Page 23

Neith

R iver immediately wraps his arms around me, and I hug him back tightly. It’s amazing how these men can settle my nerves and my hurt with a simple touch.

I’m in trouble, but I’m going to ignore it like an adult until I can’t anymore.

“I’ve got this,” Ransom says, as he moves closer to the body. He stops as he gets to River and me and kisses my cheek, he smiles softly at my shocked expression and says, “I’m sorry he hurt you, Neith.”

I return his soft smile with one of my own. Marveling at his kindness and how free these men are with affection. It’s easy to see how Coen fit in with them.

He moves past us, and heads to the body that’s still on fire, as he watches his fingers flick lazily in the air and the fire turn white hot, the flames eating through everything that’s left of the body and destroying it completely. When the flames have nothing left to burn, they extinguish, and Ransom waves his hand again, dispersing all of the ashes and somehow leaving the grass beneath the body completely untouched.

“That was amazing,” I say.

He smiles, “Thanks.”

“Okay,” Evander says. I see questions swimming in his eyes, in all of their eyes, really, but Van pushes them away and continues, “Do you want to just head to the house?”

“Is he likely to have been alone?” Reed suddenly asks.

I nod, “Yeah, he’s a scout.” I reassure them, and they all relax again. “We need to eat, I’m starving. Let’s order some stuff to go, and then we can head back to the house.”

Van nods, “Are you sure?”

I smile and then laugh as my stomach growls loudly, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

We all turn back around and head to the pub. I move out from underneath River’s arm, and Van immediately pulls me under his.

“I wish you would have come to me,” he mutters.

“I couldn’t, it wasn’t safe. I didn’t want to put you in danger. I know it probably doesn’t make sense, but Dimitri saved me, and what he saved me from was a thousand times worse than anything that Dimitri did. I made enemies when I was with Dimitri and before,” I reply honestly.

I figure I’m already going to get the flashbacks thanks to what I have already shared, and Dimitri speaking, that always brings back memories. Good and bad, and I end up pretty fucking sad for a while. The voices get it, they understand, and they’re as subdued as I feel. They liked Dimitri before he changed. He really felt like one of my people.

I just wish I knew why he changed so drastically. Whether it was just the power that went to his head, or the money.

“I would have been there for you,” Van says.

“I know. That’s why I had to keep you as far away as possible,” I reply. “I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere.”

He stops, the others moving past us and into the pub.

I look up at him and I’m shocked to see so many emotions in his eyes, “Please don’t just disappear on me again. If you need to leave, or want to leave, I’m not going to stop you obviously, but please say goodbye.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry, Van,” I reply. “I really thought I was doing the right thing; I thought that you would be so busy with the magical academy that I could just slip away, and you wouldn’t notice.”

His eyes flash with hurt, “I noticed Neith. I fucking noticed, I searched for you, I was still searching for you when you turned up at the door. You were, are my best friend Neith, and you were more than that, and you fucking know it.”

His hand moves to gently cradle my face as his forehead rests on mine.

Guilt crashes over me in a wave.

I tilt my head back slightly, and my lips brush against his, “I’m so sorry Van.”

It’s like something in him snaps, and his lips find mine again. He lifts me, my legs wrapping around his waist, as our tongues dance together like they have done it a thousand times. My body buzzes with need and such a strong emotion that it almost knocks the air out of me. Van nips my lip, his hands clenching my ass tightly as my hands thread into his hair and pull, making him growl as I smirk against his lips.

When he pulls back, his eyes are lighter. “I get it, Nene. I didn’t, but I do now, and if there were a chance that you were going to be in danger, then I would have done the same thing.”

Relief washes through me at his easy acceptance and forgiveness, and I smile. “Thank you for understanding.”

He puts me down reluctantly, “We should probably get in and order some food.”

I frown, as guilt washes through me again, reaching out I grab his hand to stop him, and he looks back at me curiously, “Van you should know, I kissed Raiden, and Doc too.”

I wait for him to explode, for disgust to cover his expression, but instead, he smiles.

“I know. They’re my best friends, it’s not a problem Nene, I promise. Just don’t overthink it,” he replies, and then dips his head and kisses me again, scrambling my brain.

I shrug, “Well alright then. Let’s go and get some food.”

He chuckles and pulls the door open for me so that I can go in. When we get inside the pub is full, there’s barely room to stand let alone find a table to sit at and I think it’s a good thing that we decided to eat at the house. Well, it will be so long as the house is behaving itself, it’s er, unique. Yeah, let's go with unique.

We weave through the other people in here, supes and humans alike, and make our way to the bar where we can easily see the guys towering over almost everyone else in here.

“We’ve already ordered. Niamh was more than happy to do our order to go since it’s so busy in here,” River explains as we reach them.

“We also filled her in on what we have found out so far, even though it’s not much,” Reed says, and I notice that there is a large ring of space around him despite the fact that it’s so crowded in here. People are automatically trying to avoid him.

“Neith, what do you and Evander want?” Niamh asks me as she appears behind the bar.

“My usual, please,” I grin.

“Double cheeseburger, extra cheese, large chips, and onion rings,” she grins and then turns to look at Van.

“That sounds good actually, can I have the same please?” he asks.

“Sure thing,” she says. “Why don’t you guys head down to my office and grab your stuff? I’ll bring the food to you there.”

“Thanks, Niamh,” I say.

We head behind the bar, earning some curious looks from the regulars since Niamh is notorious for shouting at people who step behind her bar, and we, as apparent strangers, are just walking behind it. This place isn’t like Sully’s though and no one shouts at us to ask us what we’re doing.

“If you give me the address, then I might be able to drop our bags there,” Doc offers as we start picking up our stuff.

I laugh, although it just makes the guys look at me like I’m crazy.

“That probably isn’t the best idea, and definitely not a good idea to turn up without me,” I try to explain, although it just adds to their confusion.

“Okay, seriously, what is up with this house?” Raiden asks.

“It’s unique,” I say. “Really, it’s difficult to explain. It’s better if you just see for yourself.”

Before any of them can say anything else, Niamh walks in with three bags of food.

“Chef put a little enchantment on the food to keep it hot for you,” she says, and then adds with a smirk, “you know just in case.”

I roll my eyes but smile and reply, “Thanks. We’re probably going to need it.”

The guys grab the food, and then we head back out the way we came, this time with all of our stuff. The crowd parts easily, probably because they don’t want to be accidentally smacked with one of the bags.

Once we’re back in the van, Doc asks, “How far away is your house?”

“It’s probably about a twenty-minute drive from here,” I reply as we pull out of the parking lot.

Fortunately, the drive to the house is over quite quickly, and soon, the entrance that you can only see if you know it’s there comes into view, and I pull up the long, winding, and overgrown driveway. We reach a set of wrought iron gates, and as we approach, they open for us, moving smoothly.

“Those gates weren’t electric,” Raiden says as he glances behind us at the gates as we go through them.

I shake my head with a smile.

The house is big, and around four hundred or so years old. It’s built with old stone, has several steepled roofs with tall chimneys for the many fireplaces inside, and huge windows that let in a lot of light. You would think that it would be drafty and cold, but it’s quite the opposite; in the winter, it’s warm even without the fires lit, and in the summer, it’s nice and cool. The grounds would have once been manicured and designed to perfection, but whatever magic is keeping the house from crumbling doesn’t extend to the grounds, and they are now overgrown, the features that were once here buried under decades of growth.

Whenever I actually manage to visit, I try to clear up some of the garden. I would love to have it looking like it once did, and I have a feeling that the house would like that too. Unfortunately, I’m never here for a casual visit, I’m always on a job or hiding or something similar and I never have much time. Maybe now that I am working for SID, I will be able to get some time off to come here and actually make a good dent in sorting the grounds. If the guys want to help as well, then I will get so much more done. They aren’t small guys, and they have magic. I’m sure that would be very helpful. That’s not likely to happen any time soon though. We have the hybrid case and my weirdness. I’m not even sure what to call it anymore. We aren’t going to find the time, but as soon as we do get a moment, then I’m going to suggest coming here.

Oh, or maybe Scotland to see Griff’s family and get some answers about why I could hear him those two times. It’s not a very long flight to Scotland from here, maybe we could do both. That would be really cool.

The house is sitting in darkness, which is understandable because no one has stayed here since I last did. We all get out of the van, bags in hand, and the guys confusion mounts as it just looks like a normal house, well taken care of, big and old.

“Alright so what’s so weird about this place? It just looks like a normal house,” Doc says, “it’s in really good condition.”

I smile, “Well, one, no one has lived here or owned it for about four hundred years. It doesn’t have a caretaker.”

“What?” he asks.

“Come on,” I smile as I walk up the wide steps. Suddenly, the house lights up, and every single light is on.

“Whoa, automatic lights?” Reed asks.

I shake my head, “Nope, that’s the house.”

“The house turned the lights on?” Evander asks, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

I reach out for the door handle and try to turn it, finding it locked, “Oh come on. I’m sorry it has been so long since I visited.”

“Who are you talking to?” Griff asks.

“The house,” I explain, as I try the door again, and it still won’t open. “I really am sorry.”

The sound of a door slamming loudly in the house makes everyone jump.

“What the hell?” Van questions.

“Is your house arguing with you?” River asks, his eyes lighting up with fascination.

I sigh, “Yeah.” Turning my attention back to the house, “Look, I brought people, new people.”

The whole house creaks, and then the door pops open.

“It was locked,” Ransom says, clearly struggling with the whole thing.

“It was,” I reply, as I move toward the door, it slams. “Hey! Not funny! Do you want me to go and find a hotel to stay at? Be nice!”

“She’s telling a house off,” Doc says incredulously.

“Apparently, the house needs to be told off,” River replies, taking everything in his stride, like normal.

The door opens again, I raise my eyebrow, “Are you going to be nice now?”

The door moves backward and forward, and I’m going to assume that means yes. Even so, I walk through the door with my hand out in front of my face, just in case it changes its mind.

Once inside, I grin happily, “I missed you, old friend.”

“Er, is it safe to come in?” Van asks, and I turn around and see all of the guys still standing out on the steps and looking cautiously inside.

I nod, “Yeah, it’s safe. It’s just mad because I haven’t visited in a long time.”

River bounds through the door, apparently that was as far as his caution went and I laugh. The others follow him a lot more cautiously.

He looks around, “This place is awesome. How are the lights on if no one has lived here for four hundred years, and how is it in such good condition?”

I shrug, “It’s the house.” I walk further into the house and head for the huge kitchen diner, “We can eat in the kitchen, although there’s only a four-seater table.” When we all walk into the dining end of the kitchen though, there sits a table big enough for all of us. “Thank you, House.”

“Did the house do that?” Ransom asks.

I nod, “Yeah, it has obviously decided to play nice.”

“Neith honey, is that you?” a familiar voice asks.

I chuckle, “Who else would it be, Ethel? House doesn’t let anyone else in here, and you scare everyone away.”

She chuckles, “Well, it’s more fun that way. Besides, this place is yours. We can’t have just anyone walking in here.”

“Not mine, Ethel. I have no ownership documents or anything,” I say.

The kitchen cupboard doors open and close rapidly.

“Good point, House,” Ethel says, “just because you don’t have any official papers doesn’t make it any less yours.”

“Erm Neith,” River says, “who the fuck are you talking to?”

I grin, but as I open my mouth to reply, Ethel does.

“Me, boy, come over here and let me get a good look at you,” she demands.

I roll my eyes, and when River looks at me questioningly, I add, “She’s in the kitchen.”

There’s a huge countertop splitting the kitchen and the dining room, making it difficult for the guys to see who is talking. She’s not exactly obvious. I lean over it with a big grin as the other guys all walk into the big kitchen, clearly curious about who is talking. I can’t help the amused smile on my face as I lean on the countertop to watch this interaction unfold.

“I don’t see anyone?” Raiden says questioningly.

“I’m right bloody here,” Ethel says, her Irish accent becoming much thicker.

They all freeze, staring at the corner of the kitchen, or more accurately, what’s perched on the counter in the corner of the kitchen.

Hesitantly, Doc asks, “Did that skull just talk?”

“Who else would be talking to you, lad?” Ethel, the skull, asks.

“What the fuck?” Evander asks.

I burst out laughing at their expressions and then decide to make the introductions before Ethel tells me off, “Guys, this is Ethel and Ethel, these are the guys.”

“Nice to meet you,” River says with a grin as he bounces closer.

“How are you a talking skull?” Reed asks.

“Neith killed me and cursed me to this form forever for betraying her,” Ethel replies seriously.

I shrug, “I didn’t think it would work.” Their shocked expressions make my lips twitch, and I can no longer keep a straight face, “I’m joking and so is she, I didn’t kill her. Although, getting an honest answer out of her about how she came to be a talking skull, and in this house is very unlikely.”

“So, you have a sentient house,” Doc starts and the drawers open and close as if to say, ‘yep that’s me’. Doc’s eyes widen slightly, “Right, a sentient house and a talking skull.”

“Well, technically I don’t have anything, they don’t belong to me,” I reply. “I’ll tell you the story over dinner?”

“Oh, food,” River says and then adds. “I can see why Niamh put that enchantment on it.”

As we walk over to the table and take our seats, Reed hands out everyone’s food. I nod, “Yeah. I’m actually surprised that House let us in so quickly. It doesn’t like letting anyone inside except for me usually.”

“And me,” Ethel adds.

I roll my eyes with a smile, “Yes, and you, but you don’t technically leave, do you?”

“Well, no,” she replies.