. There was no tone to attach to the words. It was like getting a text without an emoji.
Deciding to go with the words themselves, I nodded and answered, “So I am.”
Leon blinked, his long, red lashes briefly covering his obsidian eyes. I waited for him to say more and was on the verge of kicking his vampire ass out of my new apartment when he walked toward the door, a casual “I like unique,” whispered past his lips.
Leon’s parting comment flushed my cheeks. I opened my mouth a couple of times, ready to say goddess only knows what at the now closed door, Leon well on his way down the stairs. In the end, the only sound that made it past my lips was the rattle of my teeth as my jaw tightly clamped shut.
Ignoring my hastened heartbeat, I turned from the closed door and crassly said, “Weirdo.” I wasn’t really sure what I meant by that singular word, only that I hoped it stilled my stupidly racing heart. “Vampires are trouble,” I reminded myself. “Blood drinking, emotionally constipated, scary as fuck trouble.”
Snagging my bags, I headed for the bedroom. My phone rang again, the tone letting me know it was Auntie Tandra. This would be call number three. One more unanswered call and she’d be on the warpath. Auntie Tandra had contacted the Magical Usage Council on more than one occasion when she couldn’t get ahold of me. I needed to spare them the tirade.
Tossing my bags on the bed, I hit the accept button and followed my paraphernalia’s decent. The bed was firm, just the way I liked it.
“Hey, Auntie. Sorry I didn’t—”
“Are you okay, Phlox? I’ve been so worried. You promised you’d call when you got to your location, and you also said it wouldn’t be later than five p.m. It’s after midnight.” Underlying the obvious scolding was a wealth of fear. That fear halted the inkling of ire that worked its way free.
“Sorry, Auntie. I planned on calling but the timing didn’t work out. I couldn’t miss my rendezvous.”
Auntie Tandra’s sigh whispered across the line. “I understand, but I also worry.”
I swallowed hard. The last thing in the world I wanted was to make her worry. “I’m sorry,” I apologized again.
“No, no. I understand.” Auntie Tandra’s musical laughter eased my soul. “I’m glad you answered this time. I’m sure the council is getting fed up with me and I would have embarrassed myself again.”
“Nonsense,” I half lied. “They like you.” That comment wasn’t even a partial lie. Despite how demanding Auntie Tandra could be, members of the Magical Usage Council were just as smitten with her as Auntie Tandra’s adoring social media fans. Truth be told, I believe some of them were starstruck when the Peltandra, stunningly golden social pixie maven, personally called them.
“Hmm, I suppose. Still, I’m sure they have more important issues to deal with than an overprotective auntie. I’m afraid Perovskia would have been much calmer than me. Your mother had a way about her. Sometimes I think that’s why we got along so well. I was all splash and drama and your mother was a dash of cool water that tamed my fiery personality. Perovskia evened me out. I try and channel your mother’s natural Zen qualities but…” She sighed again. “I suppose it’s a constant work in progress.”
I wished Auntie Tandra could see my grin. “Mom would have been proud of you.” I’d told her that a hundred times, maybe a thousand. Maybe I hadn’t known my mom, but I was as certain of that statement as I was the sky was blue.
“That’s my line,” Auntie Tandra predictably bantered back. “She would be so proud of the work you’re doing. Not that I really know what that is.”
“Auntie, I wish—”
“No. I understand and I’m not fishing.”
That was good. I could rarely tell Auntie Tandra what my missions were, not even when they were over. I was especially glad the council had forbidden me from discussing this one with her. After losing my mother to capture and fading, Auntie Tandra would be beside herself knowing I was actively seeking capture. It was a worry she didn’t need, especially when I fully planned on making it out of my eventual capture alive, whole, and with the weight of the Magical Usage Council, the Vampire Council, and Fairy law ready to fall like an axe on the perpetrators.
“Can you at least tell me if you’ve got a comfortable place to stay?” That was always one of Auntie Tandra’s concerns. I was happy this time I could genuinely relieve one of her fears.
“It’s a good place. I’m sitting on a perfectly firm mattress as we speak.” I bounced up and down a little, relishing in the lack of mattress movement.
“That’s a relief. If there’s a nice mattress, then that implies a roof over your head.”
I chuckled, the sound a little raspy. “That’s true.” I was glad Dusk was closed and the music turned off. I wasn’t sure how loud it was in the apartment but didn’t want to take the chance of Auntie Tandra hearing the sound. She’d be too curious to let it go and despite what she’d said earlier, Auntie Tandra would indeed go information fishing.
“I suppose I should let you go. I’m not sure what time it is where you currently are.” Auntie Tandra was on the West Coast, four time zones earlier than Rutherford Haven, Virginia. “Please contact me when you can.” I nearly folded under the begging tone lacing her request. I’d had my share of missions where I couldn’t contact her. Until my expected capture, this mission wouldn’t be like that.
“I should be able to contact you regularly for a while. If things go well, there will be a time when I can’t.” Hopefully, that time would be minimal. While I might want to be captured, that didn’t mean I planned on being a long-term prisoner. Quite the opposite. Then again, the best laid plans and all that.
“Okay. I’ll try not to worry, but I suppose we both know that will be impossible.” There wasn’t an ounce of reproach in her voice, merely concern beating around a core of unconditional love. Once again, I was reminded how lucky I’d been that Auntie Tandra had willingly taken me in when my mother died. Auntie Tandra never made me feel like anything other than a blessing.
“I’m sorry I worry you so,” I sincerely apologized. While I loved my work, I regretted the emotional toll it took on her.
“Nonsense. I’m fine. I’ve got thousands of adoring fans to soothe my wounded soul.” Although that was true, I knew Auntie Tandra would trade them all in to have my mother back and me safe.
“I saw your latest post. That new hair sparkle product looks beautiful, and the lighting was perfect.” Auntie Tandra was a social pixie through and through. She lived for compliments. Like nearly all social pixies, she could be vain and self-centered. What nearly every other species missed was that social pixies were also devoted parents who doted on their children. While we weren’t related by blood, Auntie Tandra viewed me as her offspring. She would burn the world down for me.
“Thank you, dear,” she gushed. “The sparkle is divine. It’s a bit pricey, but worth every penny. I’ve still got it in. I’m seeing how well it holds up in different conditions. I’ll add that information to my blog later.”
I didn’t mind stroking Auntie Tandra’s ego. I rarely gave her false compliments. Such things weren’t necessary.
“I’ll be curious to hear how this new product performs.” If it wound up being as good as she thought, I might purchase some for Parsnip. If I could get a signed autograph out of it that would be even better. A signed photo of Parsnip would certainly give Auntie Tandra something to crow about.
“I’ll be sure to post a few messages on there to you as well, sweetie. Take care and be careful. Don’t forget who you are. You are Perovskia’s blood and my chosen child. Your father’s blood runs through those veins—a proud and powerful shifter. Call on your blood, Phlox. Your heritage will not let you down.”
Dampness filled my eyes. It took an embarrassingly long time to eliminate the quiver from my voice enough for me to answer, “I won’t forget.”
“I know you won’t. Goodbye for now, sweetie. As always, I’m sending you all my love.” Auntie Tandra ended the call before I could say the words back to her. Deep down she knew. The ones you loved should always know. After all, none of us knew when the goddess deemed our time up. Sometimes she granted decades. Sometimes she stingily doled time out in preciously packaged tragedies. Ultimately, the choice was hers. But I’d fight her on it. I’d fight tooth and claw to eke out as much time as I could greedily grab.