The Coven

THE COVEN

Stephanie Burke

www.loose-id.com

Warning This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id® e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

The Coven Stephanie Burke This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by Loose Id LLC 1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-2924 Carson City NV 89701-1215 www.loose-id.com

Copyright © September 2008 by Stephanie Burke All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.

ISBN 978-1-59632-766-5 Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader

Printed in the United States of America

Editor: Irene Williams and Karen Williams Cover Artist: Christine M. Griffin

Dedication This book is dedicated to my long-suffering editors, Irene, Allie, and Karen, and my belittled beta, Ouida, who all probably want to bury me in a garbage can after these edits. Thank you all for sticking with this one. It had some very touchy places for me, sensitive places that would not let me go until I started exorcising my own daemons by exorcising those of the heroine. Sorry for…misplacing (yeah, that will work)…some of the sex. How’d that happen? I also want to thank Camille Anthony for telling me that I can really do this; Den, who kept telling me that no one else could do it; and Kate Douglas, who reminded me several times that I actually could do it. This also goes out to the men and women of Flamekeeper, who put up with me while I was doing it!

No creatures or scientists were destroyed in the making of this book, but one motorcycle, a mouse, one perfectly good wrist brace, and a physical therapist weren’t so lucky. I promise, no more sex while I am getting electrocuted…I mean, the ultrasound therapy!

Chapter One “Ms. Reid? Over here!” “Ms. Reid, you are looking perfect tonight. Look this way, please!” “Ms. Reid! You are an inspiration! I love you!” “Ms. Reid! Ms. Reid! You are a goddess!” “You are a dirty tramp, and you seduce men into worshiping you, you nasty slut!” “You stole my husband, you bitch!” “I hope you rot in hell!” And Cyprus, as usual, ignored it all. The flashing bulbs temporarily blinded her, but she ignored the minor inconvenience as well, as she moved with her customary style and grace down the wrinkled red carpet that had been rolled out for her visit. She turned and flashed one last mysterious smile at the gathered crowd, both the hateful and the adoring fans, and silently made her way into the safety of the hotel. “Ms. Reid?” She looked up at the oh-so-proper, British-accented voice, realizing absently that it was the hotel manager. She paused, giving the short, balding man her full attention, noting how he flushed a little at her scrutiny. The doors behind them closed with a whoosh, muting the noise and shouts of the crowd, though bulbs continued to flash as paparazzi desperately tried to get that winning shot of one of the world’s most beautiful and renowned vocalists. “Um.” He cleared his throat, tugging at his collar as he shifted from foot to foot, more like an adolescent than a grown man. “Security has been tightened on your floor as you

2

Stephanie Burke

requested. Also, you are the only occupant of the twenty-seventh floor, though we can easily accommodate you and your entourage in the penthouse suite.” “Thank you and that will be all,” a tall, long-haired man spoke, towering over both the manager and Cyprus. “Though we appreciate the hospitality you and your staff have provided thus far, Ms. Reid does not prefer the penthouse or any of the presidential suites. The twenty-seventh floor is perfect for our needs.” The manager froze, staring at the man as if suddenly noticing his presence and that the sheer aura surrounding Cyprus had rendered the world blind to anyone else around her. But then, that was part of her mystery. Cyprus Reid never traveled with fewer than five men, five painfully handsome, dominating men. How anyone could ever not notice them was a complete mystery, but usually they managed the neat theatrical trick of fading into the background. Once they decided to be seen, however, a blind man couldn’t miss them. Each stood over six feet tall -- five perfectly formed men, each unique and differently beautiful in his own way, who made it a point to surround and protect Ms. Reid from any and all activities that could be considered dangerous, especially keeping any unsavory fanatics at bay. The one who spoke to him -- Unus, he had discovered -- the one with long, dark hair, appeared to be the spokesman for the rest of the group. If there was anything to be settled, this one was the one to do it. He stood before the manager, his perfectly cut Savile Row suit doing nothing to hide the raw masculinity and barely leashed savagery that seemed to glow from his eyes. The other four, all mystery men of different ethnic backgrounds and styles, moved in closer, alert to any trouble that might develop. “V-v-very g-good, s-sir,” the manager stuttered, growing nervous now that all that male power was directed toward him. He reached into his pocket, then took a quick step back as all the men moved forward, hiding Cyprus behind a wall of muscle. “It’s just the electronic key card,” he quickly explained, sweating under his collar as if suddenly fearful for his very life. “Just the key. No one else besides our head of security has a copy.” “Your head of security?” the man asked, leaning forward, getting closer so that the manager could make out small, very fine tribal tattooing along his hairline, down in front of his ears, and down into the collar of his shirt. “Jason Giles,” the manager explained. “Very good, comes highly recommended. He is securing the twenty-seventh floor as we speak. Ms. Reid’s safety is our chief concern.” A slim, dusky hand reached between the two of them, halting any movement the tall man might have made and pulling him back into line.

The Coven

3

“Very good.” He conceded to the smaller female whose hand now rested on his arm, nodding once. “Ms. Reid is exhausted…” “Oh, excuse me!” The manager snapped back into host mode and hastily directed the small party to the private elevators. “These only stop at executive floors, like the twentyseventh,” he explained, while placing the card against a small scanner. The doors immediately opened, and he quickly ushered them inside. The men immediately surrounded Cyprus protectively. Within seconds, they were whisked to the proper floor, and all exited into the plushly carpeted, brightly lit hall. “As requested, Ms. Reid’s room is in the center. The rooms on either side of her are prepared for occupancy and can be accessed only though the interior doors that are in Ms. Reid’s main suite. All others are closed off and locked, both electronically and by physical means. This floor is as safe as Fort Knox.” That said, he led them to a door where another man, one with nearly white blond hair, stood at attention. Instantly, the men were once again on high alert, their bodies tensing as they formed a barrier between Cyprus and the unknown man. “This is Jason Giles,” the manager introduced. “He is head of security, hired exclusively for your safety during this visit.” “An honor,” Jason spoke softly, his eyes going to the odd collection of men who surrounded the artist. “We thank you.” The long-haired spokesman for the group eyed the strange male carefully. “But your services, though appreciated, are not needed.” There was steel in that voice only a dead man could miss. The undercurrents flowed strongly and were rife with testosterone. “Be that as it may,” Jason replied, “I remain your first line of defense. If something gets out of hand, I will do my best to quell it before it even makes it this far. And if you have any issues, no matter how minor, be sure to let me know. Any extra security is a must. We all have to protect the beauteous Ms. Reid,” he added, with barely veiled sarcasm. “If you think --” the now disgruntled leader of apparent party-toy men began, but a slim hand pressing against his arm stopped him again. Huffing and visibly fighting to control himself, the man nodded and stepped aside. And Jason got his first glimpse of the real-life Cyprus Reid.

4

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Two She was a tall thing, even without the heels. Jason estimated that she stood at least five feet eleven inches in her bare feet, just two inches shy of his own six feet one inch height. Her skin was an indefinable mix of colors that could not be attributed to just one race. Golden was the best way to describe it. Cyprus Reid had a golden glow -- an aura, if you will -- about her. Her eyes were almond-shaped and long-lashed, and the color of molten gold. Her lips were full and generous, making her mouth more seductive than beautiful. Her nose was not too narrow and not too wide, just perfect for her heart-shaped face. Her cheekbones were high and well-established, showing that this woman would age gracefully. Her skin was clear, not a blemish to be seen, and Jason didn’t think the effect was from makeup. Her hair was a blending of gold and brown with a few platinum streaks highlighting it for fun. It was currently swirled and coiled into an intricate knot on top of her head, but he recalled from previous pictures that it hung somewhere around what People Magazine had described as “a butt so perfect that the angels wept when she walked by.” She was dressed in a form-fitting sheath that skimmed along her million-dollar curves and emphasized the fact that she either had a damn good personal trainer or was gifted genetically. Her breasts were high and firm, but not too large or overly done. Her high-heeled shoes revealed a set of trim ankles and just a hint of enticing toes. She stood there in the hallway, a butterfly surrounded by towering hulks of testosterone. It made her look all the more delicate, more feminine, and more ethereal, if that were possible. Jason was not impressed.

The Coven

5

If things went the way he thought they would, and he was seldom wrong, he would prove that this vixen was a vicious, mad-dog killer. The tall man, the one he decided to refer to as Ape-boy, glared at him, then abruptly nodded. “We thank you.” “All part of the service,” Jason said, with a smile that rubbed the forced acquiescence deeper into Ape-boy’s face. “Now, if you will excuse us, Ms. Reid needs her rest.” “Not from where I’m standing.” Jason flirted gently, testing the waters while at the same time bugging the hell out of Ape-boy. He decided he wasn’t egging the man on; he was killing two birds with one stone by seeing how the group of boy toys reacted when some other male paid attention to Cyprus. Plus, he was checking out her reaction. Irking the big guy was an added bonus. He smiled, just knowing that he was great at this multi-tasking thing. Look at how much he was accomplishing in such a short amount of time. Ape-boy tensed even more, if that were indeed possible, but Cyprus just grinned slightly, a small movement of her lips that lit up her whole face. Jason paused at that small grin, realizing that he was grateful she hadn’t smiled. If a small gesture of amusement could raise the temperature a thousand degrees, he could only imagine what a full-fledged smile could do.

Down, boy, he mentally told his cock as his blood began to relocate itself to lower quarters, and his smaller head began to sit up and take notice. She’s a bad guy. A really bad, male-hating, murderous black widow spider. Too bad his cock paid no attention in the least. Taking a deep breath, and thankful for the long cut of his suit jacket that hid his rising problem, Jason stepped aside and watched as Ape-boy gestured to another of the boy toys to check out the room. A red-haired man, slightly shorter than Ape-Boy, stepped through the door, and after a discreet amount of time, returned and gestured them inside. “Thank you.” Ape-boy briefly nodded to Jason and the manager before escorting Cyprus to the door. “Your attention is” -- he glared at Jason -- “overwhelming.” “I live to serve,” Jason quipped, ignoring the glares sent to him by both the manager and Ape-boy. Snorting, Ape-boy slammed the door shut, ending the confrontation before it could develop further. “Nice people.” Jason smiled at the manager, who looked fit to be tied. “It’s so hard to find attentive help these days.” “Maybe you should remember that, Mr. Giles,” the manager snapped. “You were rude to that man.”

6

Stephanie Burke

“He was rude to me!” “Be that as it may,” the manager continued as they moved toward the elevator that remained open and waiting for them. “The guests are always correct.” “Even annoying prima donnas?” he had to ask, waiting to see if the red-faced man would explode. “Especially the prima donnas, though there have never been any reports of Ms. Reid behaving in an unseemly manner.” “Yeah, and those five men are just for show.” “Be that as it may, Mr. Giles.” The manager sighed as the elevator rapidly dropped them to the lobby. “It is not your place to judge. You were hired for the specific purpose of keeping her safe. That is all you are to think about while on this job.” “Keep her safe.” Jason nodded, before excusing himself and making an exit toward the staff rooms that had been set up for his use. “Safe behind bars,” he muttered to himself and stopped in front of the door to his room. The nanocyte strand guarding the door remained unbroken, so he cautiously unlocked the door and entered the room. He secured the door behind him and moved to scan his surveillance equipment. “Now, Ms. Reid, let’s just see how good your boys are at keeping you safe.” Even if they found a few of the bugs he’d planted in the room, they would not find them all. And there was still his audio feed and the mechanical sniffers he’d installed, just in case there was some illegal drug use. At this point, he would do anything to take her down. Now it was time to sit back and watch the Cyprus Reid show, where the climax would hopefully end with a standing ovation as she was carted off for a lengthy jail term. “I love my job sometimes.” Jason chuckled as he settled in front of the monitor while the images appeared on-screen. “Lights, camera, action.”

The Coven

7

Chapter Three “Unus, was that display absolutely necessary?” white-haired Quattour asked, looking at their Alpha and noting the excessive amount of hormones he was exuding. “It is, after all, only a human.” “It was testing me,” Unus growled, removing his jacket and tossing it aside carelessly. “There is something different about this one.” “Maybe, but there is no need to draw attention,” Quattour responded, then tilted his head to the side and listened very carefully. His deep brown skin made his purple eyes look alien and intense, which narrowed in anger as he moved about the room. The others froze at his actions and instantly went on red alert. Tria, the black-haired one of the group, snarled, his full upper lip pulling back to show gleaming white fangs that rivaled the paleness of his skin. He was not amused. Quattour’s white hair seemed to shiver, the need to release his platinum tresses almost overwhelming, but he held on, not knowing what or who could be watching. “There are listening devices in this room.” No sooner had he spoken than all five males surrounded Cyprus, ushering her out of the suite and into the hallway, leaving behind all possessions. “This is unacceptable,” Unus snarled as he urged them all to the elevator and slid his key into the slot. “The manager will hear of this outrage.” “And maybe one of us should remain,” Quinque, the blond-haired one commented. “Just in case someone comes to…clean house…while we are away.” “Suggestions?” Unus snapped, much to the amusement of Cyprus as well as Quin. “You have spent the most time among these…creatures.”

8

Stephanie Burke

“Hmm, if what I suspect is true, then I believe that I shall stay behind, Unus. Any of you would more than likely rip apart the one responsible before we could get the answers to the questions his death would undoubtedly leave behind…like…how he found us in the first place.” Unus turned to look at Cyprus, awaiting her decision. She nodded once, a small smile tugging at her lips. Just then there was a high-pitched ding, and the elevator doors slid smoothly open, waiting for them to enter. “Make it so,” Unus said softly to Quin. “And if the perpetrator returns, see to it that he remains. I will want answers and the knowledge he holds. If he is working for Crenshaw --” “Understood.” Quin cut him off, nodding at the elevator doors. “Now you had better get moving. I am sure the manager will want to accompany you back to the suite.” Unus nodded in return and hustled his people into the elevator, as always, surrounding Cyprus within a wall of muscled flesh. As the elevator doors closed, Quin took his position outside of the door, silent and still as a statue. He knew he would not have too long a wait. The one who had planted the bugs undoubtedly knew his cover was blown and that he had to remove the evidence of his misdeeds before they led back to him. He flicked his fingers, watching absently as long black talons extended from his fingertips. Oh, yes, they would have a long, involved, and interesting conversation, to say the least.

***** Jason cursed lightly under his breath as he saw the group rally around the singer and make their way toward the door. What had tipped them off? They would not have had surveillance detectors with them; it would take a lot to identify his state-of-the-art equipment. Most of it was fresh from the lab, and only the scientist who had invented the things could have detected them. But no, that was the least of his worries. Cyprus and her gaggle of men would report him to the manager, and the hotel would discover the hidden devices if they looked hard enough. That would cost him his job and any reason he had to stick close to Cyprus Reid. He had to act fast. He ran toward the door, thanking God that none of the pretty boys were smart enough to leave someone inside the room. That would have made things a little difficult to explain.

The Coven

9

As it was, he didn’t have the convenience or the luxury to stop and think up a plausible story. He made his way to the bank of elevators, quickly but politely sidestepping milling guests and other hotel employees -- just in time to see the doors open and Cyprus Reid and her entourage exit. He quickly turned his back, praying that his nondescript suit would blend in with other guests, and breathed a sigh of relief as the small group walked right past him without noticing him at all. He quickly made his way to the elevator, slipped his key card into the security slot, and was soon moving swiftly to the twenty-seventh floor. He stepped out of the elevator, a spring in his step as he envisioned the conversation taking place between the manager and the boy toys as they tried to explain their reason for believing the room was bugged without solid proof. They would come off as paranoid prima donnas, giving him time to dismantle and remove the dozen pocket-sized devices. “Piece of cake,” he said with a chuckle, striding toward the suite door, then freezing when he saw Mr. All-American Tanned and Blond Wonder Boy casually leaning against the wall. “So, Mr. Bond, we meet again,” the blond cackled, rubbing his hands together like a villain in a 007 movie. “I…” Jason stammered. “I…oh, shit.”

10

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Four “Never heard of shit cake,” the blond one said. “But I hear they do strange things in Southern California.” “What are you doing here?” Jason decided to take a direct approach. “I could ask the same of you, Mr. Security Professional.” He smirked, then pushed off the wall to stand at his full height. “I was doing a sweep,” Jason said, thinking quickly. “I got word that there may have been people in the room, so I’m checking it out.” “People, when there are only supposed to be three cards able to access this floor? Or is the manager in the employ of a tabloid now?” “This is just routine,” Jason insisted, putting on his best glare as he stared at the amused-looking boy toy. “Now if you will let me pass…” “No problem, Mr. Security Officer. You’re the professional and all that.” The blond stepped aside and gestured toward the door. “Right after you.” “I can do this alone,” Jason tried to dissuade the man, but he persisted and followed him into the room. “No, Mr. Trained Professional and all that.” Quinque smiled innocently. “I want to learn from you. Jason had to grit his teeth and ignore the impulse that screamed for him to lay the asshole flat. But he had to belay any action that would cause further suspicion on his part. It wasn’t easy, but he kept smiling as the blond-haired, tanned pretty boy followed him inside. “Well,” he said, and made his way toward the first bug he’d concealed behind a rather ugly framed painting of a ship lost at sea. “I guess I’d better start looking.”

The Coven

11

“Aren’t you going to ask?” the tall blond suddenly inquired, his eyes gleaming with hidden amusement. “Ask what?” “Where the rest of my party has gone.” “Oh. That.” Jason cursed himself silently for his oversight. “So where are they?” God, he hated working civilian cases. Give him a case where it was just him and a target. No interaction with people at all suited him just fine. “Oh, they went downstairs to complain to management.” “Complain about what?” Jason asked, playing along. “The tub not deep enough? Not enough gilt on the light fixtures? Water not from the best frozen glaciers that the North Pole has to offer?” “Bug infestation.” Quinque smiled. “What? A fly follow you in?” he asked sarcastically, wondering how they had discovered the bugs in the first place. “No.” The man chuckled. “I was referring to a more discreet type of bug, but one that is that much more vicious and damaging.” He moved closer to Jason, a smirk firmly in place. “These bugs are more infectious than anything, spreading their germs to everyone they come into contact with. Devastating things, really.” “Devastating,” Jason sneered. “Right.” “So,” the blond man continued, ignoring the sarcastic look. “Show me, Mr. Professional, how exactly does one remove that type of pestilence? Or are we all doomed for a long and dangerous infestation?” Before he could answer, the door opened, and the rest of the too-pretty-to-be-real party made their way inside, followed by the hotel manager. “Mr. Giles,” the manager began, sounding concerned. “Thank God, you are here. Is what they are telling me true? Have these rooms been bugged?” “I was about to find out,” Jason snarled in response, wanting nothing more than to pull his weapon and shoot the lot of them. “I think it would be safer if Ms. Reid and her cohorts leave the area.” “We are staying.” The big dark-haired one, the one his intel identified as Unus, spoke softly. “It would be safer --” “We are all capable of taking care of Ms. Reid.” He interrupted Jason, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “More than capable.” Snorting, Jason turned his back to the men and slipped his hand into his coat pocket to pull out a wand-style detector.

12

Stephanie Burke

No sooner had his hand slid out of sight than he was shoved, his back slamming against the wall, his hand ripped from his jacket. Instinctively, knowing that he was under attack, he fought back. His free arm went up to connect with an elbow of the man struggling with him, his fingers sinking into a pressure point while he brought his knee up to connect with the rockhard stomach of his assailant. That slowed the assault, but didn’t drop the man as he expected. Instead, the grip on his wrist tightened, and a pressure point on his own arm was prodded viciously. Cursing, he looked up as he tried to hook his heel around the man’s knee and throw him off balance. But the man was prepared, his legs spread wide for balance, knees bent, making it hard for him to affect the knee joint from his position. He growled, fighting to free one hand, going for the other’s throat. But that move was checked as well, the other’s free hand sliding down to attempt a wrist lock on his partially free hand. They were at a stalemate. As he realized this, he began to calm, to think rationally rather than attack. But as he let his mind begin to override instinct, he heard the disturbed cries of the manager and the soft growls his opponent was emitting. He focused in on whom he was fighting and then silently cursed. He was looking into the eyes of the pale, fragile-looking redhead. His black eyes gave him even more of a porcelain doll quality that left him vaguely disturbed and greatly intrigued. How had the smallest, most helpless-looking one of the lot learned enough dirty fighting to hold him at a standoff? “That is enough,” a beautiful, creamy caramel voice commanded. It was a dark, husky voice that spoke of tangled, sweaty sheets and nights of hot, energy-draining passion that always left you wanting more. As soon as the voice penetrated his thoughts, he found himself released, the redhead stepping back while still glaring at him with those insanely deep black eyes. Jason quickly pulled himself together, straightening his jacket as he turned to see who had spoken. His angry gaze was caught by a calculating set of molten golden eyes. His mouth dropped open as those eyes in that beautiful face seemed to move closer, as the redhead and the rest fell in behind her. Cyprus Reid had spoken, and apparently, her word was law.

The Coven

13

“I’m sure that Mr. Giles meant me no harm,” she continued, her voice traveling through his body like warm honey, even as she stepped closer to him. “Am I right, Mr. Giles?” All Jason could do was stare into those smoldering eyes, feel the fire as that golden voice flowed throughout his body, and tremble as fear like he’d never known before settled into pit of his stomach. For looking at Cyprus Reid, Jason felt awe and lust, a dangerous combination when you took into account that he was staring right into the eyes of a cold-blooded killer.

14

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Five They were moved to the presidential suite. Jason had to rein in his anger the entire time the manager made his apologies and explained that the cleaning crew he’d let in to place the fresh flowers and fruit before going downstairs to greet them probably had a ringer on board. “These things happen, and you all were very swift to discover the problem.” Unus glared as Ms. Reid, the siren-turned-killer, just smiled. “It will not happen again,” he insisted. “From now on, only Mr. Giles will know where you are in this hotel. We terribly regret what has happened.” ”It’s understandable.” Cyprus spoke, amusement in her gaze as she stared at the small man. “These things do happen.” “I should have listened to Mr. Giles,” he lamented. “I should not have let anyone in the room after he inspected it the last time.” “Really?” Cyprus drawled. “Then we indeed owe a lot to Mr. Giles. And I, for one, want to personally thank him and ensure we’re protected from any more of these little incidents.” “Yes, of course.” The manager nodded, flushing in embarrassment. “Good, then,” she continued. “In that case, I want Mr. Giles personally involved in every aspect of our stay here, no matter how brief. And I want him at all times within…calling distance.” “I’ll give you my personal number,” Jason gritted out, hoping against all hope that she was not going to suggest what he had a feeling she was about to. “No, that is not good enough,” the manager protested. “It would take too long for him to reach you.”

The Coven

15

“Indeed?” Cyprus raised one eyebrow, looking around at her cadre of men. “What do you have in mind?” “I feel that Mr. Giles should move into the presidential suite with you. Not in your rooms,” he was quick to add. “But in the spare suite located within the presidential suite. That way he can ensure that nothing like this happens again.” “Agreed,” Cyprus said with a smile. “I really do feel safer knowing that someone will be here, even when we are not, to protect me and mine. I do so care for my companions’ safety and privacy.” “Completely understandable.” The manager nodded in agreement. Jason cursed silently while forcing a sickly sweet smile on his face. “So, we get to be roomies.” Jason turned at that familiar voice, snarling as he saw the grinning countenance of his blond nemesis, Quinque. “Roomies,” Jason forced out from between clenched teeth. “Nice.” “Well.” Quinque chuckled. “If it was your goal to get closer to us, you now have your chance.” “What?” Jason paused, and Quinque stopped with him while the others continued to the elevator with the manager. “I mean, you could learn to be a bit more discreet,” Quinque purred. “I believe you have underestimated us.” “What the fuck are you playing at?” Jason growled, stepping closer to the man, absently noticing that they were the same height as he stared into the man’s oddly colored eyes. One was blue, the other green. Almost like a mixed breed of cat or something. “So violent,” Quin murmured. “Almost like an animal defending its young. Are you defending someone, Mr. Giles?” “Apparently, you and your mistress’s cadre of boy toys,” he snapped, not caring about manners. He had more things on his mind now. How was he to report in to the organization about what he was learning? And if he was stuck in the hotel, he couldn’t easily track their movements. It wasn’t impossible, but it did make his job more difficult. “Oh, I think my feelings are hurt,” Quinque responded. “Cadre of boy toys? I’ll have to use that one. At least you didn’t call us worthless.” “Hmm.” Jason grunted, already tiring of this conversation and the happily smiling man. “And maybe this time, you won’t take us so lightly.” Jason turned away from the man, having no time for the jokester. He had too many things to figure out. Like how this bastard knew the bugs were in place. He had observed

16

Stephanie Burke

them when they’d walked into the room. They had no equipment, no detectors, no way of knowing… “What are you hiding?” Jason turned to face the man, his anger rising again. It was almost as if his instincts were driving him to best this man, to prove that he was better, was more worthy. “An unappreciated addiction to chocolate and anime,” he countered easily. “But the real question, Mr. Giles, is what are you hiding? And to whom do you owe your loyalties?” “I don’t know what you mean,” he snapped, watching as the mysterious blond man began to circle him, examining him from every angle. It made his hair stand on end. “Of course, you do,” the man continued. “But you would be a fool to admit it. And you appear to be no one’s fool, Mr. Giles.” “Look, Mr.…” “Quinque, but you may call me Quin, Mr. Giles. No last name required.” “Well, Quinque, of no last name,” Jason snarled. “You know nothing about me, and I like it that way. My job is to keep you all safe.” Behind bars, he thought as he stared into that bi-colored gaze. “Now if you keep slowing me down, I will not be able to carry out my mission.” “Oh, we wouldn’t want that to happen,” Quin said with a smile. Rolling his eyes, Jason walked by the grinning man to join the group waiting for them at the elevators. “As I have told Ms. Reid,” the manager spoke to him, “I am using my passkey to take them to the suite now. If you will accompany us with the wand that caused all the trouble, you can clear the room before we move their possessions upstairs.” Jason nodded, stiffening a bit as the grinning blond fool joined them. “Yes, upstairs.” Jason tried his best to sound pleased, even eager, but from the looks of the boy toys, especially the one called Quinque, he wasn’t fooling anyone. And Cyprus Reid…well, she looked amused.

***** After sweeping the room and declaring it clear of any type of electronic devices, Jason left Ms. Reid and company to head down to his room and gather what he would be taking back with him. He had convinced the manager to allow him to keep this room as an operations base, just in case some drastic form of protection was called for, and the small, proper man readily agreed, saying that he wanted to protect Ms. Reid’s delicate sensibilities. “Delicate, my ass,” he snorted, slamming clothing into his duffle bag. “Any woman who keeps company with five strange men…”

The Coven

17

He sighed and sat on the bed, allowing himself a moment to reflect on all that had happened. The excuse of the cleaning crew -- not even brought up by him, thank God -- saved his ass. He would have to be more careful. As much as he hated to admit it, Blondie was right; he had underestimated Cyprus Reid and her men. Well, maybe he had underestimated her men. That weak-looking redhead had held him at a standoff. He’d seen his actions as a threat, and like any good bodyguard, had moved to neutralize that threat before anyone, mainly his lover, was hurt. So it appeared that the boys were more than just good-looking eye candy. Oh, they were still arm ornaments in his mind’s eye, but now they were more of the dangerous kind, the kind that concealed all sorts of hidden poisons and traps for the unwary. And after his mistakes, his many mistakes, he acknowledged, he was going to be way more wary. Sighing, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a small satellite phone. Unlike most cellular models, it could not be tracked or traced. Its signal would be bounced off of innumerable satellites before the signal met its destination. This scrambled signal could never be traced back to him, but still, Jason was very cautious in its use. After three rings, it clicked twice, and he relayed his message. “The fox is in the henhouse, and the natives are restless. Will report when the rooster crows.” He snapped the phone closed and sighed again, before rising to his feet and checking out all the information he had gathered on Cyprus Reid. She had to be the killer. There were too many coincidences around her. Every murder had taken place in a city where Cyprus Reid was performing. In the case of the missing scientist, it was too much to ignore. Always, it seemed that she had no part of the murders, seemed to not have a connection to science, Mount McKinley, or the individuals who had been ripped part in the most horrible of ways. She always had an alibi and stayed for days after each murder, sure that her actions would never be noticed or recognized. She was such an arrogant bitch. He had latched onto Cyprus Reid completely by accident, noticing that she had played at a nearby venue in D.C. when one of the scientists had met his bitter end. It was just a hunch that had him checking out Ms. Reid’s performing schedule in conjunction with the murders. What he had found had amazed him. Ms. Reid had done a lot of performances, donating a substantial amount to orphanages and education programs. But even more importantly, there had been a murder each night of her performance. And when he narrowed the search, he realized that on each night, the

18

Stephanie Burke

citizen who lost his life had been a part of a covert military operation that had been disbanded ages ago. Something to do with extraterrestrials and outer space radio waves, shit that would be called New Age hokey now. So anyone could imagine his surprise when one of the scientists he had been hired by turned out to be the only one left. He’d dug up that information on his own, information about David Tobias Crenshaw, the scared, elderly scientist running from a psycho serial killer with a grudge, and had not been pleased about what he had found. He detested strange and dangerous mysteries, but he chose to overlook the fact that the facts about Crenshaw and his group didn’t add up. Instead, he chose to look at this situation as preventing the death of a human being. And anyone who had done what this monster had done to the other elderly men could not be considered human. He still didn’t trust Crenshaw, but he figured he was the lesser of two evils. Better to follow the devil you knew rather than the devil you didn’t, and the devil named Cyprus Reid had too many mysteries to be considered a lesser evil. He took the job out of fascination and curiosity, which grew into anger and disgust as he reviewed photos of the dead men and the reports from coroners about the gruesome and pitiless way the men had been killed. So here he was, moving into the den of a murderer -- suspected murderer -- and moving closer to his goal. If, and that was a big if, Cyprus Reid was innocent, he would move on and try other avenues. But after so many months of research and tracking and following gut instinct, he knew that he had found the right person. Ms. Reid had had ample time and opportunity, but with the anonymity that being a public figure allowed her, the instant alibis and multiple reported public sightings that never happened, she breezed into town, committed her crimes, smiled for the cameras, and then moved on. Always being in the spotlight meant that she always had an iron-clad alibi, because always someone was willing to make one up for a chance to get into her good graces. And those who had nothing to gain by helping her star to rise would be quick to sling accusations and claims, confusing the justice system and giving her even more of an alibi as the counter claims were dismissed. Always being in view meant that someone was always watching…and that meant that no one believed she could slip away during a bathroom break and slash a few throats. Hiding in plain sight, a trick that had served her very well indeed. The only question left was why. Why would a young woman, replete with fame and fortune, resort to killing old men in general, and these particular old men specifically? Vowing to discover the answers to these questions, Jason rose with new purpose. He was closer to the source and could suss out any pertinent information. He could always

The Coven

19

return to this room to make guarded reports to his employers, and he could add to his own personal store of information as well. Tossing the last of his clean clothing into his duffle, along with any equipment at hand that he felt he needed, he moved to the exit, ready to beard the beast in its own den.

20

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Six “What do you think of Mr. Giles?” Cyprus settled onto the huge bed in the master bedroom, casting a curious glance at the heated Jacuzzi pool that sat over by a set of huge, tinted windows. The pressure-treated glass let just the right amount of sunlight into the room while protecting its occupants from the nosy stares of helicopter operators and the residents of the buildings nearby. Unus rolled his eyes at the question, reaching up to tie his long hair behind his head before crawling into the bed beside her. “That is not an answer, Unus,” she said. “I know you have opinions. It’s part of your nature to observe everything around you.” “I think that he is trouble,” he grumbled, settling beside his mistress. “I think that he needs watching. He could be detrimental to our plans.” “And is that all?” she questioned, reaching out to stroke his head as he settled onto his stomach beside her, partially lying over her in a protective manner. “I think you see more.” “I prefer not to make my observations known until I…spend more time in his presence.” “Well, I think he is a fool,” Cyprus purred, bending low to breathe into Unus’s ear, giggling as his body shuddered in pleasure. “I think he is a big-headed fool with misguided delusions of grandeur, but” -- she added as Unus chuckled -- “but, I believe he is trainable.” “You do?” He lifted his head, his black eyes peering at her. “I do. And I am sure that you feel, hmmm” -- she sat back and tapped her bottom lip with a manicured nail -- “potential. That is the word I was searching for. You feel potential in him, do you not, my Unus?” “I feel something,” he grumbled. “And Duae feels a bit more.”

The Coven

21

“Duae wanted to gut him,” Cyprus said and chuckled. “But I think Quin likes him.” “Quinque is another type of fool.” Unus held in a laugh as Cyprus playfully struck one of his rounded shoulders. “Be nice,” she chided. “Besides, you concurred with my choice of Quinque.” “That’s different,” Unus said. “Quinque had potential.” “This one does too.” Cyprus giggled before settling down, stroking Unus’s hair. “This one has so much potential, Unus, so much skill. Remember, he held Duae at a standstill, and that is not easily accomplished for a mere human.” “Duae just didn’t want to hurt the bastard,” Unus grumbled, but shifted around so that his head rested on his mistress’s stomach. He rubbed his face against the soft skin and inhaled the sweet floral smell of her. She was growing ripe again. Silently, he hoped that this time they would find their missing partner. It grew more difficult each time to watch his love suffer pangs and longings that none of them could ever fulfill. It just wasn’t right! The thoughts of her past agonies made him growl, and the feel of the long scar that bisected her perfect body, that rough line of untreated skin and tissue beneath his cheek made him…it made him… “Maybe this one does have potential. There is something different about him, I will concede. Maybe the bastard is not a lost cause.” “Calm,” Cyprus breathed, her honeyed voice soothing as it settled over him, calming his internal beast, easing his nature. “Calm, my lovely one. All will be well.” “One more to go,” Unus purred, lifting his head, his eyes holding her steady gaze. “One more,” she agreed. “Then we go home.” “And if what we need is not there?” “Then we will seek it elsewhere.” Cyprus sounded confident even as she ran frustrated hands through her hair. “We will seek it to the ends of the universe if we must, my Unus. But only after honor has been satisfied, and after what was once stolen is returned to its rightful place.” Unus purred his agreement, resting his head back on the scarred plane of flesh that made up her abdomen. “And the others?” she asked, stroking his hair again in a soothing manner. “They await our protector,” he said derisively. “Oh, dear,” Cyprus moaned. “I hope that they aren’t planning to hurt the poor human.” “Oh.” Unus reared up, filling her sights with his naked chest and nipples that grew hard and eager under her gaze. “They have something planned, all right. Just a small welcoming party. Just…a little something to make him feel more at home.” “You know he planted those bugs?” she said with a grin.

22

Stephanie Burke

“And now, he knows that we know.” Unus chuckled. “This will be interesting to watch being played out.” “Interesting,” Cyprus retorted. “You have a vile sense of humor and an unquenchable taste for violence and bloodshed.” “And you like it like that,” Unus growled, his voice growing deeper with each word. His black eyes took on a golden glow, the same gold that made Cyprus’s liquid eyes the subject of much controversy and desire. “You know I do,” she breathed, reaching for him, the one who yielded to her power. Her first. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” As he spoke, Cyprus shifted, laying her arms on his shoulders, moving him to lie beside her, his long hair acting like a frame for his beloved face. “No other way,” she whispered, leaning down to trace his full bottom lip with her tongue. She smiled at his deep, growling moan, smiling a siren’s smile full of seduction and promise. “My Lady,” he breathed, reaching for her, wanting to feel her soft flesh beneath his hands. But she stopped him, halted his progress with a shake of her head. “No, my one,” she murmured against his mouth, nipping at that full bottom lip. “Lie still. This is for you.” “But --” “For you,” she stressed, her eyes flashing fire as if daring him to challenge her words. Lowering his eyes and relaxing his muscles, he bowed to her will. Smiling again, she leaned down and pressed her nose against his neck, inhaling the exotic scent of her man. “You always smell so good to me,” she moaned, her fingers reaching up to tangle in his hair, smiling as his head tilted back in full submission, exposing his neck. He said nothing, but he preened in the way that shifted his form, showing pride in her praise of him. “So good, and all for me,” she whispered, her tongue licking a wet path down his neck. Sliding down his body, she allowed her fingers to trail down his hair to the rounded muscles of his shoulders. She tested the flesh there, pressing her nails in gently, watching as the firm flesh gave way. He moaned, shifting his hips at her actions, letting his legs fall open to give her room, pressing his rapidly swelling cock against the soft flesh of her stomach.

The Coven

23

“I feel that,” she said and chuckled, one hand reaching down to stroke his silky hardness. But then her hands were gripping his wrists, forcing them above his head, and Unus knew that the unspoken command was for him to leave them there. It was then, even through his unrest, that Cyprus began to sup on the feast that was her lover. Small moans and gasps escaped his mouth as she nipped and bit at his neck. She grinned at the marks she left there, and softly trilled her dominance of him. She licked away the slight pain of those possessive marks and moved on to his chest, nipping and marking, showing the world to whom Unus belonged. She even ran her tongue along the fine hairs in his armpits, nibbling at the tendons, making him hiss in pleasure, his cock hard and weeping, his hips arching up as he sought any friction to help ease his ache. The sounds and scents of her mate drove Cyprus onward. She sucked and lapped at his dusky nipples, drawing them into hardened peaks so sensitive that a mere touch of her fingers sent his body shuddering in hunger. Carefully she traced his stomach with her tongue, tasting the rock-solid wall of muscle that supported such a large frame. Her fingers raked down his sides, raising welts as her nails skidded over his flesh, before shooting toward his groin, making him moan and thrash beneath her. Yet his hands remained where she placed them, her command of his submission total and complete. Unus hissed as his mistress dominated him. He felt his chest burst with pride and his heart overflow as she took her pleasure in him, as she showed him with her actions how much she adored him. She could have had anyone, anyone she wanted, yet she had chosen him as her first. Their bond was more powerful than any other, and through that bond he could feel her pleasure humming in his mind. He released the emotions they shared, reveled in them as they made his own ecstasy double. His cock was hard, the foreskin rolled back to expose the tender purple glans, and his balls grew heavy, filled with seed yet to be released. “Cyprus,” he gasped, opening his eyes and staring at the golden goddess who topped him. “Yes, my precious one, all for you,” she whispered, her teeth glinting in the dim light of the room.

24

Stephanie Burke

She smiled as she went lower, digging her tongue into his navel, tracing the small indentation carefully before moving down through the trimmed, neat patch of hair at his groin. Unus closed his eyes, fighting for control as he felt his stomach lurch and his balls tighten. So badly he wanted to release, to smear her face with his seed, to mark her as she had marked him. As if she heard his words, his fantasies, Cyprus leaned lower, allowing her chin to brush against the head of his cock, smearing the precum in shiny streaks over her chin. “So sweet, my Unus,” she purred. “Such a sweet cream all for me.” “Sweet Creator of All,” Unus gasped as a hot, wet heat tormented the head of his cock, velvety slick heat that made him hiss curses and blessings alike. Cyprus smiled up at him, her mouth filled with his cock, fluttering her tongue against the large vein underneath the shaft as she swallowed him deep. “Mmm,” she purred, savoring the flavor of her lover, the salty sweet spice of him. The vibrations in her throat sent tremors running thought his body. He clamped small, sharp fangs into the delicate flesh of his bottom lip as a flash of heat left a sheen of sweat over his body. His hips began to arch, and he clenched his fists, determined to leave his hands where she’d placed them, no matter how much obeying her command was killing him. “Cy…” he hissed between harsh breaths. “Cy-Cyprus!” She pulled off, licking at the pearly strands of precum that she hadn’t managed to suck off, and blew a soft puff of air over his wet skin. “Delicious, My One,” she murmured, raking her nails over his thighs before reaching up with one hand to cup and tug at his balls. “Perfection, as always.” The fingers of her other hand reached out to hold him steady as she leaned in close to nibble and lick at his foreskin. “My Mistress,” he whimpered, his eyes glazed, and his vision grew hazy as he struggled to keep his lover in focus. “Let go,” Cyprus insisted as she began to pump his shaft, her fingers dancing over his hard length. “Let it all go for me, My One.” She took a deep breath, then her mouth pulled him in, and she swallowed him to the root. “Mistress!” he bellowed, his hips arching up, fucking her willing mouth as her hands cupped his ass, aiding in his movements, demanding a more forceful thrust. His head slammed back, scattering pillows, and he felt his toes curl as the sounds of her slurping and his moans filled the room.

The Coven

25

He was almost there…almost lost in the pleasure when he felt more than heard her chuckle. Then a finger was running through the saliva and precum along his balls before sinking back between his tight ass cheeks. “Cyprus!” he screamed as that slim finger sank deep, sending fresh waves of fire through the nerves in his ass. She unerringly stroked his prostate, sending stars zooming behind his eyes as his head danced among the pillows. He didn’t know whether to thrust up into the pulsating tunnel of her throat or down onto that slim, teasing finger that was working him with sheer perfection. But his body took over, and he was riding her throat and her finger, losing himself in the sensations, crying and screaming as pressure built and built and swelled until… “Cyprus!” Unus’s whole body arched upward as his orgasm tore through him, holding him frozen as unbelievable pleasure raced through him. “Cyprus! Mistress!” He felt his ass clench around her finger, his cock swell in her throat, and then spurt after spurt of his seed exploded into her suckling mouth. Cyprus kept at him, sucking more gently now as he grew sensitive, but intent on draining his balls of every drop of his seed. Finally her finger eased off his prostate and from his body as she opened her mouth and allowed his softening cock to slip free. “Beautiful,” she breathed, looking down at the sweaty, sated mass of Unus. “Sheer perfection, as usual, My One.” Then she slid up beside him and pulled him into her embrace, offering what comfort she could, crooning lullabies and caressing his hair until the worry lines in his forehead totally disappeared, and Unus, her defender, drifted off into sleep. “Soon, all will be perfection,” she whispered, laying a kiss on his forehead and ignoring the wetness between her thighs. “I promise.”

26

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Seven “Just what I needed to make me feel like one of the guys.” Jason rolled his eyes as he stepped into the suite of rooms. There, what once was the foyer of the lush groupings of rooms, now looked more like the lobby of some jungle sexual fantasy. This vision was made complete by the gaggle of halfnaked men lounging about. There was the white-haired one who was smirking at him, the redhead who had held him to a standoff, and the black-haired pale one who resembled a gothic version of a vampire. The only two missing were the blond-haired GI Joe reject with the bi-colored eyes and the ever lovable Ape-boy. “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here,” he said sarcastically, dropping his duffle at his feet. “Mostly,” he added, looking around. “And we are so pleased to see you,” the black one with the oddly dyed white hair replied lazily. He lifted one hand and examined a set of very long, very sharp-looking black lacquered nails before peering over them at Jason. “The sight of your…face just seems to make my day.” Jason scowled, but remained silent, waiting for these boys to make the first move. “Oh, I don’t know about that, Quat,” the vampire-pale one said, his voice not as deep or rumbling as the first one. “His face looks to be the kind that grows on you.” He rose to his feet, adjusting the very short sarong tied around his waist to cover up the fact that he wasn’t wearing anything underneath. “I have the honor and privilege of being Tria. The one currently sizing you up as a scratching post is Quattour.” “What?” Jason tilted his head to the side, disbelief apparent at the odd names. “Quattour.” The black man rolled his eyes. “Q-u-a-t-t-o-u-r, pronounced Cat-or.”

The Coven

27

“The redhead is Duae,” Tria continued, pointing to the silent man who watched him like a hawk. “And the blond, whom you will no doubt be seeing later, is Quin.” “Jason,” he replied, gritting his teeth and trying to be personable. “Jason Giles.” “Jason Giles.” Quat rolled the name on his tongue as Tria crossed the room and stood before him. “Welcome to the zoo.” Jason rolled his eyes as Tria reached for his bag. “Ignore Quat,” Tria said. “He’s moody.” Jason stared at the black dude, and for a moment, he could have sworn that his long, white hair…repositioned itself? No, he must have been shifting, he decided. Sentient hair was too much to be believed. “I got that,” Jason snapped out as Tria’s fingers brushed the handle of the bag. The pale man paused, an odd look crossing his face as he stared at Jason. “I mean, I have some sensitive equipment stored in it and would feel better if I handled it myself.” “Understandable.” Tria smiled affably. “After all, I am sure that you are here to protect Cyprus. You need all the sophisticated and sensitive equipment…functioning.” There was a joke there, Jason decided, as Quattour and Duae snorted. “Your room is right this way.” Tria didn’t miss a beat as he turned on his heel and moved toward a door nearly hidden by potted trees. “These things are a menace.” Jason sighed, pushing aside a bough as he followed the shortest boy toy, Tria, to the room. “People can hide behind them. They should go; they present too much of a safety issue.” “Cyprus likes trees,” Tria explained, nodding to the others as Duae and Quattour rose to follow. “And what Cyprus wants, Cyprus gets? Is that it?” “Something like that,” Quattour agreed, following the others as they opened the door and entered the room. “I didn’t expect company,” Jason growled, but the others ignored him and began nosing around the room, examining it, almost like dogs being led to new territory. “And if anyone lifts a leg to piss on the carpet, I’m leaving.” “Dogs?” Tria chuckled. “Jason Giles likened us to dogs!” “I’m almost insulted.” Quat chuckled as Duae rolled his eyes and made his way toward the en-suite bathroom. “Um, how about this? Get the hell out!” Jason spoke loud enough so that Duae, who was now in the bathroom and running a bath, from the sounds emanating from that room, could hear. “Kicking out your welcoming party?” Quat laughed. “Boy! Americans and their sense of hospitality!”

28

Stephanie Burke

“How about people invading your personal space?” Jason growled, wondering if it was worth it to kick some ass to establish a pecking order now or later. “Invasion?” Tria laughed. “You would know all about invasions and personal spaces.” “It’s my job,” Jason gritted out. “And I wonder just who you are working for.” Quat’s voice lost all humor. “I wonder what it cost them to get you to invade our space.”

Not so stupid after all, Jason thought as the tension level in the room shot sky high. “I don’t know…” “Do not lie,” Quat growled. “It’s not like we couldn’t sniff out your lies the moment you opened your mouth.” They stared at each other, odd purple eyes boring into Jason’s brown ones. The air grew almost thick enough to cut with a knife as the standoff continued. The hair on the back of Jason’s neck stood on end as something within him screamed “danger!” But he found that something else within him, something a bit stronger, almost dared him to move. He stood his ground, even though he felt like shaking in his shoes. The abrupt sound of silence as Duae shut off the water was almost as loud as a bullet, and Jason flinched, ever so slightly, but it was enough. He knew he had lost some kind of power play. He just couldn’t figure out what the game was they were playing. “There is only one reason, and one reason alone that you are even still on this job,” Quat continued. “And that reason is busy at the moment.” “Cyprus gets what Cyprus wants,” Tria added, stepping up to Quat and stroking his hair in a calming fashion. “And…Cyprus wants him,” a familiar voice called from the doorway. Quinque had arrived. “And now…things get interesting.”

The Coven

29

Chapter Eight Jason seethed as he watched the puppy-like blond enter into his room, that stupid smile firmly planted on his face. “What the hell!” He threw his hands into the air. “The more the merrier. Quinque, was it? Welcome to the den. I assume you want a piece of me, too?” This situation was growing completely out of his control, and he didn’t like it. How had the others known? What did they know? How did they find out…or were they just going on assumptions? “Under different circumstances…maybe.” Quin chuckled as the tension in the room began to leach away. “But then, I am a very loyal sort of individual.” He stopped speaking as Duae returned from the bathroom, a grin on his full lips. “Everything to your liking?” Jason snapped, turning his head to face the man while positioning his body in such a way that he was backed into a corner, but kept all the men in view. Duae rolled his eyes and made his way over to the white-haired Quattour. He placed his hand on his shoulder, and the black man began to visibly relax. “But that brings us to our original purpose.” Quin moved deeper into the room and smiled at the gathered men. “Gentlemen, we are on the move.” “Where?” Quattour asked, nodding at Duae before stepping back, and again Jason swore he could see the man’s hair settle, like a huge dog settling himself. “And what is it this time?” “Local television station.” Quin smirked. “And you are going to love this one, Tria. We are going to the deepest, darkest parts of West Baltimore. Television Hill. What a quaint name.”

30

Stephanie Burke

The redhead sighed, shaking his head, as he exited the room. Jason raised an eyebrow. “He is not a major fan of West Baltimore,” Quin explained. “Something to do with a bunch of females in beehive hairdos when we were in a parade there. Apparently, they love the strong, silent types. He was kissed to within an inch of his life.” “No.” Jason sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “My gesture was in reference to the fact that I was not informed of this outing.” “I didn’t know we were required to check in with hotel security before we made a move,” Quat said with a sneer. “I need to ensure that your exit and entrance to these facilities are orchestrated with the utmost ease and safety…” “That is good.” Quin smiled. “Because you are coming with us.” “Not in my job description,” Jason nearly growled, frustration eating at him. “Oh, it is now. Which is why I wasn’t part of the little welcoming party. I was finalizing arrangements with hotel management.” “What arrangements?” Jason was almost afraid to ask. “Just those about you accompanying us to our events during the week we are here.” “What?” Jason was aghast to hear that his voice had risen several octaves during his outburst, something that amused the other men in the room. “Cyprus was so impressed with your…moves that she requested your presence as backup. Oh, your…boss…readily agreed. So I hope you brought clean undies and a nice suit. As of today, and every day until our visit is over, you are officially one of the…what did you call us? Oh, yeah! Cadre of boy toys.” If he could, Jason would have knocked the smug smile off of that bastard’s face. But instead, he gritted his teeth and played along. “Yes,” Quin continued, patting him on the shoulder like they were the best of friends. “Yes, a boy toy, an ornament, a plaything…just one of the guys.” “Great,” Jason snarled. “I can hardly wait.”

***** “Stuck in the middle with you,” Quin sang softly, grinning at the men sandwiched around him, and especially, at the scowling Jason Giles sitting beside him. “And I don’t know what to do…” “How about shutting the hell up?” Jason snapped. He was not a happy man. First off, he’d had to race back down to his original room and dig through the hotel blazers and khaki pants to find something that wouldn’t scream security. And that meant he

The Coven

31

had to leave his equipment in the room with the nosy busybodies who called themselves Cyprus Reid’s escorts. The only consolation with that little affair was that the other men were rushing to get dressed as well. Once he returned in a black blazer and slacks, his white button-down shirt gleaming, his outfit had been vetoed right away, not that he could blame the guys. With what they were wearing, he would have stood out like a sore thumb. That meant that he had to endure being dressed by the men. He shuddered as he recalled them stripping him down like he was a child and tossing all assortment of clothing at him. Conservative went out of the window as all sorts of animal skins were pressed into his possession. His hair was scrutinized, the military buzz cut that was so convenient for him to manage and maintain clucked at, as if having short hair made him less of a man. When he pointed to the snickering Quin and his less-than-long, luxurious locks, the others scoffed at Quin’s relative youth in the greater scheme of things. “Youth,” he mumbled. “As if any of the boy toys were barely legal.” “Aww, youth is a relative thing when it comes to experience.” Quin chuckled, turning up to grin at a scowling Tria, who had the unfortunate privilege of being seated on the other side of him. “And this is just cozy.” Across from them, Cyprus snickered and leaned closer to Unus, the large behemoth of a man glaring at him. “Cozy is not the word that I would use,” Jason grumbled, trying to adjust the tight, clinging leather pants. Who knew that being an arm ornament was so much damn work? He had been primped and combed to within an inch of his life. They’d brushed blond streaks into his hair, they had trimmed his nails, they had plucked his damn eyebrows! And then there was the fact that he couldn’t wear underwear with this get-up. He had almost balked, but the thought of the mutilated bodies of their past victims made him give ground. He’d disappeared into the bathroom with the brown leather pants and emerged sans briefs, but with a new appreciation for leather. The stuff did feel good against his bare skin, though he cringed at the thought that some other dude’s package had been cradled in the crotch of these pants. The shirt he was wearing was more like an old gold and black fishing net. There were more holes than material, but they had allowed him a wonderful assortment of chains and beads to make up for the lack.

32

Stephanie Burke

He thought he looked like an eighties rock star throwback. The others had applauded as they applied foundation and lip gloss. He’d sat in the chair and fumed. But compared to what the others were wearing, he was decidedly the most conservatively dressed. Unus was dressed in a bondage master’s dream assortment of leather straps and harnesses, all in black, of course. His long hair was left free to hang loose and covered him like a cloak. Duae, in contrast to his red hair, was wearing a deep green pair of leather pants and a black…what could only be described as a belly shirt. It was tight and shiny and showed off the eight-pack abs and the large shoulders the man had. They must lift a lot of weights, Jason decided as he took in the musculature surrounded him. He was quite glad that he kept himself in shape now that he worked a lot in the private sector. Quattour, with his odd white hair, was dressed in fur. There was no other way to describe it. His boots were a combination of white and brown furs, his vest was made of what looked like a wolf pelt, and his pants were black suede. His hair was free as well, giving him the look of an ancient barbarian or a warrior. Tria, true to his vampire gothic look, was wearing a long, black duster and a very tiny pair of black leather shorts. His boots reached up to mid-thigh, so it was hard to tell that he was only wearing a tight black pair of spank-me shorts beneath the coat. His hair was piled on top of his head in some kind of knot and held in place with several sharp-looking steel hair sticks. Quinque was simply dressed in a brown leather harness and a pair of brown suede pants. Walking from the hotel to the car was one of the hardest things Jason had ever done, especially when you added in all the Cyprus watchers with their flashing cameras and their recording devices. And speaking of the grande dame herself, he had yet to see what she was wearing. She was enveloped from head to toe in a voluminous black cloak with a deep hood. He could tell that she was highly made-up with sparking gold makeup, but beyond that he hadn’t a clue. “Where are we going again?” He glared at Quin, who continued to smile at him. “TV Hill to film a variety show called Wild Side. Then it’s off to the city for a night at the Orpheus. We party there until around two or so, and then we’ll head back to the hotel. Cyprus likes us to get our…beauty sleep.” He chuckled in amusement, grinning at Jason. “Some of us need more beauty sleep than others,” Quat sneered, making a face as Jason gave in to a sudden flash of immaturity and rolled his eyes at the man.

The Coven

33

“We should make an effort to get along, at least for the cameras,” Unus’s deep voice intoned, causing a temporary pause in the local hostilities. “All the world will be watching and --” “We must keep up appearances?” Jason interrupted, ignoring the scowling Unus as he waved his hand negligently toward the crowd. “Appearances, yes.” Unus inhaled deeply, as if seeking patience, before he carried on. “As I previously stated, the eyes of the world will be on us, and we must show a unified front.” “Thick as thieves.” Jason smiled sarcastically. “Tight as a murder of crows.” Unus smiled in response, showing off an impressive set of fangs. “Or Ravens.” Jason shudder, wondering what fool doctor would file them like that and then snorted when he thought about the cost of such a venture. “Murder of crows,” Jason growled, his eyes narrowing as they went from face to face in the limo. Were they taunting him? Testing him? Just being a bunch of high-maintenance assholes? “That is enough.” The soft, dulcet voice broke the rising tension in the car. Cyprus adjusted her cloak, allowing the hood to fall back and expose her face. Jason had to fight the urge to groan as the ethereal beauty exposed herself to the men in the car. Her makeup was done in white and gold sparkles and emphasized the almond shape and unusual golden color of her eyes. Her lips were glossed to a high sheen with a gold sparkle that teased the eye. Her cheekbones were highlighted with a surge of bronze that made her skin seemed to glow. Altogether, the men and their mistress made a stunning group of people, a masterful example of human perfection, and it almost made Jason ashamed to be a party to this. Ashamed, he thought, because how many young girls and boys would go out and try to force their bodies into these configurations? How many would starve themselves to artificially achieve this ideal of beauty? He sat and contemplated this life, the things that these people did, how the outside world perceived them, and how easy they made it look. “I am sure that you don’t want to be here, Mr. Giles,” Cyprus added, her golden eyes boring into his. "But here you are. Upon your say so, I will have the driver pull over and let you out. You go on about your business and your life, and we shall go on about ours.” Jason said nothing, doing his best to regain his professional image as she turned to her men.

34

Stephanie Burke

“And as for you five, we will not antagonize our guest. You will all realize that like us, he has an important job to do…” Her words trailed off as she looked Jason up and down in a considering fashion. “So there will be no baiting, taunting, or teasing. I am sure Mr. Giles will find that his job will go a lot more smoothly if we all agree to…cooperate. Is that not right, Mr. Giles?” Grudgingly, Jason nodded his head, trying to remember the real reason he was here. “You are correct, Ms. Reid, and I apologize to you and your…entourage. I have not been behaving in a professional manner, and it will not happen again. I wish to maintain my role as security, in any manner you see fit, and I will remember my professionalism.” There was silence for a moment, before Quat snorted. “Don’t expect an apology from me,” he declared. “I behave in the way that is appropriate to how I am reacted to; I treat others how they treat me. And I respect…” He curled his upper lip, and Jason could have sworn the man’s hair shifted again. “I show respect where respect is given and earned.” That said, he turned away to stare out of the window, ignoring the exasperated look on Cyprus’s face. Jason narrowed his eyes, but held his tongue. He had been behaving childishly enough, giving his intent away, reacting to these people, and it was not like him. There was something about Cyprus Reid and her merry men that just affected him the wrong way. Maybe it was because he had seen all of the photos of the bloody bodies of the murdered old men, or maybe it was because they behaved like their hands were lily white, not crimson red, soaking in blood. He didn’t know, but whatever it was, these people were sending his instincts whirling. His hunches, his instinctive guesses, had never been wrong before, and he was going to follow this lead to the end. “Quattour,” he began. “I apologize --” “Save it,” the black man interrupted, his purple eyes flashing angrily. “I don’t and I won’t trust you until I learn what lies you are hiding, Jason Giles. I will tolerate you because for some reason Cyprus wants you here, but I want you to understand something. I don’t trust you as far as I could suck you up in my mouth and spit you out, and baby, that ain’t far. I am, as they say around here, putting you on notice. I will not interfere with what you presume is your job, no matter what that job here is, but I will not allow you to tear apart the family. Do you understand me?” Quattour leaned forward, a growl in his voice that almost made Jason lean back in fear. But before he could answer, Quin, at his side, was interjecting again. “Quat,” he said with a sigh, “Give the boy a chance. You never know; he might be more than what you think.”

The Coven

35

“You are such a child, Quinque,” Quattour snapped, still staring at Jason. “Yeah, but I am not going to view the world in black and white, Quat. Maybe Jason has the wrong idea about us. And there has to be more to him than meets the eyes. I mean, Cyprus hasn’t ejected him yet.” “I am sitting here,” Jason felt compelled to add, holding his gaze strong with Quat’s. “You don’t have to speak around me as if I don’t exist or am incapable of understanding you. And I believe I understand. You are protecting your family.” And he did understand, in some strange way. If he had a family, no matter how twisted, he would do his level best to see them safe. Okay, he could understand that. Maybe he could use that to build a rapport with the men, something he realized he had totally destroyed because of his unaccustomed reaction to Cyprus Reid and her men. “You understand nothing!” Quat’s voice dropped to some wild, freaky, growling octave that Jason wasn’t even sure was human. He stared, wide-eyed, as the man leaned forward again, his purple eyes almost… Was it a trick of the light or were those eyes glowing? “Quattour!” Unus barked, breaking the white-haired man’s gaze from his. Jason watched in shock as Quattour settled back into the seat, growling low to himself. “Well.” Quin snickered. “Now that we have cleared the air” -- he ignored Quattour’s snort and Unus’s sigh of exasperation -- “can we get on with the business for the night?” “I don’t know,” Tria said snarkily. “I kind of like the tension. It makes for an interesting after-party.” “Bloody vampire.” Quin smiled widely. “And those are my good points,” Tria felt compelled to point out. “Well,” Quin continued. “I think I like Jason.” At the disbelieving glances he was given by the other men, even Cyprus was compelled to let out a chortle of amusement. “Why?” Tria asked. “Nothing against you, Jason,” he added, nodding toward the man who now sat in open-mouthed horror. “It’s because…well…he has fortitude.” Quin nodded as if that were that. “Fortitude. I can get fortitude in a vitamin,” Quat snarled. “I appreciate honesty.” “Well, there are all kinds of honesty.” Quin smiled and leaned forward to pat the stillangered Quat on the knee. “And there are all kinds of strengths. I appreciate strength in any of its forms, including the strength to beard the dragon in its den, so to speak.” “Foolishness,” Quat grumbled. “But,” Cyprus added, her voice sounding amused as she settled her cloak over her face again. “I do so like a good fool. Nothing better to take your mind off of your troubles and relieve your tension.”

36

Stephanie Burke

“I think --” “Silence!” Quat was cut off by Cyprus. “Your opinions are duly noted, Quattour, and if I wish to hear another, I will deliver my request via engraved invitation. Do not push me on this. I want Jason Giles here, and here he will stay.” Silence. “Am I understood?” This was directed to all of the men, and Jason watched as these huge, intimidating men suddenly reverted into scolded little boys. Interesting dynamics, he mused. Apparently Cyprus’s word was law. “Good.” Cyprus added, “Now, children, let us go and do this talk show and then expend some energy at The Orpheus. The night is young. Daddies and Mommy want to…revel.”

The Coven

37

Chapter Nine It was a singular experience, Jason thought, as they exited the limo to enter the small club near Baltimore’s Red Light district. The people screaming, the cameras flashing, the sheer energy Cyprus Reid and her men seemed to produce by just being in the room. The interview had gone well, according to Quinque, who seemed the most upbeat and optimistic in the bunch. The talk show host had only asked about fifty or so embarrassing questions. Of course, the whole world wanted to know who the new addition was, and Cyprus had giggled in that chocolate caramel voice of hers that Jason was auditioning. Never, ever had Jason been more grateful for Unus’s declaration that none of the boy toys were to speak. He had gotten past that one with a wink and a longing look at Cyprus. Only he knew that the longing in his eyes was to wrap his hands around her scrawny neck and squeeze until her legs quit kicking. But he gave a masterful performance of a lovestruck swain, and the audience had eaten it up. But it was embarrassing, you know? He and the others had been laid out like extras in a bad porn shoot, surrounding Cyprus like a bunch of fleshy pillows. Only Unus, by virtue of being Cyprus’s favorite, was given an actual chair and a speaking role. “What is with the male ornamentation?”

38

Stephanie Burke

When that question was not so casually tossed out, Cyprus just grinned, and the men all leaned in a bit closer. Unus rolled his eyes as he asked the interviewer with a straight face, “Is that not the job you occupy? A cute face to ask inane questions?” Even the studio audience fell silent at that one. Jason was hard-pressed not to snicker. He was doing his best to remain stony-faced and solemn, but sometimes people just made it hard. “My One,” Cyprus had chided, amusement dancing in her golden eyes. “I am sure that this beautiful man has some other purpose than asking inane questions.” Deeply offended, the talk show host glared at them all, then focused in on Jason. “A new one?” he asked, false sweetness dripping from his every word. “You might say that he is trying out.” Cyprus grinned up at the camera, her large eyes innocent and amused. “Trying out? What skills does this one possess? Talented tongue?” They all leaned back at that. To the world at large, they looked deeply offended, but in actuality, they were all fighting hard to hold back the guffaws of laughter. But Cyprus had finally had enough. She sat up in her seat, the smile falling from her face. With deliberate movements, she reached behind her and removed the small black receiver box for the microphone pinned to her lapel. She dropped the set-up with extreme disdain to the floor and rose to her feet. As one, her men, Jason following a step behind, rose and encircled her like a protective wall of muscled flesh. The interviewer was left gaping as Cyprus, one of the hottest tickets in town, gave him one last blank look before turning around and exiting the stage, to the shock and horror of the producers and stage crew. “What are you doing?” the interviewer screamed, face alternating between bright red and deathly white as he realized that his career could be walking out on him, because he couldn’t control his temper. Despite the fact that he was something of a minor celebrity in his own town, he had yet to realize that small-time fame had nothing on the high-powered star machine that Cyprus Reid wielded without apparent thought or guile. As she quietly left the stage, she ignored the pleas from the director and the stuttered apologies from the interviewer, the entire studio audience -- people who’d spent hours standing in line to catch a glimpse of Cyprus Reid and her gaggle of handsome men -- and exited the building, her men walking out behind her.

The Coven

39

Now they were calmly walking into The Orpheus as if they hadn’t a care in the world, not showing any concern that they, probably for the sake of vanity, Jason grumbled silently, cost that man his job. So it was a decidedly unamused Jason who trailed the group, past the grinning manager, and into the VIP section. “That man is going to lose his job,” he grumbled. “Then that man will learn to hold his tongue,” Quat retorted. “Something someone else in our company needs to learn.” Any comment he would have made was immediately drowned out by the wall of sound that seemed to slap them in the face as soon as they entered the main body of the club. People dressed in all types of leather and lace, in nylon and vinyl, twisted and gyrated to the wild, crazy beat that was banging from the speakers. There were several cages set around the room, cages where scantily clad men and women writhed and jerked in simulated ecstasy against the black iron bars. Strobe lights practically blinded Jason, who was not expecting them, and the wildly colored, bright, rotating lights seemed to dance with the beat of the music, moving the mass of humanity that was seemingly losing control inside. Jason paused for a moment, his eyes growing wide, but a small shove from Quin kept him moving. “Don’t fall behind!” The blond had to yell to be heard over the driving beat and pounding bass. “If we get locked out of VIP, it will take forever for them to hear us to let us in.” Nodding, Jason hurried to catch up with Quat and the others, nearly feeling overdressed in his little leather outfit as he checked out the clothing that some of the others were wearing. But soon enough they were inside the small, carpeted room, Cyprus seated in another thronelike chair, Unus at her side, while the rest of them were invited to take seats scattered around the room. The owner of the club, a tall, pale man who rivaled Tria for the vampire look, entered, a smile on his lips. “Wonderful show.” He gave a chuckle as the door closed, muffling the sound of the non-stop party going on right outside the doors. “You do know that it was live?” “It was?” Cyprus asked, all innocence and light in her gold body suit. “It was.” “Well,” she purred. “The man was not very…nice.” “That’s one way of stating it,” Unus growled.

40

Stephanie Burke

“Flaming asshole would be another word,” Quin added, taking a seat nearest the door, right next to Jason. “So…you do speak.” The owner laughed, his rich, mellow voice filling the room. “Woof, woof,” Quat growled, rolling his eyes and adjusting his fur. “And they bite,” the owner added. “Some of us more than others.” Quin snickered. Jason snorted, rolling his eyes as he sought to make himself more comfortable and failing miserably. “And your newest little plaything, Ms. Reid,” the owner rattled on. “He seems more difficult than the others.” “Still needs house training,” Quat said. “But maybe we’ll just keep him.” “It was the same with you,” Unus grumbled, a warning in his voice. “And see how well that worked out?” After that, silence descended on the room, an uncomfortable block of quiet broken only by the sound of creaking leather and the rustling of fur as the group shifted and moved around. After a few moments of this, Cyprus sighed, her eyes going about the room before traveling to the one-way glass that gave them a perfect view of the teeming masses of humanity grinding and humping on the dance floor. “I grow bored,” she mused, winking at the owner. “How about we go out and earn our keep?” She arched one eyebrow at the man as a blush suffused his face. “Anytime you are ready, my lady,” he breathed. “The world, this club, and anything you choose are at your disposal.” Nodding, she turned to her group of men, a knowing smile on her lips. “Go dance,” she instructed, amusement dancing in her golden eyes. “Go and amuse yourselves, but don’t hurt anyone.” Almost instantaneously, the atmosphere in the room changed. The men sat up and, almost as one, vacated the room, leaving Unus, Cyprus, Jason, and the owner alone in the room. “Won’t you join them?” she asked, walking over and touching Jason on the arm. Just that one touch made Jason jump, feeling as though something had touched a hidden part of his soul. He found himself once again almost at a loss for words as he stared into her golden eyes. Forcibly breaking the trance her gaze was sending him into, he turned away, trying to force his rapidly beating heart to slow. “No,” he managed to say through his dry throat. “It…it’s not my scene.”

The Coven

41

“Then,” she breathed as she moved in closer, “what is your scene?”

Murderer, he thought, trying to remember why he was there and to ignore his libido. But there was something about her… She affected him, she and her whole crew of misfits. “Quiet,” he said, refusing to turn and look at her. “I like things quiet.” “Then you picked the wrong person to be around,” the manager said with a laugh. “Cyprus and her exploits are famous in these parts.” “You’ve been here before?” he managed to ask. “I’ve been everywhere,” Cyprus replied and then turned away, stalking over to Unus in impossibly high heels. “Exploits?” Jason shifted his gaze to stare at the manager, wanting some information other than the pablum that they spoon-fed to the press. “Yeah,” the manager reminisced. “She started a riot a few years ago, just by getting happy and singing on the dance floor.”

Hmm, simple stuff, he thought. Drugs, maybe…? “Getting happy?” “Yeah, she had just released her first album and damned if it didn’t go platinum the first week out.” “Are you sure you don’t want to play?” Cyprus asked, and this time it was almost a command. What was going to happen here? Jason wanted to know. Maybe she would be making plans with the manager here. He made a note to check out the owner and manager before the week’s end. Too bad he had found no way to leave a bug or two on Cyprus herself. But he had time, he reasoned. There would always be another opportunity. “Play.” He nodded, turning toward the door and preparing to face the wall of music that would slam into him the moment he stepped outside of the protection of this room. “I can play. I am quite good at games.” “Of that I have no doubt,” she muttered under her breath as he walked out. And even though he’d barely whispered his words, he was sure that Cyprus heard him, and was amused.

***** Inside the now-silent room of glass and steel, Cyprus turned to face her friend, her eyes glittering gold as Unus moved to her side. “Now that we have some semblance of solitude, tell me what you know.”

42

Stephanie Burke

“With pleasure, my lady,” the club owner spoke, his own eyes flashing an angry black, before he continued with his report. “The Clan you seek will be at the opera. Their leader will meet you there…opening night. But he demands payment.” “Everyone wants their pound of flesh,” Cyprus murmured, but there was wry amusement in her tone. “Anything else?” “Ah,” he said with a smirk. “That’s the rub. There seems to be a lot more than meets the eye…with some members of your party.” “Do tell?” “Can’t you sense it?” the owner asked. “It’s the madness.” “I know,” Cyprus said with a grin. “Glorious, is it not?”

The Coven

43

Chapter Ten Destination Unknown…known…known…known…known…Unknown…! The sound of the deafening drum overlaid by the bellowing trumpets inadvertently made his heart match the pace of the bass and made him groan in discomfort.

This is why, he thought to himself, I never ever ventured too far into clubs inhabited by the wild bunch of kids known as Generation X and The Millennials. They were half-dressed, screaming, and gyrating wildly to the beat of the music. He didn’t understand their multiple piercings or their even wilder haircuts. Who in this day and age wore a Mohawk, anyway? He sighed, then coughed, scowling as he realized he had probably just inhaled a lot of not-so-controlled substances. And judging from the uberhappy looks on some of the club kids’ faces, there were all kinds of chemical joy and happiness being spread around. Deciding to ignore the chaos going on around him, Jason began to look for the other merry men who had accompanied the Witch Bitch from Hell. He saw two of the boys by the bar while another two were beginning to make a spectacle of themselves on the dance floor, grinding and bumping against each other and apparently any takers who decided to dance into their sphere of influence. He had decided to make his way toward the bar and to discreetly observe the two there when someone -- or was it something? -- decided to plant themselves directly in his path. His nose wrinkled as one little twit, probably about nineteen, sidled up to him and tried to smile through the gold grill wrapped around her front teeth. “Wanna party, sailor?” she purred, reaching out to stroke all of the flesh exposed by his too tight, barely there outfit. “No, thanks.” He forced a smile. “My dance card’s full.”

44

Stephanie Burke

She pouted, but moved in a little closer, doing all kinds of encroaching into his personal body space. “I bet you can find a slot for me…at the top.” She breathed the words into his neck, making him step back and resist the urge to snap her little neck like a twig. But she moved in even closer, taking his look of distaste for one of desire. “I can make it good, baby,” she whispered, her breath smelling surprisingly of mint. “I can make you scream.” “I can return the favor,” he growled, his eyes narrowing in irritation. But not sensing the danger, she smiled and reached up to run long, red lacquered nails down his chest. “Oh,” she hissed, her eyes suddenly turning serious. “Make me hurt, Daddy.” “Oh, I’ll make you hurt,” he promised, but just before he made good on this threat, a friendly, short-haired blond popped up beside them. “I leave you alone,” he whispered, stepping in between the two and pushing the visibly annoyed woman aside. “And look at the trouble you get into.” The woman took a step back, her eyes going wide as she recognized who had interrupted her play. “Quin!” Her verbal diatribe ended almost before it began as she recognized those famous parti-colored eyes. “Charmed,” he muttered before turning again to an irate Jason. “Time to take a walk, baby,” he murmured, reaching out to take the stiff man’s hand. “Have a cigarette or something.” “Cyprus!” the woman shrieked. “Cyprus has to be here!” Her loud tones drew the attention of several people, and soon Quin and Jason were surrounded. “Damn it,” Jason swore as the people began to reach out and touch him, to shout questions at him, to grope and grab at some very delicate areas. And even worse! As he used his slight height advantage and looked over the crowd of club-heads, he noticed that the pair at the bar was gone. He couldn’t see much more of anything else because the group surrounding him was getting thick. “Who are you?” “Are you the new guy?” “Did you really cause that dude on the news to lose his job?” “Are you fucking all of them?” “Wanna try me on for size?”

The Coven

45

“Are you gay or bi? What’s it like being with Cyprus?” The questions were neverending, and the more they shouted, the more he just wanted to start swinging fists until they all left him the hell alone! “Leave off!” Quin shouted, causing Jason to look at the man with new respect. His voice carried, and it carried authority. The questions suddenly began to taper off, and a few people backed away. “It’s Quin,” someone gasped over the sound of the driving beat in the techno-crap that they called music. “He’s the talkative one!” Although there was no end to the underlying thrum of excitement -- in fact it seemed to build, the people began to give them some breathing room. “Now” -- he spoke softer, making the group quiet even further -- “we are here to have some…fun. If you all play nice and sweet for us, and no, I don’t mean in the back room, Cyprus may decide to come out and sing a song or two. Wouldn’t that be nice?” The crowd expressed their pleasure in gasps and shrieks of approval, and Quin beamed like a proud parent. Well, he was speaking to them as if they were a bunch of seven-year-olds, so maybe the expression on his face was not all that out of place. “So let us go and enjoy ourselves for a bit before we report back to Cyprus. Sound good?” The resulting cheer was almost enough to deafen him, but it had done the trick. The crowd began to disperse. “And just like that,” Quin said to Jason, “Peace…or, well, some form of it in this place.” Before Jason could speak, there was a gentle touch on his side, and he turned to find the same golden-grilled smile that had started all the mess to begin with. “I’m really sorry,” she gushed, the blush on her face about as out of place as her outfit in a convent. “If I had known that it was you…” “You shouldn’t have accosted some other stranger minding their own business,” Jason snapped, frowning as her blush, and most of the color in her face faded. “Be nice,” Quin purred, reaching out to touch the woman on the arm, restoring a bit of her color and a ghost of a smile to her face. “Jas… Our new associate here didn’t mean any harm. He is just not…a people person, I guess.” “Like the rest of them?” The woman smiled. “Yeah, just like the rest of them. Especially Quat.” “I’ll remember,” she spoke softly, preening under the small caress. “And I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, the offer is still open…” “Not in a million years.” Jason rolled his eyes, inwardly fuming at the thought of the intel he could have retrieved from the two at the bar.

46

Stephanie Burke

“Maybe next time,” Quin soothed, then ushered her away with a pat to the arm. “Next time, my ass,” Jason grumbled. “And that’s exactly what half of them wanted to see while the other half wanted to take.” “Ha-ha.” Jason made for the bar, shaking his head as people parted to let him pass. “I thought it was funny!” Apparently, Quin the comedian was going to follow him. Well, maybe, Jason mused, he could get some info out of him. He got to the bar and snapped out his order. “Rum and Coke, easy on the Coke.” The bartender, a woman dressed in a black leather cat suit with a cleanly shaved head, grinned and nodded. “One of those nights?” She chuckled as she prepared the drink and slid it over to him. “How much?” Jason asked sharply, in no mood for idle conversation. “Comped,” she informed him, before turning to Quin. “The boss never charges Cyprus or her entourage. The usual?” When Quin nodded, she slid a bottle of clear water to him, twisting off the lid where he could see. “There you go, Quin, you cutie. You think about my offer?” “Still considering it,” he responded, lifting the bottle off the bar and taking a long pull. “Well, it’s a standing offer, Quin, always open for you.” “Thank you, Luv,” he responded, winking, as she turned to take care of more demanding customers. “Standing offer?” Jason’s curiosity got the best of him. He watched as Quin threw back his head, downing half of the remaining water in a few swallows. “Yeah, Luv has a really good offer on the table for me.” “Luv? Come here much?” “Always, when we are in town,” Quin answered. “And Luv is her name. She’s an artist.” “And she wants to paint you nude?” Jason asked, almost as if he already knew the answer. “Nah, she wants to ink my body. She thinks a few well-placed tattoos would improve my image. Not to mention the piercings.” Quin laughed. “Huh?” “She’s a tattoo artist, a famous, award-winning one at that. She tends bar here so that she can get an up-close view of humanity, or something like that. She’s an eccentric oddball, but I like her.”

The Coven

47

“Eccentric.” Jason snorted. “Maybe you need to look at the company you keep.” “Artists.” Quin tossed back the remaining water and placed the empty bottle on the bar. “So, are you ready?” “For what?” Jason asked, feeling a hint of unease. “For the questions you obviously want to ask. So…ask away.” “I guess I’m obvious,” Jason allowed, trying to start a little cat-and-mouse game with Quin. “From the moment you installed those cameras,” Quin agreed. “So are you ready to come clean or what?” “Come clean? I told you…” “Yeah, and that was a bunch of bullshit,” Quin continued in the same mild-mannered voice. It was almost enough to make Jason wince. Almost. “If you choose not to believe --” “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,” Quin interrupted. “I am not the enemy!” “Looks like it to me. Though Cyprus thinks you’re okay.” “Cyprus,” Jason muttered, picking up his drink and tossing back a goodly portion of it. It might go against his rules to drink while on the job, but he felt the liquid fortitude was needed. “Yes, Cyprus.” Then his parti-colored eyes lost their amusement. “The thing you have to understand is that we are very protective of Cyprus. And no matter how much I like you” -- he moved in closer, running his hands over Jason’s chest -- “and indeed, I do like you -- I will gladly let the others turn you into something resembling Swiss cheese if you as so much as lay an unfriendly hand on her hair.” Jason narrowed his eyes as he observed the man invading his body space. “You are not a stupid man, Jason, nor are you a dense one. I am positive that you have several redeeming qualities, intelligence being one of them, no matter what Quat thinks or says.” He stepped even closer, his lips nearly brushing against Jason’s. “So I will give you this warning once. Beware of the games you play and who you play them for. Ultimately, you are merely a pawn, a disposable game piece, acceptable collateral loss…fodder, if you will, and that is not coming from our side.” Jason paled a bit, feeling uncomfortable now that the boy toys were making their opinions known. It scared him how accurate they seemed to be in their guesses. At least he hoped they were guesses. If there was a leak… Abruptly, he turned away from the bar, away from the curiously tattooed Luv who was keeping an eye on them even as she slung drinks to thirsty patrons, away from the all-tooknowing gaze of Quin, whose oddly colored eyes seemed to pierce his soul.

48

Stephanie Burke

“Where are you on your way to, my friend?” Quin asked, a thin veneer of amusement covering his all-too-serious tones. “Out.” “Out where? You planning on bailing on us? Giving up that easily?” “Giving up?” “This quest for the truth.” Quin smirked. “And you look like a man who enjoys a good challenge.” “Or for some fresh air,” Jason gritted out. “If that is allowed…?” “By all means, great protector.” Quin bowed, throwing out one arm as if begging favors from a monarch. “If it so pleases you.” “It does,” Jason snapped, not liking the amusement the other man seemed to be feeling at his dilemma, at his expense. “Fine, fine, very fine.” Quin smiled as Jason turned and walked away, and fell into step behind the man. “Alone,” Jason snapped as he realized he had a follower. “Against the rules.” Quin shrugged innocently and stepped close to the scowling Jason. “You people are too much,” he sniped. “Can’t I even go outside for fresh air by myself?” “And here I thought you were supposed to be protecting us…” Jason turned and stared at Quin, his face unreadable as he watched the smug man preen. “Right,” he drawled before turning and making his way to the exit, ignoring his unwanted escort and praying for the strength not to just murder them all. The people parted and let them by as if he were Moses parting the Red Sea, and that served to irritate him more. Slamming the release mechanism with both hands, he snarled as the steel door slammed open and grimaced even more as he realized that the door was an alley exit. Like he could get fresh air in a garbage-strewn alley. His shadow was silently amused behind him, and that just drove him onward, wading through the discarded plastic bags, broken glass bottles, and broken-down cardboard boxes. “Such fresh air here,” Quin drawled, a no-longer-silent sentry at his side. Jason rolled his eyes, doing his best to ignore the man, and wondered why he had never taken up smoking. The pastime might be a disgusting and addictive habit, but it would give his hands something to do, while the smoke would mask the smell of rotten food, spilled alcohol, rotting papers, and decaying trash, a mixture commonly known as garbage juice. Jason was just about to forget about the whole temporary escape when something caught his eye.

The Coven

49

There was a flash of black on the side of the building. Normally, he would have ignored this as some odd piece of trash caught in the building’s brick façade, but something in him -- some small part of his heart -- his instincts urged him forward. “Where are you going?” Quin called out, but Jason raised one hand, waving him to silence. “What…?” “Shh…” He stepped closer to the end of the alley, toward the very edge of the building, looking for that flash of black. The shadows seemed to grow, and his skin began to tingle as he stepped further and further away from the safety of the club entrance. But something was urging him forward. He ignored the crush and squish of things better left unnamed beneath his feet, the maggot-choking smell of the place, and the air that seemed to suddenly freeze up around him. His eyes scanned the building, one hand absently going to his side where his weapon usually was holstered, but cursed silently when he realized that he was unarmed for this exercise. “We need to get back,” Quin urged, moving closer to Jason, but halted as the man again waved him back. Jason was busily scanning the side of the building, still searching for that elusive flash of black. His heart began to pound, and he had to force his shoes to slow down, to force his breathing to calm. Tension was singing throughout his body, making all of his senses alert as his body recognized…danger…imminent attack… Whatever it was, it was causing a strange style of stress inside him to build and build until it felt like his ears would explode from the pressure. His mouth dried up, and his palms began to sweat. His eyes were now nervously darting around the alley, as he took a step back and began to turn in circles. It felt like…like he was being hunted. It was wrong, this feeling. He was the hunter, never the prey! But now his senses were screaming, and his knees were knocking, and the nearly silent air began to fill with the sounds of imagined breathing, the sound of fear and terror. He took a deep breath, ignoring the tainted air, trying to force some semblance of calm, when out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of black.

50

Stephanie Burke

“What the fuck?” he gasped, swiftly turning in that direction, almost losing his footing and falling to the garbage-strewn ground. But he quickly recovered himself, and despite his instincts that were now screaming for him to flee, sucked in a deep breath and began to race toward the flash of black. “No! Wait!” Quinn called to him, but he was racing down the alley, following that silvery flash of black. His legs pumped as adrenaline flowed through his body, making him more aware of his surroundings. He leaped over some rats gnawing on what appeared to be pizza boxes and swerved around a dented metal garbage can that was lazily rocking on the wet ground. He noted oddly that the flash of black had been heading toward the top floor of the club, the rooms where presumably Cyprus and the big silent one were located. But…but that was wrong! They were not being hunted, they were trying to suss out his client for execution. Who would be trying to murder the murderers? Or maybe spy on him, he altered his line of thought slightly. Had his client put someone else on the job? But before he could formulate any more hypotheses, there again was a silvery flash of black…but this time it seemed to be turning in his direction. He skidded to a halt, throwing both hands out for balance as the black seemed to leap from the wall of the club to the wall of the building facing it. Then it seemed to vanish. “What the fuck?” he gasped again, eyes wide, looking around him, again getting that feeling of eyes following his every move. His breath was rasping in his chest, and he had to wonder if he had slipped into some bad sci-fi movie as he scanned for that flash of black. He turned in the alley, back toward the wide-eyed Quin, when he felt a sudden displacement of air. Battle-hardened instinct had him diving to the filthy ground, throwing his hand over his head as something glided past, something that came so close he could feel the silk of it against the backs of his hands, something that was virtually silent moving on currents of air. He leapt to his feet as soon as that…that darkness passed over him, and saw…nothing. The alley was absolutely clear. The strange tension that had filled him, that had permeated throughout the whole alley was suddenly gone. And he was left with…the stench of garbage juice all over his clothing. “What the hell was that?” Quin was walking toward him, his face twisted in confusion.

The Coven

51

“That’s exactly what I want to know,” Jason snapped. “You did see that…that…that thing?” “Thing? Man I didn’t see anything, except you doing a good imitation of duck and cover. What the hell was that about?” “That…thing! That black thing! Don’t tell me you didn’t see it! It was right there! It came right at me!” “Man, maybe you need another line of work. The stress of this bodyguarding seems to be getting to you. That or you really need to give up drinking.” “I am telling you something was right there! You had to have seen it!” “Seen what?” Quin shouted, shaking his head and wrinkling his nose at the smell of his companion. “See you making like it’s the Blitz, and someone was trying to drop a bomb on your head?” “I am not making this up!” Jason all but shouted in Quin’s face. “I know what I saw! Something was trying to take my head off!” “Whatever, man.” Quin held up both hands, letting the whole matter drop. “Batman just took a shot at you! Whatever. But we have to go back inside…and you need some soap.” “I know what I saw, Quin,” Jason argued as Quin turned and made his way back to the security door. “Sure,” Quin called over his shoulder. “And I know what I smell. I think this ends our trip to the light fantastic. You need to get cleaned up, and it’s almost time to go anyway. Cyprus never stays out too late the first day in a new town.” That said, Quin banged on the door and some good sport pulled it open. Grumbling, Jason followed, only to pause as he noticed Quat standing there, holding the door open. “Saw you go out and thought you might need someone to let you back in,” he explained to Quin before wrinkling his nose at Jason. “And look what the cat dragged in…through the trash. Though it could be said that you are just disintegrating or devolving into your own kind…” Quat let his words trail off as he stepped back from Jason. “Had a bit of an incident,” Quin explained, and Quat just waved his hand before his face. “No matter what Unus says, I am not sitting beside that.” He pointed at Jason as if he was some sort of man-sized, dung-eating beetle. Jason, in the meantime, rolled his eyes, ignoring the insults. But his mind was replaying what had happened. Something was not right here. His instincts were screaming for him to leave, to get out of this job, to go back to where he came from…but there was an equally loud and annoying voice urging him to stay.

52

Stephanie Burke

Almost like a cat, his curiosity had been aroused. And he would stay here until this job came to fruition, until all of his questions were answered to his satisfaction.

***** “Oh, my God,” Cyprus exclaimed when she saw the bedraggled Jason. “Did you find something dead to roll in?” “Very funny,” Jason groused, crossing his arms defensively. “Is there a bathroom where I can clean up a bit?” “More than a bit.” Quat snickered. “You smell bad enough to make a maggot vomit.” When the others in the room just glared at him, he shrugged his shoulders, giving them all large, innocent, puppy-dog eyes. “What? I only speak the truth.” “I think the time has come to end this particular party.” Unus spoke softly, looking from man to man in the room “Yes, I believe our business is concluded anyway.” Cyprus smiled at the club owner, nodding her head politely. “With a song, of course,” the owner’s eyes flashed eagerly. Cyprus Reid in his club would make things lively and was more than enough payment for his meager services. “As always, it’s been a pure pleasure.” Cyprus gave him a final nod. “And as always” -- the man smiled, bowing slightly before Cyprus -- “it is an honor.” Good-byes said, Cyprus nodded to Unus, and together they proceeded to the door. “You may bathe when we get back to the suite,” Cyprus explained to Jason, who was looking none too happy with his own smell. “And you can ride up front with the driver,” Unus added, shaking his head as if Jason was a mere child getting caught jumping in mud puddles. “Yeah, sure, fine,” Jason grumbled, stepping aside and watching as Cyprus plus entourage exited the room. Before he could follow, there was a hand on his shoulder, and Jason turned to see the owner handing him a damp towel. “Here you go, kid.” He smiled kindly. “That should help until you get back to the hotel.” “Thanks.” Jason forced himself not to snap. The owner was only being nice and friendly, which was more that he could say for the group he traveled with. “And a bit of advice,” he added, holding onto the towel as Jason made to pull it from his hands, making him look at the owner carefully. “Be careful who you follow, and be even more careful who you betray.” “A warning?” Jason growled, narrowing his eyes at the man.

The Coven

53

“No, just some advice.” The owner smiled, letting go of the towel and waving toward the door. “After all, you wouldn’t want to find yourself doing more harm than good, Jason, hurting the innocent and all of that. Just be careful and be aware.” Before Jason could respond, an irate voice -- Quat’s -- called up to him. “We are waiting, Your Highness, and some of us need to go home and get reacquainted with soap and water in the worst kind of way!” Jason turned to the owner and gave him a smile that was all white teeth and arrogance. “Thanks for the towel.” He began to mop off his face and arms. “The advice you can keep,” he added, turning and walking through the doors. “Youngsters,” the owner said with a laugh as the door slammed. “When will all of these youngsters ever learn?”

***** When Jason next saw Cyprus, she was standing alone on the club’s largest stage, one single spotlight glittering over her body in hues of silver and blue. Her body was encased in the tight gold cat suit that covered her from neck to ankle, but managed to seem almost obscene the way it exposed each and every blessed curve of her body. She smiled out at the audience, her face sexy and innocent, a heady combination for the men in the audience…and many of the women as well. She threw her head back, tapping one foot shod in what had to be a seven-inch, clear stiletto heel. All eyes were on her, and she began to sway to the music, her eyes going soft and dreamy before she opened her mouth, and the most joyous sound the audience had ever heard poured forth.

You gave me nothing but a memory, Silent tear and dignity Were all that I had left of my life. Everyone remained frozen, their attention rapt on her solemn words and the soulful music that accompanied them, something simply amazing in a crowd that was moments ago slamming and moshing to the heavy techno acid beat.

I thought I’d die With a smile on my face No need for gossip No need for disgrace Perfection…in a globe of glass Was all the world could see.

54

Stephanie Burke

Then with a crash of drums and cymbals and the flash of colorful lights, the musical sensation known as Cyprus Reid kicked her act into high gear.

But what do you know about perfection? How dare you even look in my direction? When all you see is the reflection Of what you want me to be. She began to dance, to gyrate her hips in a totally obscene way that made Jason sweat and the crowd roar with approval. The beat increased, the guitars screamed, the horns and trumpets…they were loud enough to make the building shake. And in the middle of it all, Cyprus danced, she spun, she kicked, worked it to the floor, and shimmied, and through it all her voice filled them all with a sense of determination and purpose. She easily proved that she was more than an exotic face and a gorgeous body in those few moments. With a few words and a few movements, she sneered in the face of authority, shook her ass at preconceived notions, and put Jason Giles on notice.

I’m sick and tired of all this grief And now I think it’s my belief You’ll never understand until you see What lies beneath. Cyprus threw her arms out, almost daring people to look her over and discover what secrets she was hiding. The men surrounding the stage chuckled softly. Even though he couldn’t hear them, Jason knew by the expression on their faces that they were laughing at him. It pissed him off more than anything, and that included old ladies in grocery stores who paid in pennies, Rush Limbaugh, and people who cut him off on the highway because they were too busy talking on the phone instead of paying attention to their driving. But she stood up there, taunting him, he knew. With her seductive smiles and suggestive body movements, she was challenging him to discover the secrets that she held. In the midst of the screaming, clapping crowd, Jason silently fumed, a silent pillar of disgust while the world around him lauded and celebrated…worshiped the golden idol of their creation. “There is more to you, Cyprus Reid,” he mused as she twirled and danced, flirted with her troop of merry men, and sang the songs that electrified the crowd. “But I am betting what lies beneath is a cesspool.”

The Coven

55

Chapter Eleven The whole limo drive back to the hotel, Jason fumed up front with the driver, who kept the window cracked open the entire time. It was almost a blessing for the driver to take the underground valet entrance, sparing him the humiliation of walking, reeking, through the crowd still gathered outside of the hotel. And the elevator trip also strained his temper as Quin looked at him with pity, Quat with scorn, and the rest surreptitiously avoided him as best they could within the close confines of the car. He didn’t remember much about the mad dash to the hotel room, but he recovered enough of himself to go in first and check out the room, much to the amusement of the others. “Why?” Quat snickered. “Your smell would be enough to scare them away!” “Why, indeed?” Jason muttered, wanting nothing more than someone to be in the room to take the lot of them out. Then he wouldn’t have to put up the pretense of actually checking out the room for a possible invasion. But the rooms proved to be clear, and he eagerly made his way toward his private quarters, desperate to get rid of the smell that was giving him a headache. “I wonder if it will wash off.” Expecting the sarcastic comment to have come from the ever-loving Quat, he was surprised when he turned his head and came face-to-face with the black-haired Tria. “What?” he snapped, just about done with this whole affair and these people. “What will wash off? This dirt? Or does that club produce a special type of dirt that is resistant to soap?”

56

Stephanie Burke

“No,” the deep voice almost purred. “I was speaking of the smell of duplicity that seems to surround you.” Stiffening, Jason turned and stormed to his room, fuming. “You can keep the pants!” some wiseass called to him. “After all of that…activity, I think they suit you more than us.” “Jackasses,” Jason muttered, then snarled as the room exploded into laughter as if they could hear what he said. His face was still burning in embarrassment and anger as he slung the borrowed clothing across the room and stalked into the bathroom. “Stupid motherfuckers,” he hissed, turning the water on as hot as he could stand it and at full blast. There was one good thing about these overpriced hotel rooms; they provided the best in bathing amenities. He gratefully stepped into the hot water and moving under the hard spray before he remembered that he’d left his shaving kit in the bedroom. Going out there dripping wet where the boy toys had a habit, a bad habit, of just walking in on him, he resigned himself to using the toiletries the hotel provided. It was once he was shampooing his head with rough fingers that he calmed down enough to contemplate the whole situation. Beside the fact that the sextet in the other room was hiding something, he had another uneasy hunch. Whatever he had seen in the alley was related to that group. There was no proof and no tangible way he could connect them, but something in his gut knew it. And he never ignored a hunch. Ignoring his hunches, no matter how absurd, had led to a lot of major disappointment in his life. So now the question was, what was that thing? It was stealthy, fast, and seemed to be possessed of enough weirdness to run along walls. Why had it been there? What did it want? As he contemplated it, his mind began to draw some wild conclusions: His client was a scientist. What if…what if that thing was something that he had created? Was it something that this group was trying to steal, killing off all who had been in on the planning? What did it want? It hadn’t appeared to be running away. Was it being controlled by Cyprus and her group? The questions kept picking up the pace, and the unanswered mass of them was beginning to make his head hurt trying to reason out answers for them all.

The Coven

57

Closing his eyes, he leaned into the water, allowing the hard-hitting spray to wash some of his stress and headache down the drain. Inhaling the surprisingly pleasant scent of the shampoo, he leaned deeper into the water, dropping his head so that the water could beat on the back of his neck and shoulders. It felt so good, especially after the night that he’d had. Calming and peaceful, he decided, as his body began to release some of the exhaustion and tension he always seemed to carry within. He felt his muscles loosen and moaned in pleasure. He ran his hands over his body and began to let his mind wander. How long had it been since he’d shared a shower? How long had it been since he’d felt someone else’s hands running over his chest, across his nipples, down his stomach? Unconsciously, he let his hands trail over his body, imagining a pair of slim fingers with long, manicured nails raking over his skin. “Oh, yeah,” he breathed, the sound of his own voice, husky in growing desire, sending his passion rising. He sucked in his bottom lip as he closed his eyes and began to lose himself in the fantasy. Yeah, the woman of his dreams would be on her knees, staring up at him with that wicked grin on her face, suds running down her golden skin. He allowed his fingers to pluck at his nipples, worrying them until they were tight little nubs that burned and tingled, shooting fire down his stomach and making his balls tingle. Her tongue would lick at his balls as his dick rested against her face, and she would suck one into her mouth, panting as she ran her nails up his thighs. His hands ran over his stomach, becoming slick in the creamy white foam before he slid his fingers through the thin trail of hair that started below his navel. He let his head drop back before he let his fingers tease the base of his cock…just like his woman would. Her full red lips would part, and her little pink kitten’s tongue would lash out, lapping at the precum that had beaded up on the head of his dick. She would coo and whimper as she took his cock in a firm grip and pull it low enough so that she could lick at the head like his dick was an ice cream cone. He shuddered at the image, teasing his own cock before he ran his fingers down to cup his balls and rolled them gently in his hand. His hips started to rock as intense pleasure almost made his knees buckle. He hissed and widened his stance, allowing his fingers to tease behind his balls at his sensitive perineum.

58

Stephanie Burke

His breathing began to race and lights danced behind his eyes as he finally took a grip on his equipment and gave his dick one long, languid stroke. “Open for daddy,” he moaned as he imagined his dream girl opening her mouth wide and sucking his cock into the tight, wet heat of her mouth. “Ooh, yeah, baby,” he breathed, his muscles tightening as his soap-slick hand began a steady pumping rhythm. He could hear her groans as she swallowed him whole, deep throating him like a porn movie queen. “Fuck, yeah.” His hips pumped faster as his dream woman tossed her golden hair, her head bobbing as she struggled to keep up and not choke on his cock. Her hands would leave off stroking his thighs and ass to grip his balls and to pull at her own rose-colored nipples. Her breasts were soft, an amazing contrast to the rock-hard nipples that would press into his legs as she tried to get as close to him as possible. Her knees would spread out in the slippery tub, her manicured nails trailing through her own dark golden pubic mound to part her labia and expose her swollen pussy, dripping with all the juices of her desire. She would pull off his dick with a wet pop and lick her lips as if he was the most delicious thing that she had ever tasted. “You like that, baby?” he would ask, and her deep, husky voice would reply, “Please, Daddy? Can I have some more?” At his nod, she would rush to gobble him down, choking herself in the process. She would pull back, coughing a little, as she looked up at him with those golden brown eyes and beg, “Please, Daddy? Can I try again? I promise…I’ll be good…” His hands pumped furiously now, his ass clenching, his fantasy growing out of control as his golden brown baby would suck him down again, swallowing and using her throat muscles to massage and give him the ultimate pleasure. His hair felt like it was standing on end as electric tingles raced down his spine, through his stomach, and settled deep in his balls. His cock swelled in his hand, seeming to double in size as it tightened and prepared to explode. Ecstasy had his mouth open and gasping aloud, the sounds of his passion masked slightly by the roar of the water. But in his mind, his golden goddess was groaning her pleasure around his dick, the vibrations from her throat sending his mind swirling into a dark oblivion of hunger and need. “Shit!” he gasped as he felt his balls burn and pull up to the base of his dick. His cock spasmed, his ass clenched, and before he could take another breath, a soul-shattering orgasm tore through him.

The Coven

59

His body quivered, his knees grew weak, and his heart raced in his chest as spurt after spurt of his creamy essence splattered against the shower wall and was rinsed down the drain. “Cyprus,” he breathed, then froze as the sudden realization that he was fantasizing about a murderer penetrated his soft, hazy afterglow. “Damnit!” he cursed, sticking his head under the water and giving his body a good rinse. He was getting too close to her. He could not afford to see her as a person. She was a monster, a murdering monster that he had to stop.

But she was a damn good-looking one, a voice in the back of his mind raved, and he cursed again as he violently twisted off the water and climbed from the tub. He grabbed a bath sheet -- they never had plain towels in hotel suites -- and scrubbed the water from his body. It was human nature, he reasoned with himself. Cyprus Reid was a good-looking woman who exuded sex appeal like a nun gave off chastity vibes. It was inevitable that he would feel something for her -- on a physical level only, he rushed to assure himself. It was just hormones reacting to a good-looking package. But there were still a lot of unanswered questions about the elusive Cyprus Reid and her merry band of men. He exited the bathroom, tossing the bath sheet to the floor before checking to see if his phones and equipment were in proper working order. Tomorrow, he decided later, sliding between the cool sheets of his queen-sized bed. Tomorrow he would find the answers to his questions and put his head back squarely on work, where it belonged.

60

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Twelve “Wakey-wakey, eggs and bakey!” Jason wrinkled his nose and growled as that bright, cheery voice tried to pull him from the solace of sleep.

“Good morning, good morning… We danced the whole night through, so good morning, good morning to you!” “Get the fuck out…if you want to live!” Jason buried his head deeper into the pillows. Jerking off in the shower had relieved a lot of tension and had left him with a lot of confusion that he’d just tabled before finally seeking solace in sleep. And now here it was… He peeled one eye open to peer at his bedside clock and at the bright red numbers that seemed to glare at him. And in return, he turned his glare on whoever was brave enough to infiltrate his bedroom at five in the morning. He was not in the fucking military anymore! He was not going out to Reveille ! He wanted to get more than three hours of sleep. “Don’t threaten me, buddy,” the same irritating voice sang out. “You’re out of shape! I’ll kick your can!” He snorted, sure he was having a really bad nightmare. Only an asshole -- scratch that, only a huge asshole would come into his bedroom at five in the a.m. and spit corny eighties movie lines at him. “Come on! Get up! Join the dark side! We have cookies…” “Get the fuck out!” Jason roared, sitting up in his bed, his chest heaving, his eyes narrowed in anger as he finally gave the invader his full and complete attention.

The Coven

61

“Ohhh!” Quin snickered. “Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!” Quin was smiling. Quin was awake and dressed. Quin had to die. “Do you have a death wish?” “No, just a wish to get on with the day,” Quin sang, dancing backward as Jason tossed his blankets aside. “And we must have had one hell of a dream.” Quin chuckled, pointing at Jason’s lap. “I’m a man.” Jason rolled his eyes. “You don’t like it, get the hell out.” He looked down at his stiffening cock, not quite morning wood, but close, and shrugged. He gave his cock and balls a good scratch too, daring Quin to say something. After all, the man had invaded his room and awakened him. “Well,” Quin purred, moving closer to get a better look, “as impressive as this show is, and that is coming from a comparison point of view” -- he rubbed at his own crotch -- “that is not what I’m here for. We have to get you ready.” “Ready for what?” Jason yawned widely, running a hand through his buzz-cut hair. “For our morning appearance, of course.” Quin snickered. “Morning… You actually have a schedule?” “Yeah, it kind of…changes,” “Well, I would appreciate a copy of it, as I am your bodyguard.” “Yeah, yeah.” Quin waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll see what I can do. But in the meantime, you have to get ready.” Nodding, Jason rose, naked and unabashed, and padded toward the bathroom. “Very impressive,” Quin muttered again, before he turned and made his way to the main living room.

***** Jason had thoroughly enjoyed his morning’s shower and the thought that he was holding the rest of the bastards up, when he suddenly came to the realization that he still had no idea where they were going. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he padded from his bathroom to the main sitting room where…

FLASH! Jason blinked rapidly as a bright explosion of light robbed him of his vision and replaced it with a multitude of brightly colored streaks and stars.

62

Stephanie Burke

“What the fuck,” he gasped, stepping backward, both hands rising up to cover his eyes. “Oh, that was just pure perfection,” a voice called out, followed by a chorus of murmured agreement. “I love candid shots. This one will look so perfect in the layout. Ms. Reid, how do you find and surround yourself with such perfection?” By this time, Jason was about done with blinking the stars from his eyes and forced the watery organs to open again to see what was going on. He got a bleary impression of a tall, rather skinny man holding a large camera and a group of three men behind him before the camera flashed again, serving him up another helping of temporary blindness. “Cut that out!” he bellowed, stepping further away and cursing the fates that had convinced him to take on this job. “He is just precious,” the man muttered again before a deep, rumbling voice pulled Jason’s attention away from his watering eyes. “Enough,” the voice purred, one that Jason easily recognized as belonging to Unus. “You were not brought here for this.” “But…but I was sent to get some shots…” “Of Cyprus and Cyprus alone. That is what was agreed to.” “But…” “The film.” Large Unus, dressed in a black custom-cut suit -- it had to be custom-made to fit a man over six and a half feet tall -- looked impressive and daunting. He arched one dark eyebrow, and the photographer shuddered before opening his camera and exposing the film. “See? All gone,” he muttered, frowning at his camera. “I still want the film,” Unus rumbled. Sullenly, the man complied. “And the memory stick,” Jason called out, recovering enough to defend himself. The last thing he needed was to be beholden to these people. Sighing, the photographer popped open a side compartment on the camera and handed over the stick. “I want that back,” he said grimly, but instead, the large man just smiled. “Put it on your expense report.” The photographer pouted, but turned back to his assistants, grumbling about freedom of the press and first amendment rights. “You need to get dressed.” Unus turned to Jason, his face expressionless. “I came out here,” Jason hissed, moving closer to the towering man, not wanting his words overheard, “To find out exactly what it was I am supposed to be wearing. No one informed me that the press would be en suite.”

The Coven

63

“Just wear what you will. The others are eating in the dining room. Get dressed and go join them.” “I think I’ll get dressed and stay here,” Jason retorted, ignoring the eyebrow Unus raised in his direction. “After all, it is my job.” “Indeed.” “Yes, indeed. And as it is my job to protect your…Ms. Reid, it is your responsibility to give me a full itinerary so that I know what to expect.” “So you want to protect Ms. Reid?” Unus grinned. “Yes, of course,” Jason snapped, wondering at the unusual question. “She did say that she felt I could keep her safe.” “Yet you come out here without investigating your surroundings, let a strange man point something in your direction and get off two rounds…excuse me, shots. I think it is you who needs the protection.” Jason gritted his teeth because he knew that Unus was correct in his estimation of the morning’s situation. He was again taking this job too easily, not treating the threat to her as real…even though in his estimation, Cyprus Reid was the threat. He had to do it, he decided. He had to swallow his pride and try to continue to gain these people’s trust, even though just being around them made his hair stand on end. “I must apologize for my lack of attentiveness. I have no excuse.” He looked Unus dead in the eye, showing a sincerity that he could not have faked if his life depended on it. He was sorry that he had displayed such a lack of attentiveness to the job…just not the job that they believed him working on. Unus opened his mouth to respond, but then the door to one of the private bedrooms opened, and a hush descended on the room. Cyprus Reid was in the house, and all the people there sat up and took notice. Dressed in an ankle-length tunic of cream and a matching pair of harem pants, Cyprus looked as if she had stepped out of some desert fantasy. Her hair was tied in one long, thick braid and rested against her shoulder, liberally decorated with small gold and red bells. Her face appeared to be bare of makeup, giving her a fresh, young look while appearing to be the absolute in well-styled sophistication. Her feet were bare, showing off a maidenly vulnerability, as well as a few grand in diamond toe rings. But the overall effect was that of youth, freshness, and innocence. How the murderous bitch managed to pull it off so well, Jason would never know.

64

Stephanie Burke

Unus quietly cleared his throat and made his way to his mistress, extending one arm to escort her to the photographer, anything he would have said tossed aside as unimportant as his mistress entered the room. “Like a dog running to his master,” Jason muttered to himself as he watched the photographer and his assistants fall all over themselves to meet and greet the lady of the hour. “Ms. Cyprus Reid,” Unus declared in his deep, grating voice. “May I make known to you Randall Mitchell.” Turning to the enraptured photographer, he completed the introductions. “Randall Mitchell, may I present to you Ms. Cyprus Reid.” “Ms. Reid, it is an honor,” Randall started right in. “It is a privilege and a pleasure to finally meet you.” Cyprus, for her part, gracefully extended her hand, allowing the man to gush all over it. It was enough to make Jason sick! How dare he fawn all over her, slobbering over her hand… And why did he care? Shaking his head, Jason attempted a strategic retreat to gather some clothing for himself and to clear his thoughts. Despite what Unus wanted, he would stay here and guard Cyprus. It would take more than one bodyguard to keep up appearances. Yeah, he had to keep up appearances. That was, at least, what he told himself.

***** “I have never seen such perfection.” Jason returned just as the photographer and his assistants were fluttering around Cyprus like a bunch of worker bees gathering around the queen. Cyprus herself appeared to be saying very little, almost ignoring the gushing praise from the man. She sat in a large reclining chair draped with gold and red silks and satins, pillows surrounding her like small, soft mountains. The assistants stood just beyond camera range, holding metallic reflectors designed to obliterate any shadows that dared to darken her face. The photographer walked around, spewing compliments and snapping photos like a demented Cecil B. DeMille. Holding back a shudder of disgust, Jason made his way to stand beside Unus. “Looking better,” Unus commented, cutting eyes to Jason for a moment, before once again turning his attention to the floorshow spectacle taking place in the sitting room.

The Coven

65

“How can anyone be so damn chipper at six in the morning?” Jason groused, staring with ill-concealed ire at the photographer and his minions. “It just ain’t natural.” Unus shrugged, never taking his eyes off of Cyprus. “Well, at least I’m dressed now,” he muttered, tugging the comfortable and familiar black suit jacket that fell loose enough to conceal his weapon and a few other small toys that he found essential in his line of work. And no one could complain about his practical black suit not fitting in because Unus was wearing the same damn thing. Again, Unus tore his eyes from Cyprus to scan Jason’s black pants and jacket, noting the black shirt and tie in passing. “You uncomfortable?” he rumbled, pulling Jason’s gaze to his own. “Why would you say that?” Jason asked, trying to hold in a blush as he crossed his arms over his chest. Okay, so maybe dressing totally in black screamed defensive, but after the day he’d had, he felt a great offense, like clothing that screamed “badass” was the way to go. Unus looked him up and down and then snorted. Sneering in return, Jason again let his attention follow the action taking place. “And if we could just get your boys…” Both Unus and Jason winced as the photographer turned his attention to the two men in the room. “They are not boys.” Cyprus raised one eyebrow as her velvety chocolate voice filled the room. ”Well, you guys…” “They are men, Mr. Mitchell. And the agreement was that you leave them out of it.” “But Ms. Reid…Cyprus…” “Ms. Reid,” Cyprus corrected, never raising her voice, but making her authority known. “All right, then, Ms. Reid,” the photographer conceded. “I think it would be just breathtaking to have your men undress and…” “This shoot is over.” The photographer froze at her words, his mouth falling open. “What…” “This photo shoot is over.” Cyprus spoke as she rose to her feet, as regal as a goddess, to approach the man. “You can’t…” “I can do anything I wish, Mr. Mitchell,” Cyprus corrected. “And I wish this shoot to come to an end.”

66

Stephanie Burke

“But…” “But what, Mr. Mitchell? Are my words not heard and understood?” “Why?!” “Why, Mr. Mitchell?” Cyprus purred as she approached the man, taller than he in her bare, bejeweled toes. “Because you are ignoring my wishes and are attempting to take liberties that no one has the right to see.” “But…” “The subject of the men who follow me is a closed one. And I believe that I made that clear to your producers, Mr. Mitchell. And if I cannot trust your discretion in dealing with these matters, then I cannot trust your discretion in any dealings with me and my people. So therefore, this photo shoot is over.” “I apologize,” the photographer stammered, but Cyprus turned her back to him and began to make her way toward her bedroom. “Ms. Reid?” he wailed, apparently cursing his foolhardy mouth as he watched his meal ticket, and possibly his job, walk away. “It is time for you to go,” Jason stated, just as Mitchell started to angrily walk in the direction in which Cyprus had disappeared. “But…” He turned to try and plead his case to Jason, the sanest looking of the bunch. “But I only wanted to make the shoot something special,” he explained. “What do you want from me?” Jason asked. “You tried to get pictures of me in my towel this morning. That’s not the most effective way to win friends and influence people. And then you called me a boy too.” “Those are just words!” Mitchell squealed. “And that is just the front door.” Jason chuckled as he took the man’s elbow gently in his grasp. “I am sure that your lovely assistants can gather up any equipment you need.” “But…but I wanted a costume change…” “And my bare ass on the film,” Jason added. “But I won’t hold that against you. I happen to think that my bare ass is spectacular too.” Jason kept up the string of nonsense as he escorted Mitchell through the door and into the hall. “Besides,” he added, “I am sure that you have enough pictures to cover whatever article your people are…who are your people?” “Hot Sheet,” he whispered miserably, still looking confused. “Then I am sure Hot Sheet now has more photos than any other Cyprus Reid watcher in existence. And look at it this way. The poor schmuck that insulted her men last night probably lost his job when she walked out on a live broadcast.”

The Coven

67

“She did that? She can do that?” he asked, eyes wide as he began to realize that Cyprus was no pretty face who lacked substance. She seemed to realize her own power and wielded it like a pro. “Yeah.” Jason nodded his head. “She is Cyprus Reid, a lady to the end, who can do just about anything and everything she wants. Feel lucky she didn’t confiscate the film in the camera.” “Wow,” the man mused, looking star-struck as his assistants joined him with the rapidly packed lighting equipment. “Okay, then.” Jason smiled. “Good-bye now.” Before the man could retort, Jason slammed the door in his face, figuratively and literally wiping his hands clean. He turned back to the room to see Unus grinning at him. “Protective,” he muttered, and Jason felt a blush suffuse his face. “I just didn’t like his attitude. He wanted nude pictures of me.” “Right.” Unus snorted once in his direction before he turned to follow Cyprus into the master bedroom. “Yeah,” Jason grunted to himself. “Well, I really didn’t like the man.” Any other soliloquy he could have made was interrupted by the buzzing of his cell phone. “Giles,” he snapped, not feeling very courteous in the wake of all of those damnable confusing emotions. He really didn’t want to protect Cyprus Reid and her ilk! He wanted to bring them down! “How are things on your end?” Cursing silently, Jason realized that he had answered his private line, not the phone he used for casual business. “Things are…progressing,” he allowed, annoyed suddenly for some strange reason with the tone box that his employer used to disguise his or her voice. “I only have a few days…and…” “And I am here, doing what you hired me to do. I will keep you safe,” he snapped, growing impatient. But then he had another one of these flashes of intuition that had often saved his skin. There was more going on here than met the eye…and that thing last night… “What aren’t you telling me?” he snarled, growing angrier and more distrustful by the second. “I-I don’t know what you mean, I am sure,” the voice stammered. “Tell me what you are hiding!” “My identity, and we agreed upon…”

68

Stephanie Burke

“Can the shit!” Jason bellowed, then realized where he was, still standing by the front door. With a scowl on his face, he swung the door open again and moved out into the hall. “Can the bullshit,” he hissed, looking about the wide hall, ensuring that no one was invading the entrance to the suite. “There is something more to this story than what you told me.” Silence on the other end of the line. “You had better fucking come straight with me, or so help me God, I will turn right around and leave you to your own devices!” “There…there may be some…complications I forgot to mention.” The voice sighed, reluctantly. “Well, I guess you had better start disclosing these complications, and I mean disclosing them now.” “I-I really don’t know why they are targeting my fellow scientists, nor me,” the voice stammered. “It may have something to do with a…a cross-breeding program…” “So they are now animal activists,” Jason snapped. “With the amount of leather and meat these people consume, I don’t think so. You are lying to me, Doctor. That is strike one.” “I am…being honest,” the voice continued. “There was a breeding program and some things…went…awry.” “Define awry…” “One of the creatures escaped.” “And that led to murder and mayhem because…” “That creature is seeking revenge.” “Revenge?” Jason growled angrily. “You have me out here risking life and limb for a mutant flying monkey?!” “Not a monkey,” the man assured. “Something far more dangerous and deadly.” “And that thing would be…?” “Cyprus Reid.” Jason stared at the phone in disbelief. Then he shook his head, his brain unable to process what his ears were hearing. “Cyprus Reid?” he asked, incredulity in his voice and his face. “Cyprus Reid was affected by the treatments.” “What treatments?” “Matter of national security, I’m afraid, Mr. Giles. I can’t disclose that information.” “Security, my ass,” Jason snapped. “If this was a matter of national security, the feds and the CIA would be all over this.”

The Coven

69

“I was with an obscure branch of research and development, Mr. Giles. Black Ops, if you will.” “So the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, and you hired outside talent to keep it that way.” “Something like that.” “Then I guess you had better start explaining what I’m up against.” “Just that we were experimenting into the psyche of the human being, trying to open a portal to make humans access more than the barely five percent of brain power we use.” “And this made people go off on murderous rages?” Jason sneered sarcastically. “I’m not buying it. Strike two.” “Well, it made people paranoid and delusional. Cyprus Reid is paranoid and delusional; she thinks that the world is against her. And I must thank you for discovering the connection between the singer and the escaped volunteer for this project.” “Volunteer, huh?” “Yes. I would have never recognized her if you hadn’t made that leap of logic to follow her. The men who she travels with must have been convinced that her cause was a right one. Fanatics, all of them. And because she is accessing more than the normal portion of her brain’s abilities, that would make her the perfect cult leader.” “So now killing off scientists is a cultist goal?” Jason was not convinced. “Cultists, no, but it seemed to be her raison d’être.” Before he could comment further, he heard a ping, and the private elevator began to open its doors. “Later,” he snarled, closing his phone and placing it at his waist before the golden doors slid open. Three of the four missing men poured out into the hall, smiling when they spotted Jason. “Enjoy your shower?” Quat said before sniffing at the man. “At least you smell better than you did last night.” Jason said nothing, just made a silent head count, then looked askance at the men. “What?” Quat snapped. “Where is he?” More suspicion and intrigue, Jason thought, scowling at the grinning men. “Where is who?” “Unus is with Cyprus.” He pointed behind him. “Tria, Duae, and you, Quattour, are here.” “The boy can count,” Quat said and sneered. “And I am coming up one short. Where is Quinque?”

70

Stephanie Burke

“Out,” Quat took great delight in informing Jason. “Out where?” “Outside?” he asked, giving Jason puppy-dog eyes. Duae rolled his eyes, and Tria snickered. “Help me here,” Jason began, but Quat cut him off again. “There is not enough help in this whole wide world for you,” he cackled, reaching past Jason for the doorknob. “And it’s not like I would offer it if I even could.” “Just what is your problem with me?” Jason snarled, knowing that if he were an animal, his hackles would be rising. “My problem?” Quat growled, tossing his hair in such a way that it seemed to be swaying around him. “My problem, little man” -- he moved into Jason’s personal space, crowding him, but not making him give ground -- “is that I can’t stand liars.” “Oh, fuck you,” Jason growled, beginning to wish he had never risen from his comfortable bed or taken on this job. “Not even if you begged!” Quat snapped back. “Quat?” Tria called out, stepping in between the two of them with some effort. “Cyprus…” “I know what Cyprus wants,” Quat snarled. “Though it’s beyond me why.” And again there was the standoff, Jason and Quat glaring at each other over Tria’s head. The elevator pinged once again, and it was into this tension that Quin casually strolled. “Just the man I wanted to see.” He chuckled and brushed past the still silent Duae and bumped Quat aside with his hip. “Isn’t it a lovely morning?” he asked, reaching past Tria and Jason to open the door. “Inside!” He shooed Jason, almost forcing them to enter the suite. “I brought you breakfast.” It was then that Jason noted the enticing smell coming from a previously unnoticed white Styrofoam container that the blond haired man held. “You could have let the bastard starve,” Quat grumbled, entering the suite and immediately taking off for one of the smaller bedrooms. “Charming in the morning, isn’t he?” Quin rolled his eyes, motioning for Jason to follow him past the potted jungle in the main room and to a small alcove that boasted a small table and a few chairs. “That is one word for it,” Jason allowed, following the man and the enticing scents of fried potatoes and breakfast meat. “Ignore him,” Tria advised with a laugh as he followed, the ever-silent Duae right behind him. “Quattour always takes some getting used to.”

The Coven

71

“That is one way to put it,” Jason concurred, trying his best to ignore the men who now lounged about the alcove, looking like some barely dressed, lobotomized boys at a brainless model convention. “Well,” Quin said, apparently not taking offence at the scathing looks Jason was shooting at them, “Sit, eat. You must be starving.” He could say screw them all, Jason thought, before going back to hide in his room or to do more research…but damn it, he was hungry. He took a seat at the table, and Quin handed over the container. “I got you bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, a few English muffins, and room service should be bringing up coffee and juice soon.” “Thanks.” Jason nodded, mouth watering as he opened the large container and inhaled the enticing scents of his breakfast. He had not eaten since breakfast the day before and was beginning to realize just how hungry he was. “Not a problem.” Quin snickered as he took a seat at the table, watching the others as they sprawled around the room on various cushioned chairs. “We always take care of our own.” “But I am not one of you.” “You are,” Quin insisted, a hard edge coming into his voice. “For now.” “For now, then,” Jason allowed, before he began to tuck into his food. The little container held a magnificent set of metal flatware, which he eagerly put to use. All were silent until a knock at the door heralded the arrival of the ordered beverages. “I’ll get it,” Tria called out, hopping to his feet in a swirl of long, black hair, but Jason beat him to the punch. “I’ll get it,” he commanded, stepping away from his meal and pushing Tria back into his seat. “It’s my job.” Tria shrugged as Jason made his way to the door. There was a moment’s conversation, and then the door closed. Jason walked back to the table pushing a small cart. “My protector.” Tria giggled, almost bringing a smile to Jason’s face. “Again, it’s my job. I am here to take on any danger that may exist for you or Ms. Reid.” “And if it had been Quat?” Quin had to ask, amusement clearly written all over his face. “Then he would have damn well answered the door on his own.” “Damn the consequences?” Tria asked archly. “He’s a big boy,” Jason growled, snatching up a glass and pouring out some orange juice. “He can take it.”

72

Stephanie Burke

***** The laughter that filled the room made Cyprus, snuggled on top of her bed with Unus, smile. “See, Unus?” She giggled at the infectious sound. “No worries. Jason Giles is more than he appears, and that works well with this group.” “As you say,” Unus grumbled, but in the back of his mind, he still wondered. “Trust me.” Cyprus smiled, before closing her eyes and losing herself in the gentle caresses of her first. “Always,” he agreed, settling down again, ensuring that his Mistress had her rest. This was going to be stressful enough, and he wanted her as comfortable as she could be. “It’ll all work out.” She spoke around a yawn. “Wait and see, Unus. I’ll make it right…for all of us.”

The Coven

73

Chapter Thirteen “I don’t have a tux.” “No excuse.” Unus grinned at Jason while Cyprus made no effort to hide her laughter. “So go and rent one.” Quat sneered as he softly brushed his long, white hair. There was so much tension in the air that even his hair seemed to be more vibrant, curling almost lovingly around his fingers. “I am sure that with your attitude and looks, you are used to renting…things.” He pursed his lips at that telling statement, almost daring Jason to respond. They, Cyprus and her men, were gathered in the main living area that Jason liked to refer to as the Jungle Room. As usual, the men were sprawled out and about the room on pillows and lounging in chairs like a bunch of handsome male-flesh satellites around their planetary goddess, Cyprus. Jason was the only one in a straight-backed chair brought in from the eating alcove. Unus as usual, was standing behind Cyprus, acting as her main body servant. “He’s not that bad-looking,” Quin was quick to defend. “I mean, he has the body. He just needs the attitude.” “One short hair defending another.” Quat curled his lip. “I really don’t see why anyone would waste their time.” “Oh, he’s not so bad.” Tria sighed. “I mean, at least he knows how to fight. And fighting is almost next to making love.” “Who said anything about making love?” Jason snapped, finally glaring at the circle of men. “I thought we were talking about a tux!” “And your underwhelming attractiveness,” Quat had to point out, still slowly running his sable-bristled brush through his hair, shuddering as if it were foreplay. Then again, with this motley group, you never knew.

74

Stephanie Burke

“I do not find him unattractive,” Cyprus finally spoke, and it was like the admiral had come on deck. Suddenly all the men were alert, all joking stopped, all eyes on Ms. Reid. “I think his face has character. I would love to see his hair longer, but that is not for me to decide. Just as it is not for me to decide if you all should be shorn or continue as you are.” That brought about an unreal moment of silence, and for a second, Jason actually believed his client’s story about her being an experiment with more brain power than most. But that was the stuff of science fiction and cheap romance novels. His client wasn’t being totally honest with him, though he still felt that Cyprus Reid was a killer. Maybe the cult angle…? “Quattour,” she spoke again, her velvety tones filling the room with relaxing vibes. “You and Mr. Giles are about the same size.” “I seriously doubt that,” Quat pouted, looking down at his lap and then over at Jason, again daring him to react. “And,” she stressed the word, a hint of anger in her voice that made Quat lower his head and tilt it to the side, almost like a submissive dog. “And I believe that you should loan him something.” “Cyprus?!” he nearly wailed. “Now Quattour, you know you are the biggest clotheshorse here. And I know for a fact that you have at least three tuxedos that you never use. Be kind to Mr. Giles and loan him one. I would be ever so grateful.” “Only because you ask it of me,” Quat allowed, raising his head a bit to smile at Cyprus, then turning his head to glare at Jason. “And he can keep it. Lord knows what he’ll do to it.” “I said I would replace the outfit.” Jason forced himself to be polite, even thought he would rather choke the tall black man with the tuxedo pants than give them back. “Never you mind.” Quat rolled his eyes before rising to his feet. He was all grace and controlled movements, and that made Jason want to smack him even more. “I’ll go and scrounge up that tux. Be grateful for Cyprus, because if it were up to me, you would be getting your outfits like you undoubtedly get your lovers.” “So speaks that man who actually looks like a rent boy,” Jason snapped back, growing tired of the childish banter. “And I bet your prices are very reasonable too. So…what do I get for five dollars? And the oral has got to be great. I assume it’s the only way someone can shut you the hell up.” There was a moment of silence as Quat stiffened and paused in his exit. He slowly turned around to face Jason and his people, an incredulous look on his face.

The Coven

75

But before he could speak, the room exploded into laughter; even Unus the Silent was snickering. A dark red flush slowly crept up Quat’s neck, and that made the others literally howl with laughter. “You little --” “The tux,” Jason cut him off, nodding toward Cyprus, who was eyeballing them both in amusement. “If you please?” Sniffing, Quat turned and exited the room, stomping all the way. “Now that was amusing.” Tria chuckled. “Not too many can get the best of Quat.” “He has an attitude problem.” Jason sighed, nodding toward Cyprus. “Again, I find myself apologizing. I do not mean to cause dissention within your ranks.” “You make them sound like soldiers.” Cyprus smiled. “I like it, though a military designation would not fit any of my men.” “But the same concept applies.” Jason gently probed for information, something he should have done much sooner. “No.” Cyprus grinned, easily reading his intent. “My men are here because they want to be, they choose to be.” She seemed to slump a bit in her chair, before turning haunted golden eyes in his direction. “Though it’s beyond me why, sometimes.” “Maybe, my lady,” Unus spoke softly, placing his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner, “it is because there is no other place we would rather be.” “You are all so sweet.” Cyprus smiled, though her eyes kept a sense of dark whimsy about them. “And I want you all to know that I love you very much for it.” “That is understood.” Quin rose, leaving his pile of pillows to crawl over to Cyprus, and almost like a cat, wind himself around her legs. “And the sentiment is returned.”

So, Jason thought to himself, observing this semi-private moment. There are real emotions here. And if someone gets their emotions involved in their crime…task, he amended, then those people are nearly unstoppable. Death was the usual result of that type of fanatic, and they would not hesitate to take as many out with them as they could. “Your tux.” Quat’s gritty tone broke Jason out of his contemplation, and the plastic bag that hit him in the face made him lurch out of his seat, ready to defend himself. “That was not nice,” Cyprus scolded as Quat slammed both hands on his hips, almost daring Jason to retaliate and attack him. “Yeah, well, I never said I was a nice person.” “Well, you had damn well better learn!” Cyprus leapt to her feet, her eyes glaring hotly at her boy toy. Before Jason could make a move, Quin skittered out of the way as Cyprus stomped over to her wayward boy and delivered a stinging blow to his face, almost knocking him off his feet.

76

Stephanie Burke

“I have put up with this childish behavior, Quattour, and I refuse to sit back and watch it anymore. You are an adult! Show it!” Quattour looked stunned, his large lavender eyes growing bright with unshed tears as he stared in disbelief at his goddess.

A goddess ? Jason thought, his own eyes wide in wonder. She was more like a flipping three-star general. “You are disgracing yourself, and you are disgracing me with this adolescent behavior.” “But…but he…” “I don’t care what lies he has told or what secrets he thinks he is hiding. He is under my protection, and that protection includes being safe from being verbally assaulted by you at every free moment.”

Damn, Jason thought as Quat dropped to his knees before her, head hanging low. He looked at Cyprus to see what she was going to do next now that she had seemingly broken the proud man. “Quattour,” she said and sighed, dropping to her knees as well, gripping his head and pulling it to her chest. “Quattour, I know you are trying to protect me, but at this stage, I can protect myself.” “But you never know what he…” “Shush, little one,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around the man, burying her face in his long, white curls, getting them all tangled around her face and body.

Maybe he needs a better conditioner, Jason mused. “I know your fears, and I am being cautious. I have not survived as long as I have on my own without learning to be wary. But I don’t want you to get yourself worked up over this.” She buried her hands in his hair and tugged his head up, looking him directly in his eyes. “I know what I am doing, Quattour, my defender. Allow me to see this thing through to the end.” “My lady,” Quat whispered, his tone respectful, though barely audible. Cyprus looked over her shoulder at Unus, and he in turn gestured to the remaining men to rise. “Come with us, Mr. Giles,” Unus intoned. “I believe Cyprus and Quattour need some time alone to discuss some things.” “Where…?” he began as the men seemed to disappear into their separate rooms and almost instantly emerge, wearing precious little but some very brief…swimming briefs. “To the pool, of course,” Quin answered, moving toward the door after shooting one cautious look at the still-kneeling Cyprus and Quattour. “Get your suit,” Unus spoke again, nodding in Jason’s direction. “You are not wearing a suit,” he began.

The Coven

77

“But” -- Unus grinned showing some very white, very sharp-looking…teeth? -- “I am not required.” “Then I should not be required, either,” Jason argued. “You are doing this undercover, are you not, Mr. Giles?” Unus asked. “Or have you forgotten your apologies this morning for not behaving in a more professional manner?”

Damn, Jason thought. He’s got me there. “Fine,” he snapped, storming off to his bedroom to strip off his suit and to dig around in his bags for his trunks. “Hurry up!” Tria shouted. “The water awaits!” “Coming,” Jason yelled back as he stormed out in a pair of knee-length board shorts. Everyone paused to stare. “Oh, not in that, you’re not.” Quin laughed, pointing to his own tight Speedos. “What? What’s wrong with them?” “Image,” Quin informed him as Tria and Duae leaned against each other in laughter. “And we promised the hotel we would drum up some business by making appearances around the place. You won’t fit in wearing that, and it will make people start questioning.” “Like they aren’t doing that now?” Jason tried to argue his way out of ball squeezers and the banana hammock that the others seemed to preen in. “Yeah, but now you are just another addition to the group. If you go like that, the tabloids will start to have a field day. They will follow us around, snapping pictures, climbing through windows, invading our privacy. And I thought you were to protect us all from that?” Jason would have pouted if it didn’t make him appear like a little girl. Instead he nodded his agreement. “I suppose you have something for me to wear?” “Indeed I do.” Quin was all smiles and giggles as he tossed a small plastic bag at Jason. “I ordered for you as well, when I knew that we were going to hit the beach, as it were. They are new, so no fears of wearing used banana hammocks.” Jason froze at the term, the one he was just thinking, but then waved it off as coincidence. “Thank you very much,” he allowed, before turning back to his room and changing. “Why are they white?” he called back as he unearthed the suit from the sack. “It will look good against your skin,” Quin called back. “Good against my skin,” Jason mocked his words quietly as he stripped off his board shorts and slid into the suit, wincing at how it made his package stand out. “I am not getting this damn thing wet!” he called back, knowing that the “damn thing” would become see-through when a judicious amount of water was applied -- like a teaspoon’s worth.

78

Stephanie Burke

“Just sit, then,” Tria called out. “Sit, burn, pick up chicks, work on your tan, I don’t give a damn what you do, so long as you come on out now! Water’s waiting!” Rolling his eye again, Jason exited the room and tried not to blush as all eyes turned to him. “Not bad,” Quin allowed and then turned toward the door. “Our public awaits!” And happily, they all exited, being urged on by the black-haired Tria and the solemn Unus. **** “I love you,” Cyprus spoke softly as she let her hands run over Quattour’s back. “I love you and nothing, no one, is going to change that.” “He’ll get you killed,” Quat muttered, rubbing his face into the soft flesh of her stomach, inhaling her familiar and beloved scent. “He threatened you.” Cyprus tugged at his hair again, her golden eyes meeting his purple ones. “He is a threat to you, and you don’t know how to behave.” “I am not afraid of any human!” “But he is not just any human,” Cyprus added, tightening her fist in his hair. “He is so much like you…” “Never!” Quat snarled. “He is like you, and there is nothing to be done about it, Quattour. To your mind, to your instincts, he is a threat.” “He cannot harm me!” Quat insisted, narrowing his eyes, his voice dropping to a low growl. “There is nothing he can do to hurt me.” “Except maybe usurp your place in my affections.” Cyprus cold words stopped anything else that would have rolled off of Quat’s tongue. “You think I don’t know you, my Quat?” Cyprus arched one eyebrow, her lips quirking up into a smile as she observed the shock and dismay that streamed across his face. “After all this time, you believe that I cannot guess the thoughts that flow through that head of yours?” She waited, and just as she knew would happen, his hair reflexively tightened around her body before the silken tendrils began to retreat from her person. “Are you surprised, Quattour?” She chuckled, allowing him to pull away from her, stepping back herself as she observed her more alpha-type Raven. He knelt there in the carpet, a surprising flush of red sweeping over his dark skin. That was one of those quirks about her people, she thought. They could hide their emotions behind a veneer of disgust and expression of distaste, but their hair and their blushes always gave them away.

The Coven

79

“And now you are thinking that maybe I have found a true replacement for my most emotional lover.” She smiled as she backed away further, until the backs of her thighs hit the high bed that dominated the room. She perched neatly upon the seat, her eyes gleaming as she watched her Raven chew through the feelings of jealousy and abandonment he was currently feeling. “Do you believe that I love you, Quattour?” she asked softly, watching his emotions dance across his face. “Yes, Mistress,” he admitted, his shoulders slumping. “And do you believe my love is conditional?” “No, Mistress.” “Do you believe my love a fickle thing?” “No, Mistress.” “Then why would you believe that I would find another to take your place?” “I would never --” “But you did,” Cyprus scolded gently. “Is your love for me a doubting kind, Quattour? Is it the kind that you constantly question and gnaw at until it is but mere scraps lying tattered at your feet?” “No.” Quattour rose to his feet, shock evident on his face. “Never!” “Really?” Cyprus drawled, reaching up and toying with the collar of the silken robe that skimmed her body. “Really.” Quat’s voice dropped several octaves, and his nostrils flared as he sniffed out his mate. Smiling, Cyprus slid her legs apart slightly, her breathing increasing as she took in the sight of her Quattour. His dark skin was flushing in his growing desire, his eyes flashing like purple stars as they ran over her body, taking in her posture. His hair began to wave around his body, caressing and stroking his skin. “Then…show me,” Cyprus watched with hungry eyes as Quat lowered himself to all fours slowly, his muscles rippling beneath his dark skin. His eyes never left hers, giving her a jolt of passion as he began to slowly crawl to her. His muscles bunched and contracted in a teasing rhythm that was a nice piece of erotica in its own right, his hair framing the body that was the stuff of fantasies. “Oh, yeah,” she breathed as he reached her, his hands running over the soft skin of her legs, sliding her robe up to her thighs. She spread them more, making space for the animal in human guise who sniffed at her, licking his lips.

80

Stephanie Burke

Then he was on her, sliding up between her legs, tearing and rending the robe until it was in tatters, framing her body like so many multicolored ribbons. “I want you!” he snarled, breathing heavily, sweat forming on his body as he visually caressed the perfection beneath him. That she would allow this…that she would lie beneath him… “Cyprus?” he managed, a question in his voice even as he made love to her name. “Take me.” She reached out, shaking off the remaining thread and material, caressing his face with steady hands. “You know what you need from me, my heart. Take it.” Then Cyprus gasped as his hair encircled her body. Strong and soft, it tangled around her legs, spreading them even as it eased her back into the bed. Cyprus relaxed, burying her face in his silken locks, inhaling the musky smell of her lover. She watched as he moved closer, rising above her, his knees pressing into the bed on either side of her hips. “That you would…” He broke off, shaking his head and licking his lips. “I want this,” she insisted, snarling as her eyes narrowed in growing frustration. Her body was making itself ready for his possession. She could feel her vagina softening, growing wet as her nipples hardened under the touch of his white hair. Her limbs held a slight tremor, and her clit began to swell. “Mine!” His nostrils flared before he bent low and laved her from navel to neck, shuddering at the state of her arousal. “Beautiful,” Quat whispered, his eyes taking in how Cyprus writhed under the touch of his tongue. Cyprus didn’t care for his compliments at the moment. She narrowed her eyes and snarled, arching as his hair caressed her body, moaning as the silken strands tugged at her nipples and wrapped around her thighs, spreading her open and stroking her gently. “You are so fucking wet,” he breathed, watching as beads of slick moisture coated her labia. Then his hands came into play, running along her bared flesh, watching as gooseflesh popped up along her arms and thighs. Quat smiled, exposing elongated fangs as he again lowered his head and latched onto one hard nipple. “Quat!” Cyprus moaned, tossing her head back, her golden hair tangling with the white strands that still danced along her body. “I-I l-like that.” “Then you will love this,” his deep voice grumbled, and his fingers plucked at her lonely nipple as his mouth began to travel over her body, worshiping her soft, supple skin.

The Coven

81

Cyprus knew that it was her yelps and mewls of pleasure that were filling the room, driving her lover onward, but she refused to control herself. This was what her Quattour needed, and this was what she herself desired above all things at this moment. She allowed him to see her desire, her want, and when his careful fingers slid into her core, when his silken hair began to stroke her fully hard cock, Cyprus threw back her head and screamed. “Right there!” she moaned as his fingers slid through her labia and into the soft, silken heat of her vagina, instinctively finding her sweet spot and stroking it until her knees began to tremble, and her body was screaming with desire. She began to buck upward, fighting against his caressing hair as his mouth lowered and sucked on the head of her cock, rolling the foreskin back and nipping at the tender, exposed flesh. With Quat’s hair sawing at the base of her cock, his mouth sucking on the head of her dick, his fingers buried deep inside her, overflowing with her juices, Cyprus threw her head back and bellowed her pleasure to the world. She could feel it building deep inside her, the tensing of her internal muscles, the burning of her nerves, the almost painful arch of her body that didn’t know whether to thrust up into his mouth or to push back harder onto his fingers. That, coupled with the feeling of being restrained by something as intimate as his hair, soon had Cyprus tumbling head over heels into her first round of orgasm. And Quattour rode her orgasm with her, sucking at the thin, sweet fluid that flowed from her cock as well as shuddering as her internal muscles tightened almost painfully around his fingers. From the look on his face as Cyprus forced her eyes to open to focus on her lover, she knew that he was imagining sliding himself deep into her silken heat. His eyes darkened even further as she licked her lips and uttered one word. “More.” Quat let go of her cock with a pop and quickly lowered his head, licking around his fingers, lapping at her spilled cream with a hungry moan. Still working his fingers within her, he proceeded to not miss a drop of her juices, licking and laving at her quivering flesh, driving more screams from her throat as her almost too-sensitive flesh was forced into arousal all over again. “You animal, you lovely, lovely animal,” Cyprus moaned as her need for him rose to a fever pitch. His fingers and tongue were fun, but she wanted something thicker, something hotter and harder filling her to the point of explosion. “Your animal,” he growled as his hair loosened its hold on her, and he rose to loom over her on the bed.

82

Stephanie Burke

“Yes,” she breathed. “Mine.” Then his fingers were tearing at the crotch of his leather pants, tossing torn bits of animal hide around the room in an effort to expose himself for both of their pleasures. Cyprus purred at the first sight of his swollen member. It was as dark as the rest of him, topped by a pale purple, plum-shaped head. It was wet with his arousal, shiny with traces of his pre-ejaculate that she knew from experience would taste sweet and tangy. “Give me a taste,” she all but growled, and Quat wasted no time in climbing up her body and pressing the hot head to her lips. Cyprus whimpered as she lapped at him with her tongue, her fingers going to the firm globes of his ass, tugging and pulling him closer. She purred as he rested against her tongue, the head and the musky scent of him so close to her nose. She looked up at him, along the line of his body, and smiled around the thick cock filling her mouth. Quat groaned, throwing back his head, his hair flowing wildly about him as he took in this erotic sight. Then he screamed as she began to suck and pull at his cock. Her fingers were not idle, however. She was physically expressing her pleasure, her fingers dancing between the cheeks of his ass, down his trench, finding and caressing his tight little rear aperture. He bucked, nearly choking her, but she merely laughed, the vibrations flowing from her mouth down his dick, to his balls. “I have to have you,” he breathed, his voice harsh to her ears as he pushed backward, forcing her slim finger to penetrate his ass. He grinned, then bucked back harder, sending her finger in to the hilt, caressing nerve endings that he loved to have stimulated. “Really.” She licked her lips after pulling off of his cock, then dropped her head again to lap at the thick length of it. “Yes, my Mistress!” He moaned and dropped to all fours over her, his ass in the air, humping at the single finger that speared him and stretched him so. “Then take me.” Before Cyprus could blink, Quattour was between her spread thighs, the leather remains of his pants tickling over her skin. Her legs were hefted into the air, and the head of his cock was… “Yes, my fourth!!” Cyprus wailed as he slammed deep inside her wet pussy and began to thrust strongly. His purple eyes bored into hers, and he leaned over her, teeth exposed. Growling his pleasure, he slammed into her harder and harder.

The Coven

83

Cyprus felt spread and stretched to capacity as her lover pounded away at her. She marveled at the feel of his heavy balls slapping against her ass as he hefted her legs higher to get a deeper penetration. And the pleasure! It so filled her that she could no longer hold in her screams of ecstasy. “Fuck!” she wailed, her voice trilling in her pleasure. “Quattour!” Which only made him move harder, faster, deeper than before. She felt her muscles tightening again, her hard cock slapping against her stomach before he lowered himself to press fully against her body. Then her cock was being massaged against the rigid muscles of his abdomen, increasing her joy immensely. Her hands clawed at his back, leaving bloody trails as her desire reached an unbelievable peak. “Like this, Mistress?” he breathed into her ear, licking and nipping at her neck. He swiveled his hips, striking her sweet spot and stimulating her whole sheath. “Yes, yes, yes!” she screamed, her whole body clutching at his, as she lost herself in the ebb and flow of his pounding rhythm. ”Yesssss!” Suddenly the very air seemed to still as she froze. Quattour slammed deeper, his movements burying himself into her and holding himself as deep as he could as she felt the first tremors of her internal muscles milking him, and then her orgasm broke. “Quattour!” she shrieked, her hips slamming up as waves of fire flowed over her body. “Gods, yes, Quattour!” Cyprus began to keen as delicious sensations engulfed her body in torrents of pulsating heat. Her internal muscles clamped down on the hard cock that seemed to vibrate deep within her, and that only made her pleasure more potent. Her cock exploded, sending a thick river of seed flowing between the two of them, making his movements against her flesh easier as his stomach muscles tightened further, keeping her orgasm going. Then Quat was hissing, grunting as he swelled even thicker within her. He bellowed once, and Cyprus hissed as his fever-hot seed flowed from him and flooded her insides, screaming as she felt the large knot within his cock tighten and pulse, traveling up his length to lodge itself tightly within her, connecting them as closely as two lovers could ever be joined. His hips rested against hers again, and he panted, his face buried in her hair as they both waited, moaning as their release still held them within its maddening grip. “As…if…you could…be replaced.” Cyprus giggled, nudging Quat with her chin until he lifted his heavy head to stare at her with sated purple eyes. Even his hair was a limp, shivering blanket that covered the both of them. “Maybe…” he breathed. “Maybe I was being illogical.” “Maybe you were being a spoiled brat,” Cyprus allowed.

84

Stephanie Burke

“Maybe…” “Don’t make me hit you,” Cyprus growled, narrowing her eyes before nipping at his nose. “Yes, Mistress,” he agreed. “You really deserve a spanking for the way you have been behaving.” Quat perked up at that. “Which is why you won’t get one from me,” she added, smiling as he pouted. “And you will treat Jason better.” “I can’t work miracles,” he snorted, burying his face back into her neck while he waited for his penile knot to dissipate. “You two are so much alike.” Cyprus laughed, enjoying the total body relaxation that came after a really good fuck. “I don’t know what I am going to do with the two of you.” “I have suggestions for him,” Quat piped up. “Don’t push it,” she snapped, and he conceded with a whimper. Cyprus rolled her eyes and wondered at the strange similarities in all of her Ravens, and especially, the striking ones found in the human named Jason.

***** At poolside, Jason watched the crowd follow Tria with their eyes as the black-haired man cut through the water like a dolphin. “He’s good,” Jason grudgingly admitted, looking over at the suited Unus who was watching over everyone like a mother hen. “Tria has a certain affinity for water,” he allowed, staring out over the crowd of watchers, his face impassive. “I surprised that you are not ordering me into the water.” Jason watched as Quin sat at poolside, kicking his feet in the warm, chlorinated water while speaking and signing to Duae, who was in the pool, the water coming up to his chin, but at Quin’s side. “He’s deaf?” Jason queried, finally asking about the silent Duae. “In a manner of speaking.” Unus inclined his head. “What? He is mute?” “Yes.” “But he has some hearing?” “Some.”

The Coven

85

“Then how can you make him aware of danger?” This was a logistical nightmare when it came to protecting someone out in the public spotlight, like Cyprus and her boys, when a major player couldn’t even hear. “We have our ways, and Duae is very good at defending himself, as I am sure you are already aware.” Jason nodded, then looked again at Duae and Quin, who seemed to be having a wonderful conversation with hand gestures and facial expressions. “That doesn’t look like ASL,” he commented. “You know, American Sign Language?” “I know, and who said that English was his first language?” “So, it is some form of sign.” Jason nodded. “Do you all know it?” “Yes.” “Do I have to learn it?” “No. Duae is perfectly capable of understanding you, Jason Giles.” “Hmm.” Jason nodded again, searching for a way to dig more info. None of his contacts had ever mentioned that Duae was mute. But then their public persona was all about quiet strength and androgynous hotness. It could easily be missed. He wondered if that was the reason they all remained so quiet in public. “About this tux…” “We will be attending a musical tonight.” “Musical, huh?” Jason ran his fingers through his hair. At least they were now letting him in on their plans. “Where and which one?” “Oh, you will like this one.” Unus chuckled darkly. “We are going to see The Phantom of the Opera at The Hippodrome.” “The really big theater on Pennsylvania Avenue?” Jason sighed, mentally working out the logistics of keeping six people safe in that wide-open area. “Relax.” Unus ran a hand through his long, dark hair before turning to eye Jason. “Box seats.” “Like that’s going to make me feel better.” “It should not make you feel any worse.” Then Unus rose to his feet, looking unaffected by the heat as he started toward the wide glass doors that held the entrance and exit to the hotel. Jason turned to follow his line of sight and cursed slightly as Ms. Cyprus Reid, surrounded by a host of fans and one preening Quattour, exited. Somewhere during her discussion with the bastard Quat, she’d managed to find time to change to an enticing one-piece slip of material. It was a metallic gold color and covered the majority of her body…but it was the body that was exposed that made him want to drool.

86

Stephanie Burke

Her sides were practically bare, and the exposed golden skin seemed to glisten in the sun. It had a keyhole bodice, if one would use that term to describe a swimsuit, but it left a heart-shaped swath of flesh exposed and hinted at the major cleavage it struggled to hold. Her nipples were hard nubs in the fabric, hidden and exposed at the same time. The suit was cut high on her thighs, hinting at the firm belly and taut muscles that made up her abdomen as well as her ass. Yet, as she turned to speak to a fan, the rounded globes of her ass were exposed by the thong back of the thing. It left him groaning in desire and growling in anger that someone else was looking at that delicious derrière. He just wanted to dive in and bite at the… Wait! Why was he lusting after her? He was there to expose her murderous acts and take her down! But the swelling in his Speedo played false with those thoughts. Sighing, he quietly adjusted the bulge of his swelling cock before rising to his feet and following Unus over to her. “Having fun?” Unus asked as the crowd kept a respectful distance of three feet all around her. Cyprus just smiled as Quat procured a lounger for her and carried it over to where Unus and Jason were standing. “We talked.” She spoke softly, her words barely reaching Jason where he stood beside her, alert to any wrongdoing in the small crowd that had gathered. “No more issues?” “Resolved as much as possible.” Cyprus sighed. “There is no going against one’s true nature.” “Indeed.” “And if you all are done talking about me as if I wasn’t here…?” Quat said, walking over to them and gesturing to the neat nest of towels and pillows he’d managed to find and create for Cyprus on the lounge. “Perfect.” Cyprus grinned. “I thank you, my Quattour.” “The pleasure is all mine,” he responded, and Jason had to prevent himself from growling as Quattour presented her his arm. He watched somewhat enviously as Quattour escorted Cyprus to her seat. Unus took up his usual position behind her and slightly to her right, and Jason stood beside her.

The Coven

87

“Is this wise?” he asked as some of the crowd pretended to be interested in sunning and other assorted poolside activities, while keeping an ear and an eye on the celebrity in their midst. “It was agreed upon,” Cyprus explained, smiling her toothpaste commercial smile. “But it’s not very safe…” Before he could complain more, the hotel manager bustled over, smiling obsequiously as the paparazzi began to gather outside of the gates. “Ms. Reid,” he gushed. “I hope that you are enjoying your stay. And I sincerely hope that Mr. Giles is up to the task of seeing to your safety.” “I very much feel safe.” Cyprus spoke softly, her voice not carrying further than the manager’s ears. “And Mr. Giles is everything I have come to expect from security people on this side of the continent.” Jason frowned, knowing that could be interpreted in different ways, but the manager chose to beam brightly, taking it as a compliment. “Who’s the new guy?” some reporter finally got enough courage to call out. And the others quickly followed in his footsteps. “Who’s the new guy, Cyprus?” “What’s his name?” “What does he do?’ “Does this mean you’re recruiting new men?” “Can I have a shot?” “Is he good in bed?” Jason stared, agog at the storm of questions that rained down on them. Other poolgoers perked up, wondering if Cyprus was about to break her silence and answer some of the questions that they all were dying to know. Cyprus just smiled, turning an innocent face to the paparazzi, but that was all. And of course, that maneuver required the prerequisite lightning storm of camera flashes and pleas for her to give them “more face.” When someone started rattling the gate, as if by magic, all five of her men were suddenly surrounding her, and Jason found himself falling in, ignoring the fact that he was wearing a pair of skimpy little white Speedos that left practically nothing to the imagination. The manager looked over at Jason, who was in character, and then turned, swiftly walking out of the pool area. Some publicity was one thing, but these people rocking the fence were dangerous. He wanted to further his hotel’s reputation by having Cyprus appear at the public pool, not start a riot. He raced off to call security. “It’s getting hot,” Jason hissed to Unus, knowing that he would see the danger that they all were in.

88

Stephanie Burke

But Unus just stood there, face impassive as ever. Before he could say something else, demand that Cyprus be brought inside or inquire if her plans involved inciting a riot this day, Cyprus took a deep breath and began to sing. The boy toys stepped back, exposing Cyprus in all her glory, head tossed back and pure, true notes emerging from her throat. It wasn’t exactly words she was singing; no, it was more like tones. She trilled the scale, starting at inhumanly deep growls and rising to an angelic soprano, the notes almost big enough to shatter crystal. But no matter what she was doing, it was having an extreme effect on the crowd. They were all frozen, standing there, some with their eyes closed, but all enthralled by the music. Even Jason found himself swaying to a beat that Cyprus seemed to pull from her very soul, the notes to her wordless song filling his soul with peace and contentment. Almost as suddenly as she started, Cyprus stopped, leaving the crowd, the paparazzi, everyone lingering, hungry for more. It was a moment of hushed anticipation, of a teasing tension that filled them. And then she got up and walked away, her men falling in line behind her. Jason blinked his eyes rapidly, then raced to fall in line behind Quin, still looking a bit dazed and confused. They passed a security detail as they entered the hall, but the bewildered men had nothing to contain. With a few notes and the pure sweetness of her voice, Cyprus had calmed and soothed, proving that music did indeed calm the savage beast. And she left the people there quiet and content, hungry for more.

***** Jason was still silent as they prepared for their evening out. He had remained silent as a meal was ordered and plans were discussed, a part of the group, but only marginally there. He ignored the amused looks tossed in his direction by Quin and Unus, and tried to comprehend what his eyes and ears had experienced. When Cyprus opened her mouth and began to sing notes, not even words, he had wanted to just lie down and bask in her glory. And it appeared that his reaction was not abnormal. Later, reports from the hotel manager had shown that the nearly rioting paparazzi had calmly left, delighted with their pictures, and any aggression seemed to have dissipated.

The Coven

89

All anyone could comment on was the beauty of Cyprus’s voice and how gracious she was for sharing even that small part of herself with them. Even the hotel guests who were poolside reported being refreshed and invigorated. It was strange. It was not human. It was confusing. And here he was, about to go out and pretend to be a boy toy of this walking enigma. His client was withholding more than he had originally guessed. If Cyprus was a failed experiment, then the military had to have their hands in her life. If she could sing people to calm, she could conceivably incite them to riot. And the militaristic applications for a talent like that -- they were endless. And even he, with all of his conditioning and mental training, had been caught up in her thrall. Maybe there was more of a reason she was doing what she was doing, because deep in his heart, Jason knew that Cyprus Reid was a killer. Now with the new information about his client and what he had gleaned during these past few days, maybe her motives were not as suspect as he’d first thought. There was something huge going on here, and now he was in the position to discover who exactly was the bad guy. Trouble was, he was no longer sure himself.

90

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Fourteen “I love a sharply dressed man.” Cyprus chuckled as she walked among her men, inspecting them like so much cattle at an auction. And everyone was dressed to the nines. The tuxedos were sharply pressed, the shoes shined to a high gloss, the shirts starched to within an inch of their fabric lives. Even the studs on their shirts and cufflinks on their sleeves were perfectly polished, a reflection of each man’s eyes. The ties and cummerbunds, however… “Why am I wearing a blue noose again?” Jason grumbled, more offended that his James Bond-like appearance was going horribly wrong. “It matches your eyes, like your studs.” Quin chuckled. “You are just color coordinated.” “And where did you find dark blue studs on such short notice?” he asked, disappointed that he couldn’t go with the basic black that would not have had him standing out in a crowd. Dressed like this…it almost felt as if he belonged with these psychos. He ignored the strange, warm tingling that thought brought about as he glared at Quin. “Contacts,” Tria sang out merrily as he flounced into the room. “It’s all in who you know.” “Yeah,” Jason grumbled, glaring at the gathered men in the room. After what had happened poolside, he found it difficult to stare Cyprus in the face, so he concentrated his ire on the men. “Not like it’ll do much to improve your looks,” Quat sniped quietly. “Behave, Quattour,” Cyprus’s berating voice admonished. “Remember what we spoke of.”

The Coven

91

“I remember.” He sighed, rolling his eyes at Jason. “But I don’t have to like it.” “Like it, hate it, I don’t give a damn,” Cyprus said, her use of profanity startling all the men into staring at her in confusion. “But you will accept it.” “Yes, my lady,” a cowed Quat responded, nodding his head before glaring at Jason again. “Now,” Cyprus purred, stepping to the front of the men again, running her hands over her slim hips. “I think we look stunning.” Stunning definitely applied to Cyprus. Again, she was in her trademark gold, this time an elegant gown that encased her tightly from bustline to just below her thighs. There, the gown flared out generously, giving the impression of an old-school Hollywood runway dress. The bodice itself was several layers of material, ruched to give it dramatic flair. The gown was sleeveless, though a pair of silk, opera-length black gloves ran from her fingers to her biceps. A subtle black sheer lamé covered the entire gown, making it sparkle with her every movement. Around her narrow neck was a waterfall of amber and onyx, accented by several carats of diamonds. Her hair was swept up into a mass of curls, small diamond clips holding the golden mass in place. Cyprus could have been any Hollywood starlet doing a walk of fame, not a pop singer who had gained nationwide recognition with all the attention she garnered, on her way to an opera house in Baltimore, Maryland. “The car is waiting.” Unus’s voice filled the growing silence as Cyprus looked over the men once again. “We should hurry.” That said, he managed to produce a long, silken throw the exact colors of the dress and held it open for Cyprus. “All is in readiness?” she asked, smiling up at the larger man. “All is as you require.” Somehow, Jason got the idea she wasn’t talking about intermission snacks or the rise to the Hippodrome. “Then, by all means, let us be off.” Silently, they moved to the elevator, Jason and Unus taking point and looking over the elevator before they allowed the rest of the men to enter, though Jason did note that Quat seemed to hover before them all in a protective stance. Maybe they really were some kind of effective protection after all. Jason decided that he needed to keep that in mind. If it came to hand-to-hand combat to put Cyprus down, he knew he had to isolate her from the rest of the group. That is, if his client ever came clean about what was going on.

92

Stephanie Burke

He hated mysteries, but he hated being used more. If he was being sent out as cannon fodder… The rest of his thoughts ceased as the elevator doors opened, and they were again faced with a wall of spectators. The Cyprus Watchers, as he dubbed them, were everywhere. Cameras were blazing and flashing as hotel security held the wild crowd back from entering the hotel Guests who were staying there stood by in awe, watching as the celebrity in their midst made her way to the exit. After the impromptu concert at the pool, many had gathered in the lobby just to see what the afternoon would bring. It was common knowledge that Cyprus Reid and her entourage were attending this evening’s performance of The Phantom of the Opera, and they wanted to be the first to tell the tale of the incredible outfits and the stunning good looks of her men. “Wait here.” Jason nodded to Unus as the men closed ranks around Cyprus, keeping her protected in the center. “I will check out the car.” “I’ll go with you.” Unus moved forward, but paused when Jason gripped his arm. His next words were punctuated by a flurry of camera moves and squealing women as if that one simple touch was a prelude to sex in the lobby -- hot man-on-man sex, at that. “It’s my job,” Jason insisted, whispering so that none of the bystanders would hear their conversation. “It’s what I’ve been kept here to do, remember?” “I’ll go with you,” Unus insisted. “Look, I’m not going to sabotage you all.” Not here, he silently added. “But let me do the job I was hired to do.” “I do not lack the training, Sentinel.” Unus smiled. “Besides, you need someone to…watch your back? Is that not how the saying goes?” “Yes.” Jason shifted and then nodded. It only made sense. He was not about to try and take them down here, and if he missed something in the hired car, or if he were mobbed… Yes, he could let his guard down a little and allow the other man to go with him. Nodding again, he released the arm, noting that it felt like stone beneath his hand, before turning to face the wall of people between him, the tired security, and the waiting car. “Who’s the driver?” Jason asked as they moved forward. “Because I am qualified to drive a limousine.” “A trusted friend,” Unus assured him. “And I had assumed you were qualified; otherwise, you would not be here on the job, as it were.”

The Coven

93

“A friend?” Jason looked up at Unus as the glass doors opened, and they were assaulted with the brilliant stereo surround sound of the screaming mob to go along with the Technicolor picture. Knowing that speaking was next to useless at this point, Unus nodded and pressed forward. Security was struggling to hold back the mass of humanity, but they managed to hold everyone back from the car. As they approached, the driver, another tall, well-built, black-haired man exited, nodding almost reverently to Unus. “All is in readiness?” he asked, speaking a little bit louder than usual, but the man understood. “Yes, sir.” He damn near saluted, Jason thought. “All is in readiness.” “Good,” Jason snapped, thinking that here was another mystery when he already had a bellyful of them. “Then you won’t mind if I check the car.” “One of…yours?” the man asked Unus, dubiously. “That remains to be seen,” Unus replied. “But for now, yes, he is one of ours.” “Very good.” That was all that was needed, apparently, as the man backed away and opened the passenger door, allowing Jason entry. It was a plush automobile, Jason grudgingly thought, checking out the lavish interior. The seats appeared to be made of velvet, the bar fully stocked, and a state-of-the-art sound system was activated, waiting to be used. He sniffed the liquid, not noting any poisons or dangerous fumes. He ran his hands between the seams of the seats, checking for any odd lumps or bumps. He found nothing, not even lint. Whoever took care of this car’s detailing was very thorough. Finally, he ran his fingers along the car lining, checking for any odd devices or wiring. Finding nothing, he reached into his pocket and produced a “magic wand” that sent out an alarm at the detection of any odd electronic devices. He found none. Nodding, he climbed out of the back and repeated the procedures for the front of the car, including the driver, though that check was perfunctory at best and was made to look like a friendly greeting. All through this, Unus said nothing, and the driver looked agog at Jason, as if the man had gone completely mental. “Better safe than sorry,” Jason snapped at the man, while trying not to do anything that could set the paparazzi off again.

94

Stephanie Burke

“One of yours,” the driver conceded to Unus, shaking his head. “He behaves rather like a member of your clan.” “Indeed,” Unus agreed before turning and nodding to Quat, who was, as usual, standing point for the men. “Clan?” Jason asked, but turned his attention to the glass doors as the people started to scream and shout once more. Cameras flashed and questions were shouted as the doors opened, and Cyprus Reid once again made her appearance with her men. The security braced themselves, holding back the line of fans as the men parted ranks a little, allowing small glimpses of Cyprus in gold as she made her way to the car. Jason and Unus quickly returned to her side, guiding the men as the lights flashed, and the screaming voices devolved into a huge wall of sound. Once at the car, Cyprus paused, and the men moved, allowing her face to be seen by the crowd. And they went wild, loving their precious songbird, as she waved serenely at them, a beautiful smile on her face. The men allowed this for a moment before hustling her into the car and piling in on either side of her. The door slammed, and the car took off, leaving screaming fans and sated paparazzi behind. “That’ll hold them,” Quin said with a sigh, sinking back into his seat. “At least until we get to the opera house.” All the men seemed to relax, and again Jason was struck at how tense they were. They were very protective of Cyprus, and it wasn’t the fanatical type of protectiveness that cult members had for their leaders. It was tinged with genuine concern. Cult leaders led by fear, and these men were not fearful. Respectful, yes; fearful, not in the least. “Well.” Cyprus smiled. “Relax now, Quin. The evening has just begun. And I am expecting a very eventful evening.” Turning to Jason, she smiled sweetly. “Have you ever seen the musical performed?” “Can’t say that I have,” Jason drawled, slouching in his seat. “But everyone knows it’s a story of an obsessed madman and the woman he tried to seduce.” “Really?” Cyprus stared at Jason until he sat up a little, feeling a bit self-conscious. She stared until his eyes met hers. “When I see the musical and read the book, I see a poor man who was used and discarded when he was no longer needed. Christine managed to steal something important from Eric, just before she cast him aside. I look at that musical, and I see his sacrifice for her in the end, and what he struggled through for love.” Jason blinked as he absorbed this, trying to see her point.

The Coven

95

“But he tried to kill her,” Jason pointed out. “And she betrayed his love, a love that she freely gave in the beginning,” Cyprus countered. “And there is nothing greater than betrayal, don’t you agree?” Cyprus’s words were dead and cold; her golden eyes glazed over as if remembering some deep hurt. Then she blinked rapidly, and the darkness in her eyes receded. “And here I am getting all upset over a work of fiction.” She smiled and settled back in her seat. “Betrayal, huh?” Jason asked, feeling as if a noose really was tightening around his neck. “Something that I can never forgive.” Her eyes darkened mysteriously, the shadows he often glimpsed there taking over for one brief moment. “But you don’t have to worry about that, dear Jason. I was speaking of the play. In real life, I don’t think anything is worse than a man killing a child. That type of homicide is worth nothing less than total destruction.” She smiled sweetly, then turned to nuzzle Unus, who was seated at her side. “I-I agr-agree.” Jason stammered, wondering how the conversation had gotten so serious in such a short amount of time. “At any rate,” Cyprus continued, turning smiling eyes on her men, “tonight will be interesting and entertaining. Especially if you haven’t seen the musical before, Jason.” “Yes,” Jason agreed, still feeling trapped in some inexplicable way. “And I will try to look at it from your point of view.” “That is all I ask,” Cyprus murmured, sighing and closing her eyes. “That is all I’ll ever ask of you, Jason.” And again, Jason felt that something important had been said, but it was beyond him to figure out what. It almost seemed like Cyprus knew what he was about, and instead of packing him off or turning her thugs on him, she was asking for understanding and for him to view her situation from all sides. His logical mind screamed at him to ignore these insights, but his instinct, the thing that had kept him alive for so long, was urging him to listen and pay attention. Maybe tonight would reveal more than he had bargained for, and maybe tonight he would learn the truth. Suddenly he didn’t know if he should be impatient or fearful of what the night had to offer. Either way, he knew as well as the rest of them in that car that something big was going to happen soon. He only hoped that he could handle the repercussions.

96

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Fifteen Okay, Jason conceded with a small grimace, maybe this Eric guy was getting the short end of the stick. He watched as Eric sang and danced across the stage, schemed and manipulated facts so that his angel of the night could get ahead in the music business. And the lovely Christine seemed to be taking advantage of every opportunity he threw into her luscious little lap. Maybe Cyprus Reid had a point to a certain degree. Was her strong opinion about betrayal in this work of fiction linked to something that had happened in her real life? Perhaps with his client? These thoughts were still reeling though his head as the curtain dropped, the lights flashed, and the intermission began with resounding applause. He found himself standing and clapping with the rest of the men, still lost in a fog. It wasn’t a commentary on the artists’ performances; it was that he was given even more to think about. “Thirty-minute intermission,” Unus grumbled in his deep voice. After the fantasy world that the performance had transported them to, the sound of regular speech jerked Jason into awareness. ”We are staying here, I trust?” Jason asked, looking down into the theater and the teeming mass of humanity that had showed up for opening night. They had access to a plush, well-appointed box. There were champagne and canapés to partake at their leisure, and they had a nearly panoramic view of the stage. There was no reason to exit the safety and controlled environment to go and mingle among the would-be murderers and rabid fans.

The Coven

97

It would make his new desire to ferret out the truth of the Cyprus Reid affair moot if the woman in question was killed. “No.” Unus spoke again, rising to his feet and offering a hand to Cyprus, who gracefully rose. “As usual, we will take our fresh air on the balcony.” “I don’t think so,” Jason argued. “The space is too open, too dangerous.” “And why would we be in any danger?” Cyprus asked, a smile on her lips. “I don’t see the need for your concern. It’s not like anyone is actively out there trying to get me, is there?” She arched her eyebrow as she spoke, and Jason had to fight the flush of guilt that threatened to explode across his face. “Crazed fans,” he gritted out. “Remember, there are a lot of crazed fans out there.” “In here, too,” Quat said with a sneer before a sharp look from Cyprus shut him up. “I am just going out onto the south balcony, Jason,” Cyprus explained. “It is fairly sheltered, and only those with box privileges have the right to be there. You can, of course, reconnoiter, if it makes you feel any better…” She let her words trail off. “It would.” Jason again sensed that something was going on, and that it would be going down soon. He had to get out to that balcony and look around. Maybe all the answers he sought were there. “Then I’ll give you fifteen minutes,” she said, walking over to a sidebar where a small buffet had been set out. She picked up a glass of sparkling wine and lifted it to her berry red lips. Jason watched as the pale liquid passed those lips, the bubbles popping against her mouth as she closed her eyes, conceivably to savor the taste. “You had better get going.” Quat sniffed. “Your time is wasting.” Shaking his head, Jason shook off the ever more intensely growing carnal thoughts of Cyprus’s mouth and made his way out of the room. He followed the signs to the south balcony, a relatively short trip from their box, and stepped outside the huge plateglass doors that separated the stately opulence of the theater from the lush humidity of a summer night in Baltimore. His footsteps echoed on the marble tile set in the concrete floor of the balcony. Above him the sky looked like purple velvet, the stars muted by the many florescent lights that fueled the city landscape. But beyond the noise and lights of the city, Jason knew that there were billions of twinkling stars out there. The night sky was like a beautiful velvet canvas painted with the mysteries of a thousand lives past.

98

Stephanie Burke

What great things that sky had witnessed, he would never know. He was stuck in the here and the now, all of those untold tales plain whimsy. Sighing, he pulled himself out of his fanciful thoughts and concentrated on the job at hand. He looked around the relatively small balcony, dressed up in flowers and benches, no doubt for tonight’s performance. It was a small, beautiful garden complete with several reclining gargoyles to watch over the person or persons lounging here. Curious, he walked over to one, noting that the gothic thing was rather fierce-looking, with the head of a dragon and the body of a lion. It looked almost alive, so great was the detailing. “That’s the difference between Old World craftsmanship, my friend,” he explained to the silent sentinel, “and today’s reproduced crap.” Laughing, he tapped the stone creature on its head and reached into his pocket. After retrieving his magic wand, he walked the perimeter, smiling when he picked up no listening devices. He looked up; it was amazing how so few people, even trained professionals, examined anything above their head to see what was to be seen. Nothing much, he thought, just a few more gargoyles and bare stone wall. The south balcony was apparently for the special and wealthy, as the small area was protected from visual spying with the clever design of the building. The only access was from the sheer stone drop along the sides, which was being watched over by several security cameras as well as motion detectors. The only other access, barring helicopter drop, was by way of entrance from inside the building itself. It would take a very determined and highly skilled trained assassin to get to Cyprus. Which made the second half of his job all the easier. Checking his watch and seeing that he still had a good five minutes to spare, he swiftly returned to the gargoyles and pressed several eraser-sized bugs to their bellies and feet. He could swear he could almost feel them staring down at him in amusement, but shook off that thought as sheer whimsy. He finished off by placing a few motion sensors that would make his very expensive, modified Rolex buzz at his wrist if someone tried to climb over the balcony railing. He sighed. He could get a visual, but he didn’t want to risk the very observant boy toys discovering it. He knew that Unus had training, and from the way that Quattour behaved, he was sure that the black man had some serious experience as well. They were starting to look less like the fanatics his client claimed and more like a wellorganized military force.

The Coven

99

He was turning to make his way back to the exit when the doors opened, and Quinque made his way toward Jason, the ever-present smile on his face. “Your time is up.” He smiled as he moved uncomfortably close to Jason, his eyes glinting in amusement. “I was just coming back in.” Jason spoke softly, not really feeling any animosity from this one. He seemed almost too open and friendly. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Quin asked, catching Jason’s attention. “Huh?” Jason eyed him oddly, tilting his head to the side even as he dug his hands deeper into his pants pockets. “Beautiful,” he reiterated, as if Jason was slow. “The stars, man.” Quin grinned, before turning and walking over to the stone railing that seemed to hold back the dead air beyond the balcony. “The stars. There are billions of them. So many balls of gas burning away.” “What’s so special about intergalactic flatulence?” Jason stared at Quin, genuinely wanting to know what the man was going to say. “Even knowing that they are nothing more than big balls of gas” -- Quin snickered -“they lose none of their mystery and charm.” “You can’t even see them from here,” Jason scoffed, running a hand over his face, somewhat disturbed that Quin’s opinion eerily paralleled his earlier thoughts. “But you know they are there,” Quin retorted, his blue eyes boring into Jason’s. “It all about faith, man. Believing when you have no reason to believe.” “But…but the stars are tangible.” Jason inhaled deeply, unnerved by the other man’s steady look. “As soon as we clear the city limits, you can see them.” “And what if you never left the city, Jason? What if you never had the opportunity to fly or go beyond what you are? And there are people out there, in that big city, who have never stepped one foot off that concrete. Do you think they believe that the stars don’t exist, that they are some big myth? Do you think they will call you a fool for believing in what you have not seen or have no reason to believe?” “It’s not the same thing,” Jason unthinkingly blurted out. “Everyone knows than the stars exist. We are taught that, shown pictures --” “And cannot pictures and teachings be fabricated and twisted to suit the needs of those in power?” “Yes…but the stars --” “Are real.” Quin smiled. “But do we believe because we have been in the quiet cold of space to look at them, to touch them, to behold them in all their fiery glory? No.” He shook his head, turning once again to stare up at the night sky. “No, we take it on blind faith, Jason. Blind faith and belief.”

100

Stephanie Burke

Then he smiled. ”But, if we want to get technical, we can always examine the facts, gather all the data, and use science as a blinder for faith… Although science seems to be to be based on a lot of blind faith and logical jumps in conclusions.” “Just what are we talking about here?” Jason snapped, growing uncomfortable with this line of conversation. Just what did these people know about him? Had he given up the game already? “Stars.” Quin smiled. “And the fallibility of man and faith, and twisted knowledge.” “All that from stars you can’t even see.” “But…I have faith that they are there. And that is good enough for me, even if I didn’t have the data to support science’s blind leap of faith.” “You are whacked in the head.” Jason ran a hand over his face before turning and striding toward the door. “And here I was thinking that you were the most normal of the bunch.” “I’ll take that as a compliment!” Quin called back, his laughter audible. But Jason ignored him as he made his way back toward the box, just in time to see Unus and Cyprus exit the safety of the private room. “All clear, I trust?” Unus’s voice sounded slightly condescending as he paused before him. “Clear.” Jason nodded, ignoring the broad and almost eager smile on Cyprus’s face. “Well, there are more canapés and sparkling wine in the box,” Cyprus said with a smile. “The rest of my men are around here somewhere, mingling, I presume.” “Quin’s on the balcony.” Jason spoke softly, relieved that he would be alone in the box. He wouldn’t have to explain the wanting to be left alone in a corner while he fiddled with the listening device in his pocket. With the boy toys out of the way, he could easily plug in his earpiece and actually get some firsthand information about what was going on. His instincts were screaming at him, and he never ignored the impulses he had come to rely on. “Very good.” Cyprus reached up to brush imaginary lint from his shoulder, her voice carrying amusement that made him smile despite the serious breach in privacy he was about to commit. “I hope you are enjoying yourself, Jason Giles.” “It’s been an experience.” “And have you developed any feelings for the poor, abused Eric?” “Let’s just say that I’m open to the possibility that just maybe he was given the short end of the stick.” “Betrayal stings.” Cyprus arched an eyebrow as Jason fought to hold in a slightly shamed blush. “Yeah…” “But we can always have faith that all things will work out in the end.”

The Coven

101

“Doesn’t he die?” Jason asked, trying to recall if he had ever made it to the end of that particular book before it became an Andrew Lloyd Webber smash hit. “Well, who knows?” Cyprus grinned. “I always took it on faith that he somehow escaped the fate that others planned for him.” “We have to go,” Unus interrupted, shooting both Cyprus and Jason meaningful looks. “We only have another few minutes of intermission before the musical starts again.” “And I do want to take a turn on the balcony,” Cyprus said almost eagerly. “I have heard such wonderful things about it.” “Yeah,” Jason grumbled, grateful that the uncomfortable subject of betrayal was turning again. “But stay away from the edge and watch out for the gargoyles,” he joked. “And why would I do a thing like that?” Cyprus giggled as Unus rolled his eyes. “Are they not put there for our protection?” “Yeah.” Jason nodded, thinking about the stone monstrosities that had felt strangely alive to him. “But these look hungry, like they could eat a person in a few quick bites.” “Oh, my,” Cyprus said with a giggle. “I’ll consider myself warned, Mr. Giles.” “Just doing my job, madam,” he returned, backing toward the door, and Unus, obviously growing tired of the nonsense, took Cyprus’s elbow to escort her to the balcony. “And I feel safer already.” She smiled, before turning and walking away. “And you don’t feel like a murderer anymore,” Jason mumbled. “But I guess we’ll find that out tonight.”

102

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Sixteen “I do so hope you know what you are doing,” Unus breathed as they made their way to the glass doors. “Don’t I always?” “Most of the time,” Unus allowed. “More than most.” Cyprus rolled her eyes at her mate. “If I didn’t, then you would not be here, O Prince of my Heart.” Unus’s reply was held back as they reached the doors, and he quietly slid them open. “So.” Cyprus spoke softly as she made her way over to one of the stone gargoyles guarding the balcony. “It has been a long time.” “Since we’ve had some interaction…” “A very long time.” Cyprus grinned. Then going up on her toes, she placed a rather chaste kiss on her mate’s cheek. “But you and I both know I have to do this alone.” “You spend too much time alone.” “I thought you would all be grateful for the break.” She patted him on the chest softly. “And I know that we can all use a break.” “But not from each other.” Unus winked at his mistress. “We can never be too far from each other,” she said in return. “But you need to go so that I can do what I need to.” Unus nodded at Quin, and the pair made their way to the doors, standing just outside of them, leaving Cyprus alone in the warm night air.

*****

The Coven

103

What the hell is she doing ? Jason thought to himself, making himself comfortable in one of the box seats. He was facing the door, a good position to keep an eye on things, but far enough away so that he could easily pull his listening device from his ear before anyone noticed what he was doing. “Masterminds of the criminal kind rarely do their own dirty work,” he muttered, frowning at this odd behavior. But he sat and waited, his instincts screaming at him that something important was happening and soon.

***** Dropping her wrap to the bench, Cyprus wandered over to the edge of the balcony, sighing as she breathed in the night air. “Moonflowers,” she guessed. “Someone has planted moonflowers around here.” Smiling at the whimsical name of the flowering plant whose seeds were a powerful hallucinogenic, Cyprus took a moment to think about disguises, beauty, and death. Then turning back to the bench, she grinned, baring elongated fangs that would have sent any celebrity watchers running in fear. She slid the gathered glove off her left wrist, then bit sharply, grunting at the pain while holding her wrist far enough away so as to not bloody her outfit. There was a grating sound, the sound of stone sliding against stone, and then a deep growl filled the night air with an ominous sound.

***** “What the fuck…?” Jason gasped, his eyes going wide as he sought to identify that odd sound. It wasn’t natural. Nothing out on the balcony could have been able to reproduce it. Suddenly, he didn’t know if he was scared for Cyprus or whatever unknown thing she was doing, but his instincts screamed in fear, and his heart began to race in his chest. “You know what I want.” The words were nearly growled and so deep that they were almost indistinguishable from the deep, gravelly noises that suddenly filled the night. “What?” Cyprus gasped. “Tell me what you want.” “You mock me!” the voice roared, and Jason ran for the doors. There was a loud popping sound, and his small devices began to scream out their destruction. Screw the waiting game and stealth. He needed to be there. He had to find his answers, but something in his heart would not allow Cyprus Reid to be harmed.

104

Stephanie Burke

He threw the earpiece down and took off down the hall, sprinting toward those glass doors, toward Cyprus and the strange thing that was out there with her.

***** Rolling her eyes at the stupidity of some creatures, Cyprus reached underneath the elder beast and slammed her palm against his chest, easily smashing the listening devices that she knew the human Jason had planted on him. She turned, ignoring the blood running down her wrist, and repeated the gesture on the second beast that stood there, silent and watchful. “Of course, I mock you,” Cyprus growled, her eyes flashing a dangerous red as she moved closer to the impudent creature that stood before her. “Do you have any idea who I am?” She rolled her eyes as she plucked the small bugs from the flowerpots and carelessly dropped them to the ground. She stomped on them, grinning maniacally, before turning back to the creature that was now glaring at her. “I know that you are outcast…” “Then you will know that I am no longer restrained by the polite rules of our society. There is nothing preventing me from ripping your throat out and pissing on the remains!” She tossed her hair and stomped her foot, almost daring the lower caste beast to move toward her. “And if you know who I am, then you know that I do not require any assistance to break you.” Silence. The beast knew when he was beaten. “Now give me what I want.”

***** Jason ran as fast as his feet could carry him, sometimes slipping on the rough carpet as he made his way to the private balcony. Distantly, he could hear the muffed roar of conversation as the regular opera-goers laughed and talked about the stunning rendition of the musical of love and betrayal, but ignored them. He paid no attention to his surroundings as he blindly raced toward the plateglass doors that separated him from Cyprus and the thing that was threatening her. He skidded to a halt as he almost literally ran into Quat, Tria, and Duae, also making their way to the private balcony. “Whoa!” Tria called out, throwing up an arm and nearly clotheslining Jason. “Where’s the fire?”

The Coven

105

“Cyprus!” Jason gasped, trying to dodge around the three men. “What about her?” Tria edged around him, preventing him from moving. “There is something on the balcony with her!” While he was trying to explain, Quat and Duae seemed to circle around him, preventing any forward momentum. “I seriously doubt that.” Quat grinned. “After all, hero, you were out there checking things out.” “I know, but there is something,” he snapped, trying to push past the men, feeling desperation rise. He looked around for a way past the three men, wanting only to reach the balcony and ensure that Cyprus was safe. “Unus and Quin are with her. What could go wrong?” “I know what I heard!” “Then you heard wrong. Besides, how can you hear something all the way from the box? Unless…” Quat paused. “Unless…there’s something you want to come clean about?”

***** “He is…he is here, in this city.” “Wonderful,” Cyprus breathed, relaxing her stance a bit. “Now was that so very hard?” Her voice was condescending as she stared down at the miserable creature that had been stationed here since before the last major human war. “Tell me more.” “He is…learning,” it grumbled. “He has altered his appearance. He is no longer a he, but a she.” Cyprus’s eyes narrowed as she pressed her hand to her stomach, feeling it lurch with the desire to spill her last meal. “So, the bastard is discovering what he has stolen.” “It hides in plain sight,” the thing growled. “It mimics its own line. It is scared.” “Can you confirm this?” Cyprus snapped, looking down at the healing wound on her wrist. “And I suggest that you hurry. Your payment is rapidly healing.” “It has been confirmed. It hides itself in old buildings, old gothic buildings. I believe some of what it stole is influencing it.” “I did not ask you for your beliefs, old man.” Cyprus was incensed. That thing was manipulating a part of her soul, her mates’ souls. “Can you confirm?” “The Clan Crimbluagh guards the building where it resides. The clan is always accurate in their reports. It discovered that along with prolonging its life, it can alter its appearance, utilizing the stolen one’s predetermined future adolescent. The ability to enter the gestalt state is with us from the moment of creation, and this creature has tapped into this, much as

106

Stephanie Burke

these scientists tap into fetus and cord blood. They use the blank potential that is already present to shape their states of being.” “Bastard,” Cyprus hissed, torn between tears of anger and tears of sadness. “As your friend who owns The Orpheus bargained with me for this information, so I do bring it. Now, to see to your end of the bargain?” “Yes,” Cyprus muttered, pulling her thoughts away from murder and revenge. “Yes. You have more than earned your pay.” “And here’s a bonus,” the old one gritted out. “For the boon of royal blood, that is.” He leered at Cyprus, who frowned deeply in return. “The one you carry with you may be one of hers…and is not fully human.” “Tell me something I don’t already know,” Cyprus drawled in response, holding out her right arm, the blood capturing the old one’s attention. Almost as if he had been hypnotized, he moved closer to the blood offering, his eyes never leaving the still-dripping wound.

***** “Just…just let me go!” Jason growled, his eyes taking on an eerie sheen that gave all three men pause. Duae stepped back, but intensified his stare on the human…human? “So you can go and cause a ruckus?” Quat snapped. “I don’t think so.” Before he could make a move to stop Jason, the human in question took one step back, his eyes flashing bright red before he charged. Without thinking, Duae shoved Quat aside, creating an opening that the man took without a word, speeding his way toward the balcony. “Duae!” Quat roared, but the words “not human” ghosted through his mind and eased his anger. “Kind of mindless,” Tria added, nodding in Duae’s direction. “I’ve been getting that feeling from him a lot lately, especially since Cyprus calmed the crowds.” “Like his brain was switched on, or parts of it,” Duae added, silently. “Like there was a thought in that dumb blond head to begin with,” Quat said and sneered, turning to follow. “Exactly.” Tria chuckled. “There wasn’t a thought in his head. It was just…pure anger.” “Berserker,” Duae sent, and all three men shuddered. “Berserker madness.” After a pause to consider this, all three men ran for the balcony, intent on stopping Jason Giles…and learning more.

The Coven

107

Chapter Seventeen “Incoming,” Quin said and laughed as he lifted his head and sniffed at the air. “And it’s moving rather quickly.” Unus turned in the direction Quin was staring, and was immediately almost bowled over by a streak of black and blond. “Shit!” he hissed, before throwing himself at the speeding object…which turned out to be one dazed and confused Jason Giles. “Oh, hell,” Quin said on a groan, racing over to throw his weight on top of the struggling man. But Jason paid them no heed. One thing ran through the dark recesses of his mind.

“Kill…kill…kill…” His eyes were glowing a bright red, and his instincts screamed for him to break free, to get to her, to save…her. His arms flailed, and inhuman grunts flowed from his throat as he struggled and fought. “Calm yourself,” Unus growled, but his words seemed to mean nothing to the insane young man. In fact, Jason seemed to fight harder, growling, extending his hands like claws. Losing his patience, Unus opened his mouth, a set of long, black fangs descending, a low grumbling in his chest a warning that went unheeded. Indeed, Jason Giles paid it no attention. Jason Giles was acting rather deranged, and…Jason Giles no longer…smelled…human. “Stop him!” Unus heard as three sets of footsteps pounded in his direction. Unus tore his eyes away from the spitting, crazed non-human to see three sets of confused eyes…just before they all barreled into him, breaking his grip on the human.

108

Stephanie Burke

Feeling this moment of freedom and instinctively knowing that it would not last long, the thing urging Jason onward lurched his body clear of the tangled limbs and chests. Within seconds, Jason was scrambling away from the pile of bodies and sprinting with inhuman speed toward the plateglass doors. With a growl of triumph, he tore them open…then began to scream his anger.

***** The sound of the glass door opening caught Cyprus’s attention, but the inhuman bellow of rage that threatened to shatter the glass caused her to jerk around, tearing her wrist away from the gaping maw of the suckling gargoyle. Her jerky motions caused the creature to instinctively bite down, so when she pulled away, she left a great portion of her flesh behind between the sharp, daggerlike teeth. It was this sight that sent what little humanity Jason Giles had left running through his veins retreating into obscurity. Just a creature of pure instinct now, he attacked. “No!” Cyprus screamed out, as Jason leapt at the stone monster that was attacking his…his Mistress. Human fingers curled into claws, human teeth bared like fangs, he threw his frail, alltoo-human body at the great stone vanguard, knocking it off balance before he began to pummel its unforgiving stone surface. But human teeth and human claw were no match for heavy, unyielding stone. Jason’s fingernails tore from their moorings, his teeth cracked while chomping and tearing at stone flesh. His blood ran red across the hard surfaces…yet still enraged, he did not give up. He would destroy those who dared attack what was his! This thing would die…or he would die in the attempt. The old stone vanguard backed off when the soft human threw itself at him, but it took another step back as the human actually managed to move him. He looked up, confused, at Cyprus Reid, who stood there in shock as her human mole tried to gnaw the gargoyle’s arm off. He grunted as a few of the blows actually managed to hurt! He looked down into the glowing red eyes of Cyprus’s erstwhile defender and knew that without a doubt this human was no full human. He retreated another step, tossing his head to hold back his own personal guard when the second statue began to move forward. “Cyprus --” he began, but his words were cut off as the rest of Cyprus’s esteemed Coven burst into the blood-scented night.

The Coven

109

They took one look at the attack, at Jason’s and his defense of Cyprus, and exploded in varying degrees of exasperation or anger, but no one moved when Cyprus collected her thoughts and stepped forward. “Stop!” she snapped, her eyes narrowing as she tossed her hair, crossing her arms over her heaving bosom, ignoring the blood that now splattered across the front of her dress. Jason appeared to not have heard her as he attempted to gouge the vanguard’s eyes out, one of the few vulnerable places on a warrior when in his transformed state. “He is not human!” Quat spat, moving forward, wanting to put himself between Cyprus Reid and the unknown thing that Jason Giles had transformed into. “I said stop!” Cyprus growled again as her men surrounded her, staring at the shocking sight of a human taking on a Guardian and actually moving him with his relentless attack. “STOP !” Cyprus sang the word, her head back, her arms thrown out, her voice sounding high and sharp in the night, instantly stilling everyone who heard the ringing sound. Even a few bats fell out of the sky at her ringing command. “He is attacking me, my lady!” the vanguard hissed, hunching over to protect his more vulnerable spots. Moved by a human, he thought in shame and disgust. Saying nothing, Cyprus moved from behind her wall of men, her steps determined and rapid. She reached Jason Giles and gripped his shoulder. Instinctively, he turned on her, his teeth bared, his bloody hands curled into claws. But the instant her eyes met his, he stopped spitting and growling. His mouth slowly closed, his fingers gradually uncurled, and the red began to fade from his eyes. He left off attacking the stone gargoyle and slid to his knees before his Mistress. Cyprus reached out, her still-bleeding wrist pouring her blood over his chest as her hands caressed his face. Jason began to purr. “Stop,” she whispered, leaning close to him, placing one delicate kiss on his forehead. The others watched, silent and alert, as Jason seemed to sigh, then wither, collapsing to the ground at her feet. The tension around them eased as Cyprus carefully lowered his head, kneeling herself until she found herself sitting on the ground, Jason cradled in her lap, her blood covering them both. After a moment of silence, she looked up at the shocked Guardian, a frown in place on her full lips. “For that bite of flesh, you owe me considerably more,” she snapped, staring down at the torn wrist, face twisted in annoyance.

110

Stephanie Burke

“I-I,” the stone guardian stammered. “I-I di-didn’t…I…” “You owe me a boon, old one.” Cyprus suddenly grinned, her own fangs descending, making her look demonic and dangerous, a deadly and beautifully insane combination. “And for that bite of royal flesh, you will pay handsomely.” His proud stone shoulders slumped as he swallowed deeply, taking down that bite of sweet flesh and blood. “Royal flesh is a sweet poison.” He nodded his head in agreement, his honor allowing him to do nothing less. “It’s not like you spit it out.” Quat rolled his eyes at the old stone gargoyle. “So glad you see things my way,” Cyprus said with a nod, and then looked down at her lap full of the unconscious Jason Giles. “Now what to do about my little spy.” She sighed. Looking up at her men, she inquired, “Suggestions?” And when Quat opened his mouth, she cut him off. “And no, we will not be tossing him over the side of the building and claiming an accident.” Quat’s jaws snapped shut, and he stepped back, allowing someone else to make a suggestion. “First, we get out of here,” Unus said, a puff of black smoke ringing his head, a sign of his true state of mind. “Then we can handle the rest at the hotel.” “Any suggestions on how we do that?” she asked, looking down at her ruined, bloodsoaked dress. Without a word, five jackets were removed, and she found herself with a face full of black silk and cotton. Chuckling, she reached for the largest, Unus’s, and slid it over her shoulders, effectively covering her dress and most of her body. Then she looked down at Jason, a problem not so easily fixed as he was covered in blood and bruises. “I shall ferry him to your hotel safely, my lady,” the old Guardian offered. Seeing no other easy option, Cyprus nodded as she gently stroked the damaged face of her little spy. “I wouldn’t be all that angry if you dropped him on a downdraft,” Quat sniped, rolling his eyes as he donned his jacket again, then winced as Unus swatted him on the back of his head. Then the lights flashed around the building, a subtle reminder to return to their seats. “Perfect.” Cyprus grinned. “The final act. We can leave when the musical starts again.” “Yes,” Unus agreed, taking a deep breath and composing himself before nodding to the old one to take Jason’s limp body.

The Coven

111

Stone fingers carefully lifted the slight human as Unus assisted Cyprus to her feet. “Do not abandon him on my balcony.” Cyprus voice was dark as she stared at the old one, ignoring his guard who moved to stand beside his master. “My wrath…is something your own coven would never forget…or recover from.” “I understand, my lady.” The old one nodded before he lifted wide, silken wings and launched himself from the balcony, his guard trailing behind. “So,” Cyprus said. “I believe that we shall skip the final act…in lieu of things more entertaining.” “If you can call this entertainment,” Quat grumbled. “I found it entertaining.” Quin chuckled. “You find everything entertaining.” Tria snickered while Duae nodded his agreement. “It’s because he is young and innocent.” Quat waved a hand dismissingly. “I am just guessing what our little human will do now.” Quin smiled. “Or should I say our little Berserker.” “Policy was to kill them on sight.” Quat entertained the notion, waiting to see if anyone agreed with him. “We will most certainly not be killing this one,” Cyprus snapped, tossing her hair and stomping over to the small bench to retrieve her glove, which she wrapped around her wrist to ease the flow of blood. “This one is mine.” She grinned, her fangs still extended. “This one is ours.” “Oh, boy,” Quin quipped. “One of us!” “Creator, help us all,” Quat whimpered. Choosing to ignore the banter, Unus said nothing, but when the ringing tones of the final act began to fill the silence, they all stealthily made their way to the exit. It was a quiet trip home, all of them thinking about what this new development would bring.

112

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Eighteen The night air was cold. No, that wasn’t supposed to be right, Jason thought, his brain sloshing around the back of his head. It was summer. The night air was supposed to be warm, if not downright hot! But it was cold whipping past his face in his uncomfortable bed… No, it was swinging. It was a hammock. He was in an uncomfortably hard hammock. No, that wasn’t right, either. The air conditioner was on full blast, though. That would explain the odd sounds of traffic and the wind in his hair. He had to turn the AC down… Traffic? Forcing his eyes open, despite his headache, Jason squinted at the traffic passing below. Looked like a bunch of trailing lights at the speed he was flying, he thought, closing his eyes again. He must remember to fly a different route, he thought. The lights and the sounds were an irritation…

Traffic? Jason hissed as his eyes flew open, and he tried to jerk upright…only something wrapped around his chest prevented it. But once his eyes were fully open, he wanted to slam them shut again! He was not in a hammock or in a building, but his pale ass was definitely flying! He was facedown in the stone arms of a… He turned his head and stared in shock as a twisted stone face peered down at him.

The Coven

113

“Boo!” it huffed, and the last thought through Jason’s head, beside the fact that his scream sounded very girly in nature, was that someone had some serious explaining to do.

***** When Jason next opened his eyes, he discovered that he was lying on a chaise lounge in what appeared to be the world’s largest bathroom. He groaned as he tried to lift his head, his brain still sloshing around back there, but he forced himself to move anyway. “I would not do that, were I you,” an amused voice warned him. It was a pretty voice too, all soft and feminine with just a bit of passionate roughness. It was a voice he was all too familiar with. “Cy…Cy--” He attempted to speak, but a warm finger was pressed to his lips, halting his words. “Remain quiet, Jason Giles,” she informed him. “Your body has taken quite a beating.” “W-who?” “I’m afraid you did it to yourself, you stubborn man,” the voice chided. “How?” he asked, his voice growing stronger as his blurry vision began to clear. “By attacking an immovable object with an unstoppable force.” She chuckled. “Something had to give, and the more fragile of the two bodies, not a knock at your determination at all, mind you, gave way.” He looked up, and her smiling face flowed into sharp focus. Cyprus Reid was kneeling over him, dressed in a thin silken robe that barely covered her full, rounded breasts. Her golden eyes were dancing with mirth as she ran her fingers over his face. “Do you remember anything?” Screaming,” he breathed, settling back against the soft pillows that layered the lounge. “You…you screamed?” “Several times, Mr. Giles,” she said. “And not for the reason I usually request soundproofing in my quarters.” Jason snorted, then groaned as a sharp lance of pain pierced what remained of his gooey brain. “Shh,” she admonished again, running her fingers over his face. “Allow me to attempt a healing.” As the word healing penetrated his brain, he realized that besides his head, a great portion of his body was throbbing painfully. His mouth, for example.

114

Stephanie Burke

He ran his tongue along his swollen gums, only to stop as the pain caused his body to shudder, and the taste of blood filled his mouth. Blood… “There was a lot of blood.” “Most of it mine, I assure you,” Cyprus said. “Well, until you decided to pulverize stone with your bare hands and your teeth.” He slitted his eyes, glaring at her, but stopped as a soft blue light began to pulse from her stomach. “If you were fully human, Mr. Giles, I would not be able to effect a healing. But it looks like it will be possible.” As she spoke, the blue light flowed from her center to her hands, the hands that were gently caressing his face. Before he could work up the energy to be scared or shocked or frightened, the blue light touched his face, and a cool, tingling sensation replaced the pain. He felt the heat and swelling in his gums recede and the sharp edges of his teeth round out. Soon, the tingling spread to his eyes and to the back of his head, easing the pain he was experiencing and allowing him to relax more into the pillows. “Your poor hands,” she moaned, lifting one of them to his eye level. He winced as he saw them. They were a bloody mess, torn in places to the bone with more than half the nails torn off or broken in the middle. Cyprus lifted that bloody paw to her lips, placing a kiss on each finger before the blue light enveloped them as well. As the light faded, he was not surprised to see that his hands were perfectly healed. “I must be dreaming,” he spoke out loud. “No,” Cyprus said, lifting his left hand and giving it the same treatment. “You’re not.” H closed his eyes for a second, only to open them again as a cool cloth began to wipe over his face. His memories were coming back as his pain eased, and he was not liking what he was remembering. “It was…feeding on you, biting you!” he hissed, his eyes glowing just a bit red as he reached for Cyprus. “No, I was offering it a boon,” she corrected, the cloth in her hand hanging forgotten as gold eyes turned to meet blue. “I know what I saw!” he snapped. “It was attacking you, and the others…they were just letting it happen.”

The Coven

115

“Why do you care so much?” she asked, eyes narrowing as she pulled against his grip on her upper arms. “Why do you care, Mr. Giles? Why do you care when you were sent here to destroy me?” “You are mine!” he growled out, his mind being taken over by that unknown force again. But this time, it was rather more painful. He hissed through his teeth as he released her to grab at the front of his head. “Your mind’s pathways are opening up, adapting to the blood that flows within your veins,” she explained, pushing him back into a reclining position, placing the cloth over his eyes. “You are going to have a headache for some time to come.” “You…you are no half-breed experiment. You…you are not human,” he cried out, curling up in a fetal position as the pain threatened to blind him. Again, he felt the cool, healing light touch his face, and the pain receded enough for him to uncurl. He looked up at her, wary but strangely…unafraid. “More or less.” She sighed. “More alien than you and less human all the way around.” “Me?” “You are not human, Jason Giles,” Cyprus said. “It was one of the main reasons I didn’t fry your brain days ago.” He opened both eyes at this, sitting up, glaring at the female now perched on the edge of the lounger. “You are not an experiment. You are not human,” he reiterated. “Correct.” “And your men, they are not human.” “Correct again.” “And now you are telling me that I am not human as well?” “Yes, you are getting it.” “Lady” -- he smiled charmingly at her -- “you are cracked.” That sent her into peals of tinkling laugher, laughter that brought an instant smile to his lips despite the new situation in which he now found himself. “If you are through,” she said, dropping the robe to show that she was still wearing the remains of the gold dress underneath, “I will explain a few truths to you.” “This ought to be good,” he said, waving a gracious hand toward her. “By all means, please, explain away.” “Well, I guess I should start with you…” “It would be easier.”

116

Stephanie Burke

“Half-breed experiment, indeed.” She snickered. “Well, then, when I say you are not human, I do not mean that you were dropped here from a distant planet.” “Oh, I agree.” He nodded “I distinctly remember having both a mother and a father. And all those childhood memories are not pure fabrication.” “Of course not!” she said with a sniff. “Those were all true! You have…had…a mother and a father. It was one of your ancestors who dropped here from a distant plant.” “Do tell.” He arched one eyebrow. “War, Jason. Your people were warriors in the midst of a battle for the existence of this very planet. Though sometimes,” she added softly, “I wonder if this dump was even worth saving.” “Not to interrupt the maudlin thoughts, but can we get back to my alien ancestry?” he asked. “Geez, that sounds like an adolescent romance novel or an after-school special, madefor-TV family movie.” “Well, it does,” she acceded with a chuckle. “But your ancestors were not the squishy, huggy kind. They were creatures of pure malevolence that bred with the early humans and helped develop a violent, warriorlike society.” “Spartans?” he asked. “’Cause I have the movie in DVD if you are interested.” “Not that ancient.” She sneered. “But they were very warriorlike.” “And they begat my ancestor who evidently begot me, give or take a few centuries, am I right?” “They escaped the slaughter,” she hissed, her eyes glinting red as her voice deepened. “They hid amongst the humans, mating and interbreeding when they discovered that escape was impossible, hiding among the cows they wished to slaughter, cowering from the might of my people.” Jason had no reply for this, for along with the glowing red eyes, Cyprus’s dark fangs began to drop. “My people were given the thankless job to protect those very cattle, to spend a lifetime here, protecting this stupid planet whose people are going to do nothing but kill themselves off anyway. But this part of the story is about you, Jason Giles.” She leaned closer to him, her intention of explaining his existence very real. “Somewhere in your past, someone mated with that alien scum, and your ancestor was spawned. As the years went by, the blood was diluted and mingled and intermixed, but it will never die. That blood is active in your veins, Mr. Giles, causing you to see and do things that no normal human could do. You are stronger, smarter, faster, and more adept…like your instincts, for example. Rely on them a lot?” “I was trained to.”

The Coven

117

“Yes, but you have been relying on them before you took this human military training, have you not?” Jason closed his eyes and thought of the many times his instincts had not failed him, had warned him to avoid that corner where seconds later a truck crashed over the curb. Or to not walk under a ladder that had suspiciously fallen seconds later. Or to even avoid a firstclass private flight when he had a rare vacation to Hawaii and a jet offered by a grateful client, a plane that had crashed mere moments after take-off. “And you have these intuitive leaps of faith, do you not, Mr. Giles? These hunches that always pay off?” Jason nodded numbly, his mind going crazy trying to recall all of these coincidences that he had thought all humans lived through. “One of these hunches led you to me, did it not, Mr. Jason Giles?” That tossed him out of his memory spiral to stare at Cyprus, his mouth open in desperate shock. “Yes, I know what you were about, Mr. Giles. And despite the fact that I should have sent you packing from the moment I discovered that you bugged my rooms -- yes, I know all about that.” She stopped him before he could speak. “It was that blood that called to me, Jason. It was that blood that allowed me and the others to read a bit into your mind.” “You…you could read my thoughts?” Jason gasped, his voice thin and reedy. “Not all of them, just the surface ones that were screaming at me -- at us,” she amended, smiling at him. “I know about your client, and the bugs you planted thinking that you were so clever, and” -- she interrupted when he again opened his mouth to speak -- “and I know what you have been thinking about me, Mr. Giles. Want to protect me, to keep me? To…have me?” She rose to her feet, tossing her hair, smirking down at him. “You put those thoughts there!” “Me? No one can put thoughts into your head, Jason Giles. I can only pull them out, as it were.” “You made me think that…those things!” “I never.” She chuckled. “You find this amusing?” he bellowed. “This playing with my head?” “No, I find it amusing that you are thinking that I have the ability…now. I guess this means you agree that I am not human after all.” Jason sat there, mouth hanging open, yet again, feeling…feeling something welling up inside of him. “And all of those coincidences don’t seem like coincidences anymore, do they, Jason?” He closed his mouth, his silent but wary eyes watching her every move.

118

Stephanie Burke

“And then there was that wonderful attack, Jason. Or do you not remember throwing your body on that stone monster, tearing your hands apart, biting and clawing at him…to save me?” “I…I really did that,” he breathed, his heart racing. “All on your own,” she agreed. “And what do you remember about it?” “Nothing. I had to get to you. I had to protect you. You…you are mine!” “Blood calls to me, Jason, your blood, your alien blood, your alien instincts.” “But…but if what you say is true, should you try to kill me?” “Why kill you, Jason, when I intend to mate you?” Again he fell mute at her words, his eyes going wide in denial even as his body leapt with joy. His instincts, those damnable alien instincts, he was coming to believe, urged him to take up her offer and roar in delight. “Yes, there is a lot you don’t know about me, Jason Giles, me or my people.” Her eyes grew stern as her pleasant visage grew hard. “But you will learn, Jason. You will learn right now!”

The Coven

119

Chapter Nineteen “Like why you are killing off all of those scientists? Like what if my hunches are correct and if they are the result of the alien blood?” he managed, recalling the reason he was with her in the first place, beyond his wild hunch. “They will die,” Cyprus sang as she moved into the bathroom, motioning for Jason to follow. Curious, he rose unsteadily to his feet and followed. He found that he grew more confident in his movements with every step as he followed her into the bathroom. He paused as he watched Cyprus nod at Tria, who was stirring something into the bath, before he exited through a second door on the other side of the room. The smirk he shot Jason was less than comforting. “Do you know what my job was here, Jason Giles?” “Of course not, Cyprus Reid,” he responded, his sense of justice screaming at him. He needed an explanation. Before he could accept any of this fully, he needed an explanation. “Well, my dear Mr. Giles, I was a warrior.” He blinked as she kicked off her shoes and hiked up her skirt enough to unhook a stocking from the gold garter that rested high on her thighs. She shot him a devilish look as she tossed her hair back over her shoulder before rolling the shredded silk stocking down. A shit-eating grin remained on her face as she repeated the process on her other leg. “A warrior?” he asked, watching as she tossed the tangle of silk toward the door, where he was sure one of her boy toys would be along shortly to clean up after her. “A fierce warrior, from a long line of warriors, trained and hardened in battle. I am older than I look Jason Giles, older than you can conceive.”

120

Stephanie Burke

That said, she reached under her skirt to tear away a tiny golden thong. She might be an alien murder, he decided, but something about her turned him on. His cock swelled as he felt an uncomfortable heat between his thighs. “An old war horse.” He cackled. “Something like that, Jason. Something very much like that. An old war horse sent down here to do a job, then having her family separated from her by those she was supposed to protect.” “Betrayal.” “Yes, very much betrayal, Jason Giles, but this is about those scientists and why I must kill them all.” “And why is that? They are human beings. You just said that your job was to protect them.” “They are not human beings. They are murderers. They will pay for what they stole for me. I will rain down death and destruction until I have what they stole, and I can gleefully piss on their graves.” “But you are to protect them, their human lives. By your admission, that was your job…is your job!” “I was sent here to protect them ? Those murdering savages? They stole my babies from me! They stole my ability to have more. Until each and every one of them is dead, the gaping hole in my soul will never heal.” “But it’s murder.” “It’s retribution. It is taking back what is mine, what they stole from me. And no one, no one will take away my right to see them punished, to see them dead.” Cyprus turned her back then, dropped the remains of her dress, and stepped toward the steaming bath that awaited, moved as if the tears, the arguments, the accusations had never been made. And Jason could only gasp as he saw the true extent of the damage that had been done to her body. Large slashes made with surgical precision literally covered her back. The scarring was as intense as it was varied. There were burn marks, obvious scalpel scars, small round scars where needles had been repeatedly shoved into that creamy skin. It was horrific. But then she turned -- no, not she, Jason corrected himself. He saw the rather weighty cock and balls that hung between her legs. Okay. The bitch had a dick. But when his attention strayed from the genitalia that she made no move to cover -and he hadn’t a clue how he disguised -- he gasped in horror. If her back was a roadmap to physical and surgical torture, his abdomen was a masterpiece of pain created by a grand masochist and an expert in doling out agony.

The Coven

121

There were…there was…so much scarring! Pale red ragged lines crossed the flat plane of his stomach. Wrinkled and dark purple scar tissue still retained its bruised appearance even after all these years. The ragged tears were accented by obvious wide and unskilled -- or uncaring -- stitch work that left the scars puckered and raised. There were severe burns that left bright, shiny patches of skin as well as places where it appeared the skin had been torn completely off and left to heal on its own, the discoloration reminding him of a Dalmatian’s spots. But around what appeared to be Cyprus’s navel were four ragged, oddly shaped scars. What made these scars so unique was the fact that there appeared to be a semi-precious jewel embedded in each wound. As he watched, the jewels seemed to pulse and ripple, like some colorful liquid in a glass. He took a step closer, feeling himself drawn by some unknown force, his eyes never leaving the strange creature’s abdomen. There were two ragged scars left, these plain and flesh-toned, not pulsing, not moving with seeming life of their own. They seemed…dormant. It felt…damn it, it felt wrong. “What?” he asked, his gaze traveling up to a pair of breasts that seemed to be scar-free and perfect, to those calculating, stormy gold eyes, and he felt his breath leave his body. “They stole from me, Jason.” She…he…Jason was growing confused about the gender, but her intent was very clear. “They, with their scientists and their doctors, found me before my Coven could retrieve my body. I was ripe, Jason, nearly completely filled with life, needing only my last Ullah, my last mate, to fulfill my role when I was shot down on this…picturesque planet.” She sighed, lowering her eyes to her scarred body, absently fingering the marred flesh, a familiar act it seemed, or more like a habit, before she continued. “I meant them no harm. They even welcomed me in several of your languages, Jason. And I eagerly stepped into their trap.” She sat down now, making little noise as she settled into the steaming water. “I had so missed my Ullah, and I ached to see them again, to hold them in my arms, to share my mind and my body once again, to be complete. Do you know what that feels like?” Gold eyes lifted to his, examining his face, reading the shock that was slowly spreading as he began to anticipate where this story was going, “Well, I was nearly complete, Jason. I only had to retrieve my fifth. We had only been together for such a short time before he was called to service and duty. Of all the planets we watched over, the High Council seemed to really like this” -- she took a deep breath, slowing the words that began to race from her mouth, a sure sign of her growing agitation -- “this earth. Though it was only a short amount of time to my people, it was eons here on this

122

Stephanie Burke

planet.” She sneered. “When my fifth was stationed here with the others in his squad, your people were little better than animals, covering yourselves with the skins of the creatures you hunted, living in your large stone hovels. My mate was sent here to stand guard over you people, to protect and keep others from invading. By the time I returned, so many of my brethren had been killed or shattered by your cursed superstitions and your fear. Still, the High Council would not let me take my mate home until his time was up.” She looked down into the bath water, her fingers now swirling the sweetly scented water, and the mental stench of her story began to make him feel nauseous. “And I waited with my Coven, all of us eager for our mate to be returned to us, and I cried tears of joy, Jason, when I got the call that he was alive and ready to be returned to me.” She looked up at him, her gold eyes glinting with moisture as tears welled up there. “And I flew right into their trap.” “Mount McKinley.” Jason spoke, jumping at the sound of his own words after her quiet dulcet tones. “Yes, the mountain.” She whimpered a little, shivering despite the heat of the room, before gaining control of herself once again. “They shot me down, Jason. They did…terrible…unspeakable things.” “And your Coven?” “They were not with me, Jason. It was my special time to be with my Quinque, my fifth, as is our way.” She blushed a little, then paled as the memories became painful once more. “I was ripe, Jason. I was ready to be implanted, to carry the next spark of life that would lead to our completion as a Coven and freedom from the High Council’s demands. As it was with each member of my Coven, this time is special and solitary for me and my mate.” “And they tricked you…” “Oh, the High Council eventually gave me permission to respond. I guess they wanted to see what would happen.” She slumped in the water, her breath hitching as tears now flowed from her eyes. “So many things…happened. I…they…I can’t…” She stopped, lowering her head as shame seemed to fill her, stealing her words and nearly choking her breath from her. She inhaled deeply, calming herself, before lifting her eyes again. “The worst thing they did, Jason, was to cut me open and steal the life that was growing inside me.” Jason paled, his eyes dropping to the abdomen, the scarred plane of flesh she now cradled between her hands.

The Coven

123

“Each critha, each seed, is held fertile within my body until completion. Each critha is a spark of potential life that will join with each other when the Coven is complete, and the next in our line, the first of a new Coven, would be born.” Her golden eyes, beautiful and running over with tears, bored into his very soul as her stare intensified, never letting his gaze drop. “They tested my critha, and when they found that spark of life, they took it. My baby was cut from my body in pieces, Jason. And those six that discovered this life were the cannibals that partook of the life growing inside me. They drained that life energy and consumed it, elongating their evil, sour, useless lives. And to this day, it keeps them alive and healthy, Jason. It keeps them alive and healthy until I return to take back what is mine.” “They…” Jason blanched at her words, realizing that she spoke the truth. There was no duplicity in her impassioned words; her intensity, her horror, her pain were palpable things. His nausea and disgust grew. “I begged them not to harm my baby, Jason. It never had a chance to be complete, and they were ripping apart the life-force that would give it life. I begged, Jason. I did…I did unspeakable things, things that I had only ever done with my Coven. And I endured, Jason, I endured so much in the hopes that they would leave my critha alone.” She took a shuddering breath, sniffling as her hands fisted for a moment before returning to caress her stomach. “They learned of the power of my voice, Jason, so my vocal chords were chemically paralyzed, and I was physically gagged…when they didn’t have other needs for my mouth. I could not protect myself, Jason. I could not stop them from draining the life from my body and consuming it while I watched.” That was too much for Jason. He grew ill as he came to the conclusion that the scientists had to know, had to have realized that they were, in essence, tearing apart life, consuming life, and making the mother… He raced across the room, his knees hitting the warm tiles just as all the food he’d consumed was expelled into the toilet. His heaving continued for a time, and then, when he felt steadier, he flushed the toilet and shakily rose to his feet. He grunted and accepted the glass of water that Cyprus handed him, his mind so far gone that he hardly even registered that she had left the tub or was assisting him to stand. He finally looked down at her, slowly rinsing out his mouth before spitting that too into the commode and flushing the waste away. Her eyes still bored into his, a hint of madness there, but the control was returning. “When my Coven realized I had been gone too long, when they appealed to the High Council for the means to retrieve me, they readily agreed. I assumed they were waiting for

124

Stephanie Burke

my reports about my friendly encounter with the modern human. But when Quinque discovered that I had come and had failed to meet with him, when they discovered the Council’s actions, he grew frantic and nearly prostrate with fear. You see, Quinque had been around humans, had adapted his ways and managed to avoid detection on your wonderful planet. He was terrified and horrified and was quick to take the others to that mountain.” She stepped back, her naked body glistening with water as Jason got a close-up view of her battle scars. They didn’t improve under closer scrutiny. “They managed to get me out, Jason. But those who perpetuated this crime, this sin against me and mine, managed to escape. The Coven was too concerned about me to give chase. They moved me to their craft and brought me home, beaten and shattered, but not broken.” Her head lowered an inch before she stepped closer to Jason, her finger tracing down his chest. “Do you know what they discovered? They found out that I could no longer carry life, Jason. My body is still synced with the life that they stole. Until my first cycle is complete I can bear no young. After all that they did to me, they were winning, and there was nothing I could do about it, nothing my broken Coven could do. “And coven members mate for life, Jason. I could not even release my five to find suitable mates, not that they would abandon me, but even that option for their happiness was taken away.” She stepped closer, pressing both palms to Jason’s shoulders, forcing him to step back toward the vanity behind him. “The High Council, in all their infinite wisdom -- or infinite guilt, discovered a way for me to retrieve the life spark. Through fair means or foul, they discovered that you humans cannot process the critha energy. Those monsters were living off of the byproducts of my critha. They were living off of the waste my critha excreted. Oh, I got a laugh off of that, but I laughed even harder when the Council told me how to retrieve my sparks. And I will take back my critha, Jason. And I will kill them all in the process, doing whatever it takes to get my baby back. So you and your little governing organization protecting those sons of bitches can just rot…in…hell.” She emphasized each word, punctuating it with a poke to his chest. “They can burn in hell, Jason, and I will stoke the flames, then piss on the ashes. And neither you nor your people can do anything to stop me.” She reached down and lifted one of his limp hands, pressing it to the wet bare skin of her stomach, watching as he winced at the feel of the many and varied scars. “This is what I am fighting for, Jason, my babies and my revenge. And when I find and kill that last bastard and retrieve my sixth, I will wipe the dust of this miserable planet off of my feet and never return. We protected your kind enough, and see where it got us? So now I am handling this problem in my own way. And may God help you if you stand in my way.”

The Coven

125

She abruptly pulled back from him, watching as his eyes, glazed by her speech, seemed to clear as he fumbled toward the door, appearing to need to get away to process all that he learned. “That is our sixth?” a voice spoke to her right. And instantly, Cyprus turned and threw herself into Unus’s strong arms, a storm of tears breaking as she again cried out in her anguish and torment. “Are you sure?” he asked, wrapping himself around his Goda, enveloping her in the warmth and safety that he had been unable to offer her so many years before. “I am sure.” She sniffled, her body growing weak in his embrace. “And I feel that I am again growing ripe.” Then,” her first assured her, lifting her into his arms and carrying her into the master bedroom. “Then he has a lot to learn and a short time to assimilate it all.” “That’s it?” She looked up at him. “We will ensure that this Coven is complete and secure, Cyprus. We all failed you once; it will never happen again.”

126

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Twenty It was Quinque who found him, staring out at the city through the thick glass of the balcony doors. “The answers are not out there,” the pleasant-sounding blond spoke as he took a seat beside the dazed man. “I’ve…found more than enough answers here,” Jason managed to say, his mind and his heart warring with the objectives that he had sworn to uphold. “Well” -- Quin ran a hand over the distraught man’s arm -- “no one ever said that life was easy, and the answers are all in black and white.” “What is wrong with you?” Jason finally asked outright. “Excuse me?” Quin drew back, a little understanding growing in his eyes as he observed the human. “You are not like the others.” “How so?” He tilted his head to the side, observing this potential Coven member, his blue eye narrowing. “The others… They seem so…” “Hard?” Quin asked. “Yeah.” “Well, you would be a bit testy too if you had a piece of your soul ripped away.” “A piece of your soul? I don’t understand.” “I see Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa spoke to you.” “Cyprusurka…what?” “Cyprus. That is our lover’s true name. I assume she allowed you to see her true form?”

The Coven

127

“You mean that she is…not quite altogether female?” Quin chuckled, patting Jason on the back. “That is a unique interpretation of the matter, Jason. But yes, Cyprusurka…Cyprus is a person of many and varied talents. And she is holding too much guilt for what she was ordered to do and what has become of us all.” “So, what are you all? You never answered my question.” Jason turned to look out at the night sky. ”Besides aliens, I mean. She could be lying about…” He got no further as Quinque hissed, and heat seemed to explode in the area where he sat. Jason turned toward him, instantly on alert, but in place of the one friend he had thought he’d made here was a huge tan and gold…cat…thing. It had huge horns and was covered in stiff, bristly fur. Its fangs were long as hell and looked twice as deadly, as did the talons that were raised before his startled eyes. It looked like a cross between a tiger and a cheetah, but without the facial markings or spots. It was huge, the shoulders overly muscular, its hindquarters compact and tight. It was obviously built for speed and endurance. It had a tail span that exceeded the length of his body, maybe five feet long, with a barbed end. And the most horrifying thing of all was the keen intelligence that gleamed from its oddly colored blue and green eyes -- Quin’s strange mismatched eyes. And just as quickly, the tall man was once again sitting in his place, calmly examining his nails, smirking at him. Had it been some kind of dream, some kind of shock-induced delusion? “I’d say that calling Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa a liar in the presence of one of us would get you murdered with extreme prejudice.” “What…” Jason gasped, again his mind dissolving into a dark, tumultuous place. “What…are…” “I would have been known as a gargoyle, Jason.” He smiled, exposing fangs that never quite went away. “All of us were chosen to be on the squads that protected the humans from…certain invaders.” “Gargoyles don’t exist,” Jason breathed, so far beyond his normal boundaries at this moment that he wanted to just sit there on the couch and weep. “Not anymore, Jason.” Quin sighed. “Once we defended your people from the Psawren invaders who took the guise of Norsemen and possessed them through berserker rages to fuel their need to blood and battle.” “Oh, God, save us from the fury of the Northmen,” Jason breathed, staring wide-eyed at Quin. “Yes, you do know your history, leastwise, what you were taught in your schools. But the High Council sees the universe as something of a garden, and the Psawren as a kind of

128

Stephanie Burke

infestation that had to be stopped. Legions of my brethren were sent to serve here on earth until we managed to rally the people enough to fight back on their own, until we infiltrated the ranks of the Psawren and helped bring about their demise from the inside and encouraged trade and intermingling of the species. It was not so long after that when they turned on my people, destroying us and creating stone likenesses in our place. So we who remained, scattered, keeping in touch through our squadron’s link and staying one step ahead of the humans.” He smiled at the dazed look on Jason’s face, easily recognizing the look of a mental overload, as he had seen so many in his own mirror in the past. “But that is a tale for another time. If you wish to see the others’ forms, then ask them. I am sure they would show you. Each of us is unique in our own way, a boon to our once separate houses.” “And Cyprusura…” “Just say Cyprus. Saying her whole name in a fit of passion is too much, even for one of my lingual skills.” Quin grinned, exposing a little fang and his good sense of humor. “What is…she? Hell, man, is she a she?” “She, at the moment.” Quin sighed. “Her female aspect is very powerful and very angry…vengeful, if you will. We recognize the fact that her female spirit is in control now, and yes, Cyprus is very much a she.” “Okay,” Jason responded calmly, feeling a bit lightheaded from all that he was learning. “Okay, then what is she?” “Have you heard tale of the banshee?” he asked. Jason nodded. “And the siren, the mermaid, the haunting song of a kelpie?” “Yes…” “Cyprus is that and so much more.” Quin smiled. “Before she reached her maturity, Cyprus was a powerful warrior…still is, but before she was so much more masculine. Then when she reached her majority, she was pulled back from earth, as we grow vulnerable during the Time of Choosing.” “So do you have a…” Jason waggled his hand, gesturing between his thighs. “No, I am singular. Cyprus is special in that after her sexual maturity, she emerged from her deep sleep having both sets, making her a breeder as well as a Coven Master.” He looked sideways at Jason, enjoying the surprise on the man’s face as he sorted out this new information. “She is gifted with the ability to bear new life. It is a strong responsibility and a powerful position, but many who served on earth became Coven Masters. I believe that is why the High Council was so interested in this planet and its inhabitants.” “So the rest of you have to listen to her?” “No, the rest of us are bound to her through free will and love. Cyprus knows who will belong to her Coven instinctively. She just knows, and when she felt the time was right, she

The Coven

129

approached our families and us. I was chosen mere weeks before I had to leave for my time on earth.” He quirked a lip at Jason, a grin on his face. “Oh, how I hated you humans for that. I had not yet reached the Goda, the point where Cyprus’s body prepared to accept my critha, and here I was being sent away. She had to suffer through several seasons of Goda without me being there to see to her needs and to help create our child. Then when word finally came that my squadron was being recalled, I could have flown back to my planet without a craft. Then she was delayed. I had never before been so scared. I just knew something had happened to her. I went looking, but it was the members of my Coven that found me. And together we found Cyprus. What they did was…” He trailed off as he looked down at his hands, watching as his long nails grew to talons, and Jason realized that he wasn’t as unaffected as he seemed. “What they did to her… I was ready to kill them all.” He sighed, slouching back in the couch, wrapping his arms around himself as the dark memories took hold. “What they did to her was…unlike anything I had ever seen. But to the others, what they did to her was nothing short of desecration. They had stolen the critha, stolen a piece of each of their souls.” “Critha?” Jason asked after a few moments of tense silence. “Cyprus said it was potential life-force, the parts of her…your baby…” “It is indeed the life energy used in creation of our kind. It is a small piece of each of our souls. When all six are in place, then reproduction begins, and a child is created through our bonds of love. Cyprus’s body had adjusted to this potential child. Her body had absorbed the energy signature of this particular piece of our souls and nothing else will do to complete the cycle but to have those pieces back and combine them with the two missing critha. Cyprus spent years in waiting, wanting to be fulfilled and complete. But first my absence prevented us from creating the fifth critha and then the senseless mutilation of her body…” He sighed again, looking old and sad. “Cyprus has watched as her family went off to complete their Covens, her siblings creating strong new bonds and ties and living their lives as they were fated to live. And all Cyprus could do was watch and feign joy upon each new birth, as each new Coven was celebrated.” He looked down at his hands, his eyes filled with pain. “And there was nothing that we could do to help her. They all knew what the earthlings had done, Jason. They all knew that her life had been stunted at the orders of the High Council. Some lifelong friends abandoned her, fearing that the Council had sent her here on purpose as some sort of punishment or purge, while others offered nothing but pity and shame, not knowing what to say to her or to behave around us -- the incomplete Coven and its broken Master.”

130

Stephanie Burke

“I never… I don’t…I don’t know what to say,” Jason finally got out, his own throat tight with empathic pain as he realized that the men at Mount McKinley had done a lot more than just steal life energy and a potential child. “I know you were sent to stop us.” Quin smiled a little as Jason flushed in embarrassment. “How…” “I have been around your kind long enough to know the way you think. You may think that your thoughts are original, but Jason, I have seen it all before and in so many different forms.” He rolled his eyes at the disgruntled look on Jason’s face. “You still behave differently than the rest,” Jason gritted out, not sure if he should be offended by Quinque’s amusement. “Because, as you say, I am different, very slightly, than the others. I have not implanted my critha within Cyprus. Her cycles shut down as the others were taken away. She still feels the need, but it is trying in vain as her body will not accept any more critha until the ones stolen are replaced. So though I share the bed and wondrous unheard-of delights in my Coven Master’s bed, I have not implanted my critha within her body. And I will not until the other critha are restored to their rightful places.” “So your soul is complete?” “About as complete as it can be with one Coven member missing and my Master still in so much pain.” He rose to his feet, patting Jason on the shoulder. “None of us will ever be truly complete until those critha are returned to her body and our sixth member is found.” “You…you know where he is?” Jason asked, his curiosity overriding his shock for the moment. “He is closer than you think,” Quin said with a smile. “So have I settled your curiosity, or are the answers I gave adding to the confusion of the ones that Cyprus forced upon you? And I know she spoke without your expressing your desire to know. It is the way of our warriors, to attack first, to go on the offensive before you have a chance to rally your troops and make the first move.” “I-I think I have more questions, need more answers,” Jason began. “But for now, I’m good.” “Wonderful.” Quin chuckled. “Then I will leave you alone, for tomorrow is a big day. We may have discovered Crenshaw, the one remaining monster from the original four, and you have to decide if you are going to help or hinder us.” “Hel--” “You think we would be telling you all of this if we had plans to let you go?” Quin laughed, nearly falling to his knees in pained amusement as Jason’s expression spoke for him all too well.

The Coven

131

“Oh, that is rich! The human mind is a mystery, rich and holding the capacity to do great things, and also so arrogant!” Still laughing, he left a newly shocked Jason on the couch, compliant, confused by the strange gargoyle Coven and his own fate as he watched the stars light up the sky, then disappear as day began to overtake the night. And he was still sitting there as nighttime lost its indomitable battle as the sun filled the sky once more.

132

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Twenty-one “I am the sixth.” A Psawren, a Berserker, that is what he was. Something in his blood called to Cyprus. They could access his memories. His instincts that had never failed him were screaming out for her. The way the rest of the men… He was the sixth. He would be a fool to think otherwise. Rising stiffly from his seat, he entered the quiet suite of rooms, looking around for the other men, only to find himself alone. That was fine with him, he decided, as he moved to his own room. Once there, he barely managed to strip off his own tattered clothing before falling naked into bed. He would shower in the morning. There was just too damn much on his mind now. He was the sixth. Now what was he going to do? Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow would be good enough, soon enough, to deal with all of this. But for now, he was taking his alien blood and the dubious honor of being the low man in a harem of…of gargoyles, and he was going to bed. Tomorrow, he thought again. Tomorrow was soon enough to deal with it all.

***** But sleep did not come easy for him. He tossed and turned, tangling his sheets into a mess that threatened to hold him tied to his previously comfortable bed.

The Coven

133

There was so much going on, so much he didn’t know, so many questions to be answered. The sun had risen high by the time he gave up and rose for the day. He kicked off his blankets, then made his way to the bathroom, feet dragging, eyes burning, and scowled as he passed the vanity mirror. He still looked the same, somewhat careworn and beat down, but there were shadows in his eyes, proof of the knowledge that now resided there. It was a knowledge that left him torn. What they had done to Cyprus and her Coven was damned wrong, no bones about that. But to actively seek them out and kill them in the worst way…that was going beyond taking back what was yours; it was pure vengeance. But…but would he be any different? Those men, save Quin, had lost something…something so big he could not even fathom the scope of it. They had suffered greatly and who was he to keep them away from their rightful vengeance? But Crenshaw was a scared human being. He was supposed to protect him…Right? He didn’t know! His talk with Quin had indeed given him a lot of insight, chief among them being that he was not exactly pure-blood human. And to think people had wars over being mixed race. Where did alien blood fall into? Was there affirmative action for the humanly impaired? And what did that mean to his future? Cyprus seemed to think that his future was with the Coven as lucky number six, but was that what he really wanted? And would he be ever able to accept that his long-trusted instincts were nothing more than an alien reaction to outside stimuli, that it was something he never really had any control over and could control him if he allowed it? It was all too much! Scowling at his face in the mirror, he turned to the shower, turning the water on full blast and as hot as he could stand it. As he soaped himself thoroughly, he pulled up a picture of Cyprus in his head. She was a beautiful…creature. It was easier just to call her a creature at this point, he decided. He had never met a hermaphrodite…well, not hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodites were sterile, and his Cyprus was ready and able to have a child. So Cyprus was a beautiful creature. A beatific creature with a scarred body and tattered spirit, his mind reminded him.

134

Stephanie Burke

He winced as he recalled all the damage that had been done to her. How could a person survive so much over such a long period of time and remain sane? Well, maybe she was not totally sane. That could be one of the reasons that she went after the scientists with such vigor. But it was the thing that made her the most dangerous. Sure, the men who surrounded her were powerful beings, but he realized that he never really had any fear of them. He had been surprised by them quite a few times, and there were those like Unus and Quattour that he wanted to…to challenge, maybe? But he’d never had any real fear of the men. It almost seemed, now, at times, that they were little brothers in need of guidance. But it was Cypurs…Cypruspr…Cyptues Reid who instilled real fear in him. With her siren’s voice and her lush, feminine body, she could command nations of men and have them begging to do her bidding. Her intelligence shone in her eyes, and she had the ability to make a man think that thoughts of him were the only thing on her mind. She was a beautiful mystery that changed just as he thought he had her figured out. And -- and he wanted her. He looked down and saw what his thoughts of Cyprus had wrought. Just contemplating the different aspects of the woman had given him an erection hard enough to crack rocks. It was adolescent and juvenile and also the second time in months that he realized that he once again had a hard-on for that woman. And she wasn’t even a full woman! Hell, her dick looked like it would rival his in size. But oddly enough, those thoughts didn’t scare him or make his erection flag one bit. Not even the thought of sleeping with her boys made his hard-on diminish. His mind might be confused, but it was clear that his body knew what it wanted…his body as well as his instincts. Shrugging his shoulders in final acceptance, he reached toward the source of heat and stiffness between his legs. He had lathered up his right hand well with liquid body wash and had just encased his length in that sudsy heat when the shower door swung open. Before he could do more than gape at the person who’d invaded his privacy, Quin’s amused voice was overriding the sound of the pounding water. “Okay! Enough, already. I am tired of your emo angst-ing. You are too old for that shit. You know what you want. You decided that before you went to bed last night. So come on out, be a man, and take what you want.” “How…?”

The Coven

135

“You are broadcasting,” Quin patiently explained as he turned off the water, smirking down at Jason’s erection. “And we all know how you feel about a certain gold-eyed blonde…and her boy toys.” “Oh…hell,” Jason gasped, knowing that they knew what he had been mentally calling them all this time. “Don’t worry about it. We are all amused. Especially when it comes to how you feel about us.” “It doesn’t mean I’m gay,” Jason pointed out, as Quin slung a towel in his direction. “What do human labels mean to us? When does human law actually affect us, Jason?” Quin asked. “We just feel a great amount of lust for those who are to be bound to us. It’s all part of the joining, man. And besides, what led you to believe that anything in human philosophy means anything to us or that we would bend to its social standards?” He watched as Jason, looking thoughtful, toweled himself off and reached for his robe. “And you won’t be needing that,” he said with a chuckle. “Why not?” “Cyprus is aware of your mental state and the decisions you have made about your place in all of this.” “Yeah?” he asked as he was dragged out of the bathroom and through the living area, directly to Cyprus’s bedroom with its bubbling Jacuzzi and its mountains of pillows. Only now the pillows were all filled with each member of the Coven. “Yeah.” Quin bent down to whisper in Jason’s ear. “And Cyprus is waiting for you.” With that, he took his place among the pillows along with the others, and watched with gleaming jewel-toned eyes. But all Jason could see was Cyprus. She stood there, bathed in sunlight and water droplets, eyes hungry as she slowly examined his body. Jason felt an inferno explode in his stomach. His back tingled, and his dick grew even harder, if that was possible. His balls grew tight and began to churn as a drop of precum glistened on his cock’s head. Then suddenly, all the doubts were gone, all the questions unimportant. He wanted this, he wanted her, he wanted to be a part of this…this thing. And because of the wicked, knee-shaking smile that parted her lips, he knew she knew it as well.

*****

136

Stephanie Burke

“They are watching,” he breathed, his cock swollen and leaking precum as he felt her hands running over his body. “Of course.” Her voice was thin, needy in her desire. “It is your time to worship. And does the act not have more meaning if there are observers?” And oh, yes, they were observing. Unus lay back on a stack of pillows, his prick as hard and unwavering as the black eyes that seemed to bore straight into his soul. The markings around his hairline seemed to make his eyes emphasize his desire to protect, to ensure the safety of the whole Coven, and most of all, to see this mating through, to initiate the newest Raven, her newest warrior, to their numbers. He stroked himself slowly, carefully, as meticulously as he did everything, and above all, with a solid goal in mind. Duae was a study of contrasts, the red of his hair enveloping his body while the bright blue of the lounge he was lying upon made his pale skin pop. His black eyes were intent on the couple standing in the knee-high water of the shallow tub. He licked his lips; his breathing ragged as he carefully observed what Jason was doing to their world. Tria was more discreet, his hand sinking beneath the string-tied waistband of his loose pants. But the telltale bulge he was clearly fisting gave his actions away. His long, black hair was pulled back, his normally hidden fangs nibbling delicately on his bottom lip. His eyes also were on the pair in the tub, taking in both of the stunning creatures who were locked in the passionate position. A faint smile tugged at his lips. Quattour’s white hair lay like spilled cream on his black skin. But unlike the others, his hands were busy toying with his dark nipples. His purple eyes gleamed as his hair wrapped around his body, flicking at his swollen dick, wrapping around and tugging at his balls, and from the way he was arching up, teasing at his small, hungry pucker. He reclined on the bed, his eyes narrowed as he fought to keep his breathing even. He didn’t want to come too soon and ruin the whole event for himself. And Quinque, his first friend and staunchest supporter, was out-and-out grinning at him. His short, blond hair was as mussed as ever, but his bi-colored eyes sparkled with mischievous delight. He was nodding his head, encouraging their newfound brother to worship at the altar they all honored and to become reborn deep within the fiery depths of the one called Cyprus. “This is the way I pray,” Jason snarled, his hands fisted in Cyprus’s long, golden hair, pulling her head back into a submissive position. The actions of the others, the feel of them watching them, knowing that they themselves desired him wholeheartedly…it sent a flash of desire straight to his cock and a flood of warmth right to his heart.

The Coven

137

His eyes traveled from each member the Coven and back again before returning to the goddess in his arms. When the others didn’t move, he felt a little bolder, a little stronger, a little more like this was where he was destined to be. His eyes zeroed in on the pulse that beat steady and strong in her neck, giving proof that she was still alive and that she was willingly and eagerly giving in to him. Her cock was swelling at a rapid pace, and he could smell the sweet fragrance of vanilla and raspberries, her own personal scent. Because of this he knew that her special hole behind her balls, the haven that was for now denied to him, was overflowing with her desire. She moaned and arched her back, shoving her rounded ass into his stomach, trapping his leaking cock in between her cheeks. He bent his head and licked at her neck, noting the five faint marks, the healing bites of possession from her other coven members. And as he lapped at each one, he was more than startled to hear each one of the men react. The first mark sent Quattour hissing, his hair tightening around his throbbing cock before their caresses began in earnest. The next mark had Duae hissing and stroking his own erection faster. A rather deep mark that was Unus’s had the alpha sucking in a deep breath and growling audibly in the quiet room. Tria just purred when his mark was caressed, and Quinque…Quin hissed. It was a sibilant sound, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Jason grinned and repeated the attack on the marks, licking and sucking, enjoying the coven’s reaction as well as the heated response he got from Cyprus herself. Her whole body bucked as if slammed by the weight of this devastating arousal. Her legs grew weak, and she leaned into her sixth, letting him take most of her weight as her legs began to give way. She moaned, a low, deep sound that managed to sound like a growl, a hiss, and a purr all at once. Her head went back, exposing more of her neck to his ministrations, as her body began to tremble. “Kimba act Sex!” The words were torn from her throat as her head dropped forward, sending long, golden strands cascading over his arms, hiding the glowing warm gold of her eyes. “Ieta,” the men responded almost as one, their voices rough and raw, filled with a sexual tension that could not be denied. “Is it not so?” she demanded in English, tossing her head back, showering him with her cool silken hair, writhing in his grasp.

138

Stephanie Burke

“It is so.” Unus spoke for the coven, their overall reaction providing proof positive that Jason Giles was the last of their Ullah. “Jason?” Cyprus growled, tilting her head to the side, exposing her mating marks once again. “Be with us.” “Cyprus…” He paused, gritting his teeth and biting back a moan of his own as her delectable body danced in his grasp. He couldn’t resist letting go of her hair and running his hands over that delicious form. Her nipples were hard as pebbles, and when he casually brushed over them, he drew a small scream from her throat. “Jason!” She bucked wantonly, her skin becoming moist with sweat, her hands dropping to grip his thighs, her nails creating small indentations. But he only hissed at the small pain, lowering his head again as it added to the painful hunger growing in him. “What do you want?” he forced through gritted teeth, his fingers dancing over her abdomen to that thin star of golden hair that rested above her cock. “Tell me what you want!” He licked at her neck again, enjoying the chorus of groans it brought from the watching men. “Tell me!” His tongue trailed up the side of her neck to nip at her lobe the same time his hand gripped her cock. “Jason,” she panted, hanging limp in his arms. Of their own volition, her legs parted, exposing more of herself to his exploring hands. Her labia swelled and overflowed with need, her shiny, slick juices coating the inside of her thighs. “Be…be one…fuck me!” Her words were easily understood, and Jason, like a good little Ullah, began to comply. He bent at the knees, the wet purple head of his cock sliding along the crevice that hid her small anal opening. It slid past the sensitive skin, making her shudder and tighten her grip on his thighs in a desperate attempt to remain standing. He slid down until it pressed against the slick wet lips of her pussy. “So wet,” he breathed, his body shuddering as he teasingly slid his cock against her, his balls hanging heavy and tight between his legs. One hand roamed over the slightly rounded curve of her stomach, plucking at the star of hair, brushing against the hot, swollen cock that reared out, hard and proud. “Now!” Cyprus screamed, becoming impatient, tossing her hair and arching back into him hard, driving her ass into his lower stomach. “Want you now! Complete…complete us!” “Yes,” Jason moaned, pulling back, letting his cock slide against her labia once more, tightening his fingers in her hair as her slick, hot heat covered him.

The Coven

139

He slid forward and cursed as he missed his mark, but bit his lower lip as Cyprus shuddered and gasped in his arms. “Hold on, hold on,” he whispered, urging her, soothing her. “I’m coming.” His hand left that soft thatch of hair to travel up around her hip, caressing the soft skin as he moved, to grip his own painfully throbbing cock. He fisted himself again, making note of how those brushes against her pussy had made him so wet, before positioning the head at her opening. “Ieta!” he gasped, not knowing exactly what the strange word meant, but knowing that he had to say it, knowing the emotion behind the word. “Sex!” Cyprus screamed, tossing her hair wildly as with one lunge, Jason lodged himself deep within the body of Cyprus Reid, the woman who now held his chain. “Gooth! Ieta! Ieta!” “Sweet Jesus!” Jason was almost brought to his knees by the scalding hot silk that encased his dick. She was churning around him, so wet and hot! He closed his eyes, almost unable to bear the intensity…the reality of having buried himself balls deep into Cyprus Reid. His heart was racing faster than before, and a hot flush took over his body. Lights flashed behind his eyes, and in the back of his mind he could feel the hungry grunts and groans from the gathered watching men. His free hand reached around her, holding on for dear life, cupping her breast as Cyprus shuddered, then tossed her head back, a scream on her lips. “My Sex!” “My One!” he gasped in return, groaning loudly as her head fell back to rest on his shoulder. “Move!” “I obey.” The slide out was almost painful to his soul, yet he endured. He slid out until only his cockhead rested inside her, then slammed himself back inside. The others gasped, as if he were working their bodies, and Cyprus -- she let out a mewling cry that would fuel the fantasies in his imagination for years to come. Her hot body writhed on his cock, her breasts quivered, and her breath tore from her throat. She was a beautifully enchanting gift, and he was inside her, deep inside her. As he pulled out again, setting up a hard, slow rhythm, he could swear he felt something in the back of his head, almost like a door, that was pulling slowly open.

140

Stephanie Burke

”Move, Sex!” Cyprus bellowed, almost snarling as she turned her head to bare her teeth at him. “Fuck me now!” “I obey!” he managed as began to move. The wet sound of flesh hitting flesh was accompanied by the sounds of multiple groans and hisses. The men were feeling this rough taking, feeling it as if the submission was their own. Jason peeled his eyes away from the sight of Cyprus, grinding and moaning on his dick, to see the gathered men in several states of masturbation, pulling at their cocks, their bodies sheened with sweat, the heavy musk of desire filling the room. And oddly enough, though he had never really been all that sexually attracted to men, the sight was enough to torch his desire up to another level. “Oh, you beautiful bitch,” he groaned tightening his grip and pounding her faster. “Take it!” “Y-yes!” Cyprus screamed, bending over, tossing her hair forward, giving him easier access to get deeper within her. “Gonna…fuck…you…hard!” Jason moaned, almost sounding as if he was in pain. He pushed her forward further, running his hands down her back, raking his nails across her dark, sweaty skin. “Ieta! Ab Sex!” Cyprus babbled, her knees bending as her strength began to give way. She threw her hand before her, bending over, touching the tiled floor, and Jason pounded her even harder. “That ass,” he moaned, sliding his hands up to pull at her ass, spreading her open so that he could see her puckered entrance almost winking at him. “S-so full, s-so sof-soft,” he stuttered, slamming himself forward hard. Their height was perfect. Cyprus was able to bend to her forehead, resting her hands on the tile before them, her flexible body absorbing his punishing thrusts. She was whimpering, and he was grunting at each thrust. Then something flashed through his mind; the door he barely noticed was thrown wide open. His eyes widened in shock as he fell to his knees, his weight pushing Cyprus down to her knees while miraculously keeping him buried deep within her. “Cyprus!” Then he couldn’t contain himself, he couldn’t control himself! All that he was, all that he ever would be was Cyprus! His hips stuttered to a halt as pleasure so intense it was almost pain overwhelmed him.

The Coven

141

And then there was the joining. He could feel her! He could feel all of them! He could feel what they were feeling, what they had gone through, what they wanted in the future. And it all…it was all… “Oh, God,” he moaned, tears rolling down his face as the emotions flooded him. Hate, anger, love, pain, hope, fear, lust, anguish, hunger… “Oh, God.” “Sex…” Then there was a cooling balm, a thread of sanity, a voice that grounded him. That coolness flooded his mind, soothed his emotions, and allowed the physical and the mental to combine once more. He was buried deeply inside a hot, squirming body whose gasps and moans were enough to make the top of his head explode. His balls were rolling, tingling, burning as he rested deep within her. His hands had slid up from her hips and were now resting on the tiles before them, the sides of his arms pressing against a set of full, soft breasts. He buried his face in her soft golden hair and realized that his face was wet, streaked with… He was sobbing. He realized that he was sobbing, his breath rasping in his throat. And there were hands, warm and caressing, over his body, calming him, adding to the overall euphoria that was taking over his being. “Complete it.” He pulled his head up enough to recognize the deep, rumbling voice of Unus, who stood at his head, a sorrowful understanding in his eyes. “Complete it, complete us. Know what it is to be Coven.” Jason looked around and with a sense of shock and awe noticed that each of the men -Unus, Duae, Tria, Quattour, Quinque…they all surrounded them, their eyes holding nothing but acceptance and support as they stroked their own erections. Instead of turning him off or making him uncomfortable, it added to his desire…this sense of belonging. He wanted to share with them, to be with them, to…to… Then it was hunger again. It pierced him like a blade, stealing his breath and drying his tears in one moment. He growled, his eyes narrowing as his hips gave a lurch, and his woman screamed his name.

142

Stephanie Burke

The hands fell away as he reached around Cyprus, pulling her to her knees and embedding himself deeper inside her. Cyprus tossed her head back, her hair flying around them, her mouth open and whimpers flowing free. He wrapped his arms around her, his fingers tugging at her nipples, as he thrust upward. He closed his eyes, growling at each thrust, holding her tighter and moving faster and faster. He understood. She was his all. She was his life, his light, his fire! He wanted to protect her, to dominate her, to wipe out every trace of pain and loneliness that had ever touched her! He buried his face in her neck as he pounded her, the sounds of wet flesh slapping and moans filling his ears, driving him onward. “Mine!” he gasped, “Mine, mine, mine, mine… Fuck!” It was building… Something was building within him, making his senses sharper, making his skin tingle, making his cock burn like fire as he sank faster and faster into her wet silk. “Fuck…fuck…fuc…” Roaring his release, he fisted her hair, pulling her head to one side, and sank his teeth deep into her neck. “Ieta, Ulluam Cintol!” The words rolled from Cyprus’s throat as her body stiffened, and her climax wracked her body. Jason tore his mouth away from her neck, threw his head backward, and roared his release, a berserker sound that sent streams of his orgasm shooting through the room. It blended with the screams and cries of release as the other men found their own orgasms, spraying the rutting couple with the white-hot streams of their release. He collapsed, falling on top of his lady, rolling to the side so as not to crush her, grunting softly as he pulled his still-engorged cock from her pussy. His mind was whirling with his newfound knowledge, with the new connection that seemed to be formed between them all. And he reveled in it, not even bothered by being covered in the spunk of five other men. For once in his life, everything seemed right, and he was…content. And even more than that, he finally understood some things, some very important things. He could feel the men standing over him, could feel their hunger thrumming through him, as if they all were connected.

The Coven

143

His body, once sated, grew warm, then hot. He could feel them, their want, their hunger, their need to bond. And he understood. He rose up to his knees and did the thing that seemed right. He gripped the cheeks of his ass, and he spread them, exposing his hole, welcoming them in to partake.

144

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Twenty-two So good, Jason thought, his mind whirling as he felt the deep penetration begin. It’s like fucking magic! And it felt like magic too, the way his ass seemed to open up for its penetration, the way he seemed to develop a sudden wetness in the anal region, the way it hungrily sucked at the large object being forced into his body. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, fighting against the urge to just slam himself backward and ride the cock currently sliding deep into his soul. “There is no such thing as fucking magic!” Unus growled, pushing the head of his cock in deeper, hissing as it breached further into that tight, silken muscle. “How…?” Jason stammered, gasping, whining, beads of sweat pouring from his body, running down his face. “It’s all in your head, boy,” Unus growled, squeezing his eyes shut as golden pleasures sizzled his cock…as he began to move in painfully exquisite, shallow thrusts, sliding slowly deeper and deeper into him. Jason was so tight, virginal tight, and his body was adjusting perfectly, opening up to his possession, creating its own lubrication as it accepted his new role in life. “No -- not a boy!” Jason managed through gritted teeth as he felt his own cock harden to its fullest, his balls swaying back and forward with each of Unus’s thrusts. “No,” Unus agreed. “A man, our man.” He tossed his head, sending droplets of sweat and his long, black hair behind him. He could feel the others watching, moving in closer, waiting for their chance at their new brother. But he would be first! Unus was first and would always be first among the men.

The Coven

145

He growled softly, smoke drifting from his nostrils as he closed his eyes and concentrated on opening part of his mind to Sex, the part of the shared link that regulated the energy that flowed between them. ”Oh, God!” Jason gasped, writhing as Unus’s large cock brushed against something inside him that made his toes curl and his cock lurch in happiness. “Your god is Cyprus,” Unus hissed, leaning forward to lap at the delicate flesh of his neck, exactly where his claiming mark eventually would lie, grinning as the sharp blast of pleasure was felt by Jason, yet shared through the whole coven. The mingled hisses and gasps brought a smile to Unus’s mouth as his hips redoubled their action. Jason was whimpering, slamming his body back and wailing as pleasure built up within him. His balls burned, his eyes teared up, and he had never felt such a building pleasure, a painfully perfect tension in all of his short life! He felt a hand on his face and looked up to see Cyprus smiling at him, stroking his body, calming him to accept this possession, and the possession of those to come. “Be ours,” she whispered, her lips brushing against his before her mouth claimed him, her tongue thrusting deep into his mouth. He moaned as she fluttered delicate caresses along his soft palate and teased his own tongue into playing. It was a wet, sloppy kiss, filled with moans and teeth and licks. The burn in his ass was driving him mad! His cock was leaking, his balls were churning, and all he could do was whimper for more. Unus, hearing his brother’s pleas, increased his pace, knowing that Jason would not be allowed release until each and every coven member had partaken of him and strengthened the bonds they were building together. All too soon, Cyprus moved back, breaking the kiss and making room for the next male to take her place. “Little brother,” Quin said, bending low to kiss at the moaning mouth of Jason. “Welcome to our world,” he added before lifting up to pull Unus to him to place a tender kiss on the gasping man’s lips. This put his cock in perfect mouth range, and seeing that it was there and he had the urge, Jason opened his mouth and pulled the head in. He had never really considered sucking a cock -- well, perhaps the odd fantasy about sucking his own, but he found himself strangely not at all reluctant to try. He knew what felt good to him, so he curled his lips over his teeth and just pulled the other man in. “Shit!” Quin gasped, eyes going wide before he began to groan and purr his pleasure.

146

Stephanie Burke

“Oh, baby,” he managed, trying to still his hips from pumping as they so much wanted to do. “Just…just like that.” Jason moaned in pleasure, not only at having a dick in his mouth, but at the newfound joy he got out of Quin’s reactions; he liked the feeling of power he had. Here he was, on his knees and getting reamed but good, and he still had the man moaning and gasping. He pulled back a bit, just to run his tongue along the head, before Unus struck his prostate again, and he found himself screaming around his mouthful of cock. “Fuck!” Quin gasped, the vibrations from Jason’s throat nearly bringing him off. Then Jason felt it, a small pop in the back of his head, and the pleasure that he just knew belonged to Unus seemed to double. But the added sensation was almost lazy and indolent, a slow burn with the occasional breathtaking spikes in pleasure. It was feline in a way, and then he knew that what he was feeling was coming from Quinque. The sudden realization that both of them were in his mind shocked him almost enough to bring him off, but a timely fist around his balls, pulling the swollen orbs downward, helped him regain his control. “Not…yet,” Unus gasped, even as his hips worked faster. “Not until the rest of them have partaken.” Jason found himself moaning in disappointment as the pressure to orgasm built along with the intense pleasure that was slowly driving him insane. With one last series of deep thrusts, Unus gasped as he felt his own balls slam into the base of his cock and his back start to burn. “Coming,” he moaned, dark smoke circling his head as his thighs stiffened, and his eyes squeezed shut. His whole body began to quiver and shake as his cock swelled even larger, harder, before he began to coat Jason’s insides with his copious seed. Feeling the release, Jason whimpered, his stomach burning with need as the desire to climax almost overwhelmed him. He pulled away from Quin’s cock just as Unus collapsed on top of his upturned ass, driving his body flat. “Oh, God,” he whimpered, suddenly feeling empty and incomplete as Unus pulled out. “Oh, God…” “Shh,” Quin soothed as Unus moved aside after placing several kisses along Jason’s neck and shoulders. “Brother,” the First murmured, stroking the sweat from Jason’s face. “You are one of us.” After that the pace seemed to pick up, and Jason began to lose track of who was fucking his ass.

The Coven

147

There was Quin, who tenderly thrust slow and deep, and Duae who said nothing until he flipped Jason over onto his back and threw his legs over his shoulders. Jason had never known that missionary was possible between two men, but there he was, flat on his back and getting pounded into the pillows…and loving it! And when Duae entered him, for the first time he heard that sea hag’s dark, melodious voice in his mind, comforting him, urging him to patience, encouraging him to release his mental blocks and let the others inside his mind as well as his body. Tria was a slow, methodical fuck who had him on his side, steadily pumping into him while gripping his cock, refusing to allow him to relieve the pressure in his body so that he was nearly begging for it. But Tria kept him in control while building up the pressure in his balls and cock. But it was Quat who made him come. “Got you where you belong,” Quattour snarled as he rolled Jason back onto his stomach, gripping his hips and pulling them up high. “Beneath me.” But there was something in his tone that made Jason’s hair stand on end. With a snarl, he forced himself backward as Quat began to enter him, swallowing the man’s whole penis in one thrust. Quat hissed his pleasure, his hair reaching out to wrap around Jason’s trembling body as he fought for control of his own release. Instead, he began to drive deeper and harder into Jason, almost challenging him with his cock and his growls of displeasure. He flooded Jason with thoughts of dominance and seniority until Jason learned a little something of his own from the thoughts and memories of the other men, freely offered in his sexual warfare. He could control the muscles of his ass very well by this point. So with a snarl of his own, he began to ripple them, to pulse them, to milk the hard cock within him. He ignored his own purpling erection in favor of driving Quat to howling, tearing away the man’s control and giving himself the upper hand. “No, you will not!” Quat bellowed, allowing his hair to wrap around Jason’s leaking cock, tugging and caressing as he angled his thrust to pound the man’s prostate. “Give it up!” Jason growled, blind to everything but proving that he was…that he was the better man, the man with more control. His instincts were wailing at him, his competitive nature was taking control. He would not let that white-haired bastard win! Faster and faster they moved against each other, neither one submitting, neither one allowing the painfully sharp pleasure to overwhelm their senses and be the first to explode in release.

148

Stephanie Burke

After what seemed like hours, but was only mere minutes, Quat was gasping quietly under his breath, his hair and body covered in sweat, and Jason was beginning to lose control. The others lay around in different levels of satiation, amazed at the sexual violence they were seeing. It looked as though the two men were going to fuck each other to death. But before anyone could intervene out of worry -- Jason threw back his head. “Oh -- Oh -- Oh, fuck !” His voice was nearly drowned out by Quat. “Please, oh, please,” Quat was gasping, the tight muscles of his ass clenching and spasming as he gave in to his own release. “Fuck!” Jason screamed again, his vision going hazy as hours’ worth of pent-up frustration blasted from his cock in several spurts and shoots. His balls ached, and his ass was sore, but the nerve endings there were burning joyfully. His heart was racing, his breath rasping, his body alive in a way that it had never been before. Tears rolled down his cheeks as the last barrier fell, and he was flooded with Quat’s dominating presence. “Mother of God,” he whimpered, collapsing as it all grew to be too much. The pleasure, the pain, the liberating loss of control, the shared climax of the whole coven…the feeling of total completeness. He barely felt Quat’s release, and his subsequent collapse onto his back. His world was spinning; his perspectives were changing; his horizons were broadening. For once, Jason knew what it meant to belong, to be a part of something bigger, to be totally and completely pleased. He would have cried with the joy of it all…if his world hadn’t blacked out. Jason Giles knew he was going to pass out, and strangely, he didn’t care. He even knew that he would be lost with a stupid grin on his face. And again, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

The Coven

149

Chapter Twenty-three Jason groaned, sure that he had never been so exhausted in his life. But then the night before flowed through his mind, making him grin as he reached out for the warm body next to his. Never had he ever had such explosive sex. It was like all that he was, all that he could ever hope to be had been opened up and laid bare to the room, laid bare for the goddess he had lain with and for her acolytes. But…but there was no warm body next to him. He sat up, wincing at the pulling ache in his thighs and hips as he looked around the room. He was not alone…but neither was the person he had been looking for there with him. “I assume you are looking for Cyprus?” Jason jerked at the words, looking around the many slumbering bodies until he found the voice that had spoken to him, and there was no denying that growling timbre. “Unus.” He sighed and lay back, wincing again at the pull of rarely used muscles. “Unfortunately for you, you are probably thinking.” The tall Alpha rose to his knees and crawled across the large bed, easily avoiding the bodies of his brethren as he moved to face the newest member. Jason gawked at the naked man. Rock-hard were words too weak to describe him. He was all thick, defined muscle, from his huge, rounded shoulders and pecs to his washboard abs. Jason had to resist the urge to suck his stomach in just a little. He grumbled, twisting his face for a moment, hating the feeling of inadequacy he felt around these men. Who the hell said that the whole coven had to be made up of perfect males?

150

Stephanie Burke

Well, he thought, looking down at the bite on his wrist left by the stone gargoyle at the theater, not all of the coven males were perfect. “You still have self-doubt?” Unus almost laughed as he stopped before the Jason. “Were you not accepted and named?” “Named?” “In the tradition of your people, you, Earth Sentinel, have been given a coven name.” “Is that what Cyprus was calling me?” He sat up a little straighter, his shoulders were held a little higher, all unconscious actions on his part that were easily seen and understood by Unus. “Yes, Earth Sentinel. As I was given the name of first in the olden language of this planet.” “Old language? How long…? Why would she choose an earth language of all things?” Jason asked, his curiosity piqued, his own problems being shoved aside as he began to assimilate new information. “She so loved this place, even thought it took her mates from her,” Unus explained. “So as a reminder, she named each of us accordingly. I am Unus, the first. Duae is the second, Tria the third, down to you.” “So we are what we are.” Jason smiled at that. It was a neat, rather compact way of dealing with things, and that was a style he loved. “Latin, isn’t it?” he asked, and smiled when Unus nodded. “I speak several languages, mostly Asian languages, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and some Arabic and Urdu. I can speak enough Russian to get by, but the Romance languages I am not too good at.” Unus nodded his understanding, and Jason relaxed a bit. “So, what is my name?” “I, Unus zet Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa, born Kasakoru ah Tigeria acknowledge my latest and last brother, Jason Giles, now known as Sex zet Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa.” The words, though formal sounding, touched a place deep within Jason, someplace that he had not known existed until he’d met these people, this coven, his new…family. “Family,” Jason, now Sex, sighed. His heart ached, growing full with the knowledge that he would never again be alone, that he would never again have to look around every corner for the danger that was sure to follow, be it physical or emotional. For once, he felt accepted, cared for, and maybe even loved a bit. He would be a part of the camaraderie that allowed these men to bond into a single cohesive family unit. He was a part of that. He’d found a place where he belonged. “Family.” Unus nodded, reaching out to press a single finger to note the mark that decorated his right wrist. Sex felt his throat tighten and for a moment, had to fight back the tears that threatened to flow.

The Coven

151

“But,” he spoke softly, leaning forward. “But…did my name have to be Sex? I mean, Unus sounds like power and strength. Sex sounds like I need to get laid and often.” Unus’s dark eyebrows rose as he stared, incredulous, at his new brother. “How am I supposed to protect you when all I want to do is turn you over my knee?” He rolled his eyes at the snickers this produced in Sex. “I can protect myself,” Sex said, his confidence coming from years of doing just that. “Yes, but it is my job to see to all of the coven’s well-being.” There was only seriousness in Unus’s tones. Sex pouted and Unus smiled. “Up to and including any discipline I feel is needed if you flout the rules of this coven.” “Rules?” Jason almost whined. “Why are there always rules?” “To maintain order,” was Unus’s succinct reply. “Something that you apparently have no knowledge of.” “I know what order is…” “Yet since the time I first met you, you have not shown one scrap of evidence of this order you claim to possess. That is, unless your order is a string of barely controlled chaos.” Sex opened his mouth to speak, but the chuckles from a nearby body made him turn and glare instead. “You two fight like Norsemen trying to get between a nun’s thighs.” Quin had awakened and was observing the confrontation with extreme amusement. “Fuck you,” Sex retorted, rolling his eyes and turning to face Unus again. “You want more?” Quin moved to lie beside Unus, crawling all over the larger male. “I thought that Cyprus gave you enough last night.” The blush that exploded over his face was very amusing to certain members of the coven. “Not funny…” Sex looked down, but could not completely get that silly grin that had plastered itself over his face to leave. The sex had been spectacular and knowing that the other males were watching, were sharing in the feeling, made his prick begin to swell and to tent the thin sheet that covered him. “Nothing is funny about mind-blowing sex,” Quin agreed. “And remember what you learned, please. When you take us, I really don’t want to be hurt by your eagerness.” Sex paused again, all thought of his anal penetration lost as he focused in on Quin. “Take you…?” “Yeah, all of us are at your disposal for the day. All of us, that is, except for Unus. That is one piece of ass that only Cyprus gets to take.”

152

Stephanie Burke

“Why?” Sex called out, scandalized, before blushing again as he realized what his statement had implied. “Not that I was going to plow his ass or anything…” “Oh, stop lying.” Quin practically crawled up Unus as the stoic man just sat there, observing. “We all want a piece of that prime ass. But we cannot partake.” “Why?” Sex tilted his head to the side, unconsciously mimicking one of Quinque’s more obvious mannerisms. “Because when you take a coven member, you take a bit of his life-force and combine it with your own. Unus can’t afford to have his life force sapped because he is the…the…” He waited a moment, trying to find the right terminology that the newest coven member could understand. “He is like a control valve. Cyprus supplies power to us all. We can give and take freely at her discretion. But only through Unus is all that energy channeled. When he takes us, he regulates what Cyprus has given. All of our energy requirements are unique unto us, and the amount of energy we receive has to be regulated, or we risk getting too much or too little.” He looked at the confused expression on Sex’s face and tried once again. “Okay, maybe you will understand this. Your body is not equipped to deal with any special energy of any kind. Other than a great intuition and a powerful life-force core, you are hardly as alien as the rest of us. If you were to receive too much energy, you would burn out like a lightbulb. But because you are not a part of the whole, if you were given too little, your link in our chain would grow weak, making you the dangerous link in our chain. Understand that?” “Yes, but what does sex with Unus have to do with that?” “Unus is the regulator. He is the first. All energy, no matter who is taking whom in the coven, passes through his body. He absorbs the excess; he transforms the energy into usable food for our different types and core energy levels. He is a regulator and a storage battery. In turn, when Cyprus takes him, she gets that excess and uses it, like a battery, to keep us charged. When her critha is complete, Unus will ensure that she receives enough energy through sexual contact to keep the baby healthy and whole. But to do all of this, to control this amount of power, his life-force core cannot be splintered. He has to remain pure.” “But Cyprus has to have sex with him to distribute her energy amongst us through that metaphysical energy sharing thing you were all doing when I was having sex with her.” “Exactly.” Quin nodded. “So no one fucks Unus.” Sex nodded in understanding. “Well,” Unus added. “Not until the critha is complete. Then I will need to give you my energy as not to tax Cyprus.” Sex stared at Unus, read the hunger and desire in his eyes, then the same hunger in Quin’s eyes, and nodded.

The Coven

153

“When Cyprus is knocked up, your ass is going to be in big trouble.” He smirked. “They are going to be on your ass like Old Bay on blue crabs.” Quin snickered at that statement, and Unus rolled his eyes. “And you are going to hurt like the rest of us,” he added softly. “You…you can’t fully share until this critha is totally formed…and it pains you.” Quin stopped smirking and looked closer at Unus, reading what had passed his notice for so long. “You can’t fully share.” Sex sighed, looking at Unus in compassion. “You are a part of the Coven, but you can’t be free to fully share like the rest of us.” “I-I didn’t…know you felt that way,” Quin breathed, reaching out to touch his Coven mate, feeling the rest of the men in the room stir at this wave of unease and longing. “It is part of my duties as first,” Unus explained, sighing deeply, and shaking his head as if to knock away the longing desire that filled him. “I knew of it when I accepted my place as Cyprus’s Unus.” “But you didn’t know it would take this long for you to share fully in the Coven.” Sex reached out and touched Unus’s arm, to touch the bite mark still visible after all these years on Unus’s left wrist, a marking so similar and yet so different from the bonding marks they all sported. “And it is all the more reason to find and stop Crenshaw.” Unus spoke with determination, lifting his chin as he obviously attempted to change the subject. “And in the meantime,” Quin added, understanding the need for Unus to change the topic of discussion to something a little less painful, “Which one of us are you going to fuck first?” “Huh?” That jerked Sex out of his contemplation…real fast. “Your joining is not complete, Sex zet Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa. You must take us all to complete the bindings, and then be taken in turn by Unus. Then and only then will you be a complete member of our Coven. To do anything less would negate the bond and insult our Master. Why do you think Cyprus isn’t here now?” “Where…where is she?” Sex stuttered as he looked over the sea of men, over the sea of perfect specimens, each one different and unique in his own way, yet all were insanely beautiful men, men whom a mere week ago he’d held nothing but contempt for. Now here he was, looking to pick the first one to fuck. And when had he turned gay? It was all confusing and deliciously arousing at the same time. “She’s gone to sleep, to absorb what she took from you, to allow her body to know your energy signal and the flavor of your life-force. It will only happen this time, as you are a new source of energy for her. Her body is processing it all.”

154

Stephanie Burke

Unus answered, as Quin was now leering at Sex, trying to display his body for maximum cock-swelling effect. And it was having a great effect on their new coven member. “So,” Unus said, an unfamiliar glint of humor in his eyes. “Who you gonna fuck first?”

The Coven

155

Chapter Twenty-four “Oh, my God, this is unreal!” Jason moaned as he found his dick being pulled into the hottest, tightest place it had ever been. He still didn’t understand how he had gotten into this position in the first place. He remembered Unus laughing at him, and then a wave of desire so deep and profound it almost knocked him off his feet. He understood, then, the men were calling to him, his soul was crying out for total completion. The sex acts he shared with them before were just a preliminary to total bonding, and now his body and mind were craving it. He came at the men in no particular order, though he knew that he felt a closer bond to some more than others. And that is probably why, with a berserker roar, he hopped on Quin first. The short-haired blond was still basking in the afterglow when Jason -- no, Sex -pounced on him. His head shot straight up, just in time to catch a glimpse of tightly muscled male flesh as he was knocked over onto his back, his dick sucked into an untrained but eager mouth. “Sweet Sirens!” he gasped, before dropping his head back to the ground, moaning as it felt like his nuts were being sucked through his dick. Sex was ravenous, sucking and stroking every bit of his hard flesh he could get his hands on. His mind flowed with the images and emotions swirling up from his first conquest -and it would be conquest, of that he had no doubts.

156

Stephanie Burke

His hands ran over the prone man’s body, smiling as he writhed and bucked beneath him. He inhaled the rich, musky scent of man, tasting the wildness of Quin. But it wasn’t enough! He felt his dick swell, swinging heavily between his thighs, as he moved to take more of him into his mouth. He was by no means good enough to swallow the man whole, but he took as much as he could into his mouth, until the thick head butted against the back of his throat, choking him. He pulled off, breathing deeply and realized that Quin had both hands buried in his hair, massaging his scalp as he lay back and moaned. Quin was a sweating, trembling mass beneath him, and he decided that he loved the look on the blond. He looked around and noticed the interest of the other men, watched as they gathered around again, waiting and observing, hungrily licking their lips and rubbed fingers over hard cocks and nipples. But he quickly turned his attention back to Quin, delicious Quin, who stared back at him with glowing, hungry eyes. “What now?” he asked, and Sex found himself transfixed by the slow movements of his lips. “I… Uh…” Sex didn’t know. The confusion must have shown on his face, for Quin smiled up at him, lapped his tongue over his full bottom lip until it was glistening, then lifted his legs. No, Quin did more than lift his legs, he bent his knees to his chest and spread, giving Sex a perfect view of all his assets from the quivering pink hole just peeking up from behind his balls to his swollen and leaking cock. Sex swallowed deeply, more turned on than he had ever been in his life. If anyone had told him a few years ago that he was about to blow his load over staring at some guy’s naked ass and dick, he would have felt hard pressed not to rearrange his face. Now all he could do was mentally plan out how to get his rather thick dick into that small, tempting hole. “Go in easy,” a voice behind him whispered, and he turned his head to see Tria moving in behind him, his swollen dick almost reaching past his navel, his hair a wild black tangle around his head. He rested his hands on Sex’s shoulders and leaned close to whisper into his ear. Sex’s breath caught at the touch of the taller man, feeling the unbelievable heat in his touch, feeling it radiate off of his skin. And Unus leaned in closer, wrapping his arms around Sex’s body, his hands sliding down his shoulders to grip his hands, guiding him.

The Coven

157

“We all loved to be stroked,” Unus deep voice grumbled in his ear, and he forced Sex to bend over Quin’s body, to hover just above it, not enough to touch, but enough to get a serious look at all of his assets. “But Quin exists for our touches.” So saying, he guided Sex’s hands over the tight muscles of his legs and thighs, sliding him closer before twining his fingers with Sex’s. Together their hands ran down Quin’s tight abdomen, through the fine, nearly invisible hairs at his groin, to caress the shaft of his throbbing cock. Quin hissed and arched up into their touch, his eyes narrowing into slits as he raised his hands to grip his knees, spreading his legs even further, begging for their continued caresses. “Just like…that,” Unus hissed in his ear as he slowly backed off, allowing Sex’s hands to explore at their leisure. “Stroke him, caress his cock, tug his sac, learn his body as we have learned yours. We are your kindred, your fellow Ravens, your brothers. Come, take your rightful place among us.” Unus’s words spread heat and fire through Sex, the burning desire to forever be one who belonged, to be joined with his brethren as well as the unfamiliar bond that screamed family in his mind. For someone who had almost always been alone, it was a heady experience, one that was strong enough to almost move him to tears. Slowly he explored, running his fingers over the tight, swollen balls, spreading the leaking precum around the spongy head of Quin’s shaft, allowing his fingers to caress the tight, smooth muscles of his ass and to run tentative caresses along the wrinkled pink flesh of his hole. “God, do something!” Quin hissed, writhing under the arousing touches and caresses. Sex’s questing nature and obvious innocence was driving him out of control. “Stick your fingers in my ass and stretch me out!” he all but screamed. “Get me ready for your dick and fuck me !” That was all the encouragement Sex needed. With one hand fisting the moist slippery cock, his other slipped below Quin’s balls and into the tight, hot silk that was Quin’s ass. “Holy shit!” Sex gasped as the wet, silky flesh, softer than anything he had ever imagined, rippled around his finger, forcing the image of his cock slipping into such intense wet heat. “I think he likes it.” Someone laughed as Sex sat there, frozen, eyes glazed, mouth drooling. But he ignored their words and slid his finger in deeper, making Quin hiss like a scalded cat as his whole body lurched closer into Sex’s finger thrust.

158

Stephanie Burke

“Yes,” he hissed, his head rolling from side to side, his breath tearing from his chest. “Yes, stretch me! Put in another!” “Not a patient bottom.” Someone else laughed. “You better give him what he wants, Sex. Quin is quite demanding and will turn into a violent little kitty.” Following instructions, as if his libido would give him any choice in the matter, he sank another finger in and felt the tight muscle give. He slowly pulled his fingers back, groaning at the feel of those tight walls gripping him, then slid them back in. “Yes!” Quin moaned. “Yes, faster! Harder! Fuck me with your fingers!” Who was he to argue? Besides, those walls were soft and slick and hot. No lube required, he realized as he watched his fingers emerge glistening from Quin’s greedy hole. He quickly slipped them back inside and tried to mentally work out the logistics of adding another, while plowing his ass rather thoroughly. Quin was spitting and hissing, his fangs showing as he growled at Sex to hurry it up. The smell in the air was rich and wild, the scent of male musk, hunger, and desire, and Sex breathed it all in. The experience was so rich, he almost forgot about his own rock-hard cock and the all-consuming hunger that had filled him. But as he added a third finger and Quin let out something that was a cross between a yowl and a scream, all of his desire came rushing back. His fingers moved faster, his hips began to unconsciously pump, and he knew that if he kept this up, he could come without even touching himself. But he didn’t want to come all over himself, he wanted to thrust as hard and as deep as he could inside Quin and blow his seed there. He wanted to fuck all of them. He wanted to leave his mark, a piece of his soul, and the bindings of his possession on each of the men. Sliding in closer between Quin’s thighs, he pulled his fingers out, ignoring the wringing cry the man let out, and placed the purpling head of his dick at the outer guardian muscles, pressing and feeling the liquid heat that flowed from Quin’s body. “Yes!” Quin hissed, releasing one leg to reach out and slash at Sex, who was taking far too long in his opinion. “Yes, now! Do it now!” Sex pushed, felt the tight resistance of Quin’s hole give, and then he was sliding into heaven, a tight, gripping heaven that felt nothing like he had ever experienced. He froze, taking it all in, feeling tremors and shockwaves flow through his whole being. There was a sharp crack, and an intense sensation that he could not classify as pain, then he was sure he felt Quin’s voice inside his mind, demanding that he… “Move!”

The Coven

159

He jerked at the shouted words and reflexively shoved forward, sliding his dick in deeper than he thought was possible. Then Quin’s legs were around his waist, and he found himself sliding out, whimpering at the loss of that gripping heat, before slamming himself in again, trying to get deeper than before. Quin was screaming, his fingers scratching at his back, his arms, pulling him down to lick and nip at his face and neck. As much as he was taking Quin, marking him, Quin was having him as well, possessing him. Sex found himself following his instincts, driving himself deeper and faster into that welcoming body. Then there was a pulse in his brain, a tingle that grew into an all-out storm of pleasure, and he knew that it was coming from Quin. He felt Quin’s body tighten, his inner muscles rippling along his hard shaft, felt his breath hitch, and his body freeze as a tsunami of pleasure swamped his brain. He felt Quin’s hard shaft, which bounced between them, grow hotter, harder, and then pulse as spurt after spurt of his white-hot seed exploded from the head, coating both of their stomachs in Quin’s essence. And still he pounded away, moving, riding the explosion until every last drop of pleasure was wrung from Quin’s suddenly limp body. And he was still hard. He pulled out of Quin, bending low to take his mouth in a forceful kiss, thrusting his tongue in deep, fucking his mouth for a moment, before pulling away. He ignored the slight whimper from Quin as he eased his still throbbing dick from his body, and his eyes scanned the room, cataloging each of the men. He barely noticed Unus rising and exiting the room, so hot was his blood burning, so great his need. “Who’s next?” he growled, before a panting redhead with an erection the size of a baseball bat caught his attention. “Duae,” he breathed. “Come here. I have something for you.” The night passed in a frenzy of fucking and sucking, of melding their minds as well as their bodies. Sex was soon covered in a series of scrapes, bites, and scratches as he pounded away at the willing bodies of his fellow Ravens, taking each of their asses with a ferocity that surprised even him. But in the main bedroom, Unus snuggled up behind his Master, feeling her body jerk and buck, despite her state of sleep, as the new and complete bonds were formed.

160

Stephanie Burke

“You were right,” Unus breathed, setting his erect cock between the plump cheeks of her ass. “It appears that you were right about him all along.” “As if I am ever wrong,” Cyprus whispered back, startling Unus, who thought she was deeply asleep. “Of course not,” Unus replied, nipping at her neck, burying his face in her golden mane of hair. “You need release, My One,” Cyprus breathed, arching backward. “You need rest,” Unus denied, pulling away from her. “No!” she growled, and Unus froze. “You need this, I need this. What we will share will not take the place of you joining your brethren in total bond, not just yet, but it will ease your suffering, Unus.” “I never said…” “You never have to. Do you think that I don’t know my own men, that I don’t know about your suffering and your longing? Don’t paint me a fool, Unus.” “I would never…” “Then stop being a self-sacrificing idiot. I want you as much as you want me, as much as you want them. Ease both of our suffering, My One. I am wet and swollen, waiting for you.” And that was all it took. Unus slid his cock along her ass until his heat met the moist welcome of her labia. “Inside me, My One,” Cyprus moaned, reaching back and gripping his hair with an almost punishing grip. “Inside me! Be one with me!” Unus groaned, a puff of black smoke ringing the air above the bed as he pushed, as he thrust his hips forward and slid deeply into Cyprus’s hot, giving body. He moaned as he thrust, slamming his cock as deep as it could go, feeling her sac pressing against his, reaching around and feeling her cock hard and leaking. Tenderly, they began to move, to rock slowly against each other, his hand pumping her gently, letting the passion slowly build. “You are My One,” Cyprus moaned, her body slamming back, pulling Unus in as deep as he could go. “You are My One.” “Yours,” he whispered, moving faster, his eyes closing as fire began to zing up his spine and through his stomach. Sliding into her wetness was a relief and a joy as her muscles rippled softly around him. He felt her mind open up, joining with his before it went seeking out the men in the other room. Unus gasped, his hips slamming forward as he felt the jolt of connection that shook Sex and the others.

The Coven

161

He could feel their passion, their joy, and the completeness of their bond even as Cyprus shared the energy and emotions of their binding. Tears filled his eyes as he held his master tighter, wrapping his free arm about her, locking her body onto his. “Feel, My One,” she moaned, writhing on his pulsing cock. “Feel how they fit, how we all will soon fit.” “I-I feel,” he gasped, fire shooting through his veins, his mind bursting with the passionate fire that the others exuded, his body trembling at the wet heat of his master’s. “I feel!” “Then make love to me, My One,” Cyprus breathed, rolling over to her stomach, sliding away from his cock with a wet-sounding pop. In an instant, Unus was one with her. But instead of taking her from behind, he rolled her over onto her back, and for a moment, just stared at the sheer perfection of his mate. Cyprus’s breasts were full and topped with rock-hard nipples. Her breasts quivered slightly with each of her hard breaths. Her eyes were a molten gold, staring straight into his soul. Her hair spread out to surround a face that was sheer perfection in any of the known sentient planets. His eyes trailed downward, noting that the darkness of the room softened the scars that covered her body. For a moment, he felt his temper rise at the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of man, before her soft palm caressed his cheek. “Be at ease, My One. Soon they will pay.” He nodded at her words and then allowed his hands to follow the path his eyes had previously taken. He loved the feel of her skin, the softness of it, the amazing color. He could touch her forever. “Yes,” she whispered, arching into his touch. “Feel me, touch me, be one with me.” Unus groaned in reply, his hands traveling over her body, down over her stomach, to grip her swollen cock. He smiled at the rich, dark color of it, the bright pink tip, the way that she showed her need of him in the slick drops of precum that dripped from the head. He gripped her thighs and eased them back until both of her feet were flat on the bed. She smiled as he spied the soaking wet labia that awaited him. A wicked smile spread across his lips before he spread her legs and dove down. Cyprus gasped as his tongue ran down the shaft of her cock before hefting her balls out of the way.

162

Stephanie Burke

“The sweetness of you,” Unus breathed before he spread her wide with his thumbs and bent to worship at her delicate pink flesh. “Unus!” Cyprus whimpered, her hips arching as her own hands went to her breasts, tugging at the nipples. “Yes!” Unus lapped at her flesh, stiffening his tongue and driving it deep within her body. He pressed his nose against her clit, stimulating it as his hands caressed her thighs, urging her to let go, to revel in the joy he was giving her. Cyprus’s head twisted on the pillows, her hair tangling about her, tendrils of it sticking to the growing sweat that sheened her body. “Mmm,” Unus purred, smoke flowing from his nostrils as he lifted his head enough to rapidly tongue her clit, making her squeal and arch as her thighs wrapped around his head, her heels pressing into his back. “Yes, My One!” she gasped. “Take what you need!” Her hands gripped his hair, urging him to lick harder, which he eagerly did. Unus was drowning in the scent and taste of his master. He moaned as he lapped more, swallowing her down. One of his hands lifted to her cock, fisting it, stroking it slowly, and feeling her desire slam into a higher pitch. Unus’s cock was so hard by now it began to ache. His free hand fisted it, stroking it hard, his thumb toying with the foreskin as he moaned his pleasure. His heart raced as he ministered to his master. Each breath caused him to inhale the rich femininity of her, so at odds with the tight balls and hard cock he was pleasuring. Everything about his Master was unique, erotic, exotic, and so intense. He reluctantly pulled away, feeling her tug at his hair, relishing the pleasure-pain as he slid up and seized her lips in a forceful kiss. Cyprus moaned at her own taste mingled with the taste of her One and felt herself grow even more wet. “Take me now,” she demanded, licking at his shiny face, sinking her teeth ever so slightly into the thin skin of his neck. Dark smoke surrounded him; the smell of him, musk and sulfur, engaged all her senses, reminding her of how dark and dangerous the creature riding between her legs actually was. “Unus,” she chanted, her legs sliding down to wrap around his waist. “Cyprus.” His voice had dropped to a deep growl. “Unus,” she sighed, smiling as she felt his control slip. She opened her mind and allowed more of the emotions she held to fill him. Then he was growling, wrenching her hips higher, positioning the swollen head of his cock at her hot, wet entrance.

The Coven

163

“Mine,” he hissed, sliding deep within her, feeing her walls part in an eager, hot welcome. “Mine!” He hissed it, he growled it; he made sure she understood that she belonged to him. “Yours!” she screamed, accepting his possession, accepting his body, reveling in his claiming. Then he was rutting at her, slamming himself as deep as he could get, growling and hissing as fire ran through his body. Then his mouth slammed down on hers, sucking her tongue deep into his mouth, savoring the taste of her. He tore his mouth away, licking and nipping at her neck, planting his hands on each side of her head, pressing himself down so that each thrust caused his body to rub against hers. She whimpered as his muscled stomach massaged her cock with every thrust. The bed began to shift with the power of his thrusts as he closed his eyes, opened his mind, giving his all to his master. “I can feel you, feel them,” he managed, tears flowing from his eyes as he rested his head against hers, tightening his grip on her, losing himself in the sensations swamping both of them. “Be one with them through me,” Cyprus urged, forcing herself to keep her eyes open even though the pleasure they created together was bordering on pain. “Partake of me, of them.” She whimpered as her body began to stiffen, and her climax began to race through her. “Let us be one!” “Cyprus!” Unus threw back his head, roaring as his release tore through him, his back burning, his balls expelling his seed so quickly they began to ache. As his climax filled him, so did the power of the emotions the others were creating. Their growing bond showed the love and connection they all felt, the passion, the need, and the feeling of unity that came with being a family. All of those emotions flowed through Cyprus, intensified, and then in turn flowed to him. “Unat, Keil Keiba!” he shouted the ritual words. “United, we are one.” The shock nearly fried his brain, filling his mind with electricity as Cyprus’s body sweetly pulled and massaged the seed from his body. Drained and panting, he collapsed into her arms. “Cyprus,” he breathed. “We are one,” Cyprus repeated, her own breath tearing in her throat. She ran her fingers through his hair, calming him, easing him into sleep.

164

Stephanie Burke

Her Unus; he took on so much, cared so much, worried for all of them, yet was forced by circumstances to remain apart from them. But only for a short time more, she thought. Only for a short time more. Soon, nothing would keep them apart. “United, Unus. We are one.”

The Coven

165

Chapter Twenty-five He awoke to the most beautiful sound that he had ever heard. Sex, née Jason Giles, peeled his eyes open and promptly slammed them shut. He groaned and raised one hand to his aching head, shocked at how much his arm trembled. Abruptly, the singing stopped, and gentle fingers were caressing his face. “Shh, pretty one.” Cyprus’s voice relaxed him a little, and he settled back into the soft pillows that held him. Pillows? he thought, trying to raise up again. Where was he? His last thoughts were of lying in a pile of big, sweaty men, wondering how on earth he had survived his taking by Unus. Now he seemed to be lying on cool, soft pillows, an angel singing sweetly in his ear. He opened his eyes to see a wall of muscled flesh beside him, and Cyprus’s golden eyes smiling down at him. Huh? That wasn’t right, his mind murmured. He tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He sat up a bit further, his eyes focusing more, then he smiled. Cyprus was with them. She was peering at him from around a slumbering Unus. “Better now?” she asked, a smile pulling at her full lips. “I-I…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I think so.” “Good. Then you can come and join me in my bath.” She even winked at him. Sex winced and blushed as abused muscles began to make themselves known. Okay, that was a bit weak for the pain he was feeling. His asshole was on fire! He knew he would

166

Stephanie Burke

be cursing his brothers every time he attempted to take a shit this week, even though it had been he, lost in the surge of energy and lust, who had egged them on. And if Cyprus was expecting sloppy sixes… “Not for that.” Cyprus snorted, trying to hold in a laugh. “You’ll make me wake Unus!” The man in question mumbled and snuggled deeper into the pillows that were cradling his head. They both looked at him and then grinned in amusement. “No, all I want to do is bathe,” Cyprus managed, allowing the humor at the situation to rise. “I think that soaking in some hot water will do you some good, Sex.” He winced at his name, poking his lips out in a childish fashion. “Every time someone calls my name, it makes it sound like an invitation to get down and dirty. Why did you have to choose Latin?” “Because I thought it was sophisticated.” She sighed and looked down, a lock of silken hair falling over her shoulder, partially obscuring her face. “I guess I was wrong.” “Hey,” Sex began, sitting up and pushing aside the thin sheet that covered his body. “Hey, not all of us are monsters, you know.” He reached out and caressed her cheek, delighting in the feel of her soft skin. Just sitting there, looking at Cyprus, seeing her as a graceful flower…well, it was odd to think that she was hung large enough to make him blush and that she had started her life off as a male. “I-I know,” she sighed, nestling her face into his hand. “But…but I guess they are old war wounds, battle scars that never heal.” “But they will,” he assured her as he pulled his hand back. ”We shall see to it.” He rolled away from them, to the edge of the great pile of pillows, and tried to gain his feet. He only got as far as a pained groan when he felt arms wrap around his waist. Before he could blink, he was lifted high into the air and cradled like a child…or a bride. He looked over his shoulder to see a grinning Unus easily hefting his weight. Cyprus giggled as she raced toward the bathroom, presumably to start the jets running in the large Jacuzzi tub. “So how long have you been awake?” he asked. “I heard what you said, Sentinel,” Unus’s deep voice rumbled as he carried the man across the room, following his coven master. “Are you prepared to keep your word?” Unus paused as Sex froze in his arms.

The Coven

167

Sex, née Jason Giles, was more stunned than anything. When had his thinking changed, his moral code altered? He had no idea when, but he knew that he was now different. Before, he was willing to do almost anything to get his job done, to protect the people he had been hired to protect. Now, here he was, casually thinking of murdering the one man he had been paid to keep alive and safe. But then, he had seen the havoc that that one man had created so easily and without a care. The aftermath of that destruction was devastating, not only to the victim, but to everyone that his victim held dear. He watched that small family suffer, felt the longing they felt, felt the piece of their soul that had been torn away and used, as if life was some small, disposable inconvenience. And yet, here he was agreeing to the taking of another life, discarding it as if it were used tissue, and once more found himself relishing the thought. It was not murder; it was the closest thing to divine justice that he could think of. The feel of those cold, empty places screaming out to be warmed and heated with the fires of life…it almost reduced him to tears. But these tears were not tears of sadness; they were tears of furious wrath that demanded retribution. He would see that man pay, that thief of life. He would see him into his grave, hopefully with his own hands wrapped around his neck, leading him to his eternal rest and into the hands of the devil himself. “My word is my bond,” Jason Giles, now Sex zet Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa, vowed. He tore away his past life, his history, the awards and accolades, the failures and triumphs that went along with the name Jason Giles, and cast them aside like an unwanted shell, a skin that had become too small to contain all that he was. And now, the new creature, the competent male beast that stood in its place was determined, was part of a united whole, and was hungering for vengeance on behalf of those in his new family who had suffered and had been so wronged for so long. “And your bond, Jason Giles, is it so strong?” “That person does not exist,” Sex growled out, his eyes flashing a violent shade of amber that so matched Unus’s when angered. “My name is Sex zet Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa. “ “Your word?” “Binds me to my oath,” he hissed, narrowing his eyes staring up at the man holding him. “My oath, my life.” Nodding, Unus continued on to the bathroom to a grinning Cyprus, who already had towels set out. “You are going to love it here,” she continued, as if she hadn’t heard every word of their conversation. “You will make your place, as if you hadn’t already.” She smiled tenderly

168

Stephanie Burke

as Unus lowered his still-trembling body into the water. “We are now your family. You will never feel that lack again.”

The Coven

169

Chapter Twenty-six The water was nearly scalding, but it was enough to begin to ease his sore, torn muscles. He winced as he reached behind him and touched his swollen, hot anal opening. How had he eagerly taken on so many men? “It’s always worse for the last selected.” Cyprus gigged, lifting a small vial and pouring its lemony scented oil into the water. “You must carry the passion of the five before you.” “If I was a wolf, I would be in the bitch position,” Sex grumbled, to both Unus’s and Cyprus’s amusement. “The last man on the pole, and unlike the wolf, there is no way I can kick someone else’s ass to take their place.” “What an interesting turn of thought,” Cyprus said with a snicker. “But being in the bitch position, as you say, is it really that bad?” “That remains to be seen,” Sex grumbled good-naturedly. “Oh, I think it’s more of a baby position, myself.” Cyprus chuckled, swirling the oil around in the water. “And this should help ease your soreness.” After a moment or two, Jason had to admit that the oil or the heated water, or maybe a combination of them both, was helping. He began to relax and sighed deeply. “So what’s on the agenda today, besides making Sex stew?” “Oh, I don’t know,” Cyprus said. “I figured we would spend the day pampering you before we rested. Tomorrow is my final performance here. Although I have no liking for D.C., I do love being on stage, showcasing what I trained so hard to achieve.” “And then…” “And then…” Her eyes hardened. “And then there is the awards banquet in D.C. And then my business will be completed here, Sex.” “Hmm,” he mused. “And then?”

170

Stephanie Burke

“And then we return home.” She smiled down at where her sixth was resting. “All of us, Sex. We all return home and to a better life.” “And…” Sex paused, taking in the fact that his time left on this planet was being counted in mere hours, but then realized that the thought didn’t bother him at all. “And just what will I be doing there?” he asked. His acceptance was total. Besides, there was nothing here holding him to anything. He had no parents; he took the jobs that amused him, so he had no boss, and all of the money he’d earned had already been earmarked to go to several different charities in event of him not checking in at a specific date and time. No one would ever miss him. “Oh!” Cyprus giggled. “You will lounge around half-naked and see to my happiness?” “Um, no.” Sex snorted, and Unus chuckled. “Hmm, since you won’t consent to be my lapdog…” “That’s Quattour, from what I hear,” he added helpfully, ignoring Unus’s snort. “Then…” Cyprus stressed the word, pointedly ignoring the interruption. “Then you shall help raise any and all children that I bear.” “Glorified nanny,” Sex groaned, and Cyprus exploded into laughter. “Your job, Sentinel” -- Unus finally decided to add his words to this conversation -- “is to see to the happiness of our master, to help maintain the integrity of our coven, and to be a constant companion to its leader.” “So I get to lie about and peel grapes?” He snickered and nodded to Cyprus. “Um, no,” Cyprus said and smiled. “Since I don’t have a secondary form…” “Wait.” Sex sat up. “You don’t have a form?” “Well,” Cyprus began, “Quinque is a feline breed, and Quattour is a lupine breed. Duae can’t exist without some sort of water, which proves his aquatic leanings. Tria’s people were once called night hags, but that term got screwed up with Nosferatu. But he is of the Night Breed. And as for Unus…pray that you never see his alternate form.” Cyprus smiled. “When I first chose him, my people thought I was insane. But there is something majestic and beautiful in the way he moves…” Her words trailed off, and her eyes glazed over, as if remembering the past, getting lost in the memories. But then she shook herself, and much to Unus’s satisfaction, reached over to caress his stoic face. Turning to Sex, she tilted her head to the side and grinned. “But instead of killing me outright for my impertinence, he instead took on his secondary form and chose to give up his life to follow me.” “So what were…are you?” Sex asked, turning his head to watch the smug, dark-eyed male. “And what did you have to give up?” “Well…” Unus sighed, smiling tenderly as if becoming lost in remembrances himself. “My people are classified as night demons.”

The Coven

171

“You are a demon?” Sex asked, sitting up, excitement in his eyes. “No,” Unus rolled his eyes. “Night Demon is one of the acceptable terms for my people. But if you must…” “Oh, I must!” Sex leaned forward, eager as a child receiving candy. “I must, I must.” “Then” -- Unus ignored Cyprus’s snickers -- “I am a gargouille, a monster that has been both celebrated and feared in all of our histories.” “And I don’t speak French,” Sex said and snorted. “Details, man! I want to know who and what just plowed my ass.” Rolling his eyes at the impetuosity of youth, Unus explained. “If you must…and yes, I know you must, I am a Night Dragon.” As he spoke, Sex’s eyes grew large in shock. “No shit? You are a dragon? One with scales and wings…” “Wings, yes.” Unus smirked. “Scales, no. I maintain an almost humanoid form, Sentinel. But I indeed have an impressive wingspan.” “Horns?” “Of course.” He smiled. “Two sets.” “And fangs…” Sex allowed his words to trail off as Unus smiled widely, exposing three sets of very lethal-looking fangs he maintained even in his human form. “Never mind,” he added, still grinning. “And does your face turn into something resembling a lizard?” “What?” Unus sat up, shocked himself for the moment. “No!” “Hmm, so I can’t call you lizard face to the others?” Sex snickered as Cyprus turned a laugh into a cough. “I am the prince of all Gargouille, Sentinel. It’s best you keep that in mind.” He settled back in the water, watching as shock once again replaced amusement in their newest chosen’s face. “You were a prince?” “Am a prince,” Unus corrected. “Complete with the power and the authority of all my people.” “You can command an army?” he asked, still absorbing this new bit of information. “Can and still do, when the situation warrants.” Unus smiled. “So that is why you are good at organization,” Sex mused out loud before a lightbulb went off in his head. “You are the reason the council on the Home world allowed Cyprus to hunt.” “Indeed, small Sentinel. You show a bit of the potential I always saw in you.” Sex was torn between preening and looking disgruntled. He settled on disgruntled. “A bit?”

172

Stephanie Burke

“Don’t let his words fool you.” Cyprus laughed, enjoying the byplay between her first and her last. “Unus always believed in you. He has the ability to seek out gifts in others and to exploit them to their full potential.” “Is that why he said yes to you?” Sex asked. “No,” Unus answered himself. “I said yes because I could never imagine loving another creature like I love her.” His heart was truly in his eyes as he spoke these words. It was clear to all concerned that Unus was totally and completely in love with his mate. Such beauty needed no other words for explanation. His emotions were almost a palpable thing. It almost made Sex feel uncomfortable and lacking, but then he felt that love extend to him as Unus turned to gently caress his face, as Cyprus had caressed his earlier, outlining his features with a wet finger. “We gargouille have the ability to instantly know our mates and are given to taking more than one. I gave up nothing to be with my master, and I get so much more in return.” He smiled tenderly over at Cyprus, before turning his attention back to Sex. “And you, I felt a connection with you from the moment I saw you, though I was loath to discover what kind of connection it was. But I am pleased to see that it…this connection toward you…has settled nicely into a mate bond.” “You just knew?” Sex asked, eyes wide, as he took in this new information. He felt like such a child, but he was learning so much. Again, just about all that he knew about the modern world was being challenged, and he found that he actually enjoyed the minor shocks that were hitting him at each turn in this conversation. “One of the benefits of being a gargouille.” “And what were you, Cyprus?” he asked after a moment to digest this newest revelation. “You had to have had another form; at least your earlier words implied it.” Cyprus smiled as she reached for a sponge and soaked it in the fragrant water before moving closer to Sex. “I can hardly remember.” She mused for a second. “But I am sure you understand I have an affinity for land, sea, and creatures of the sky.” “As you have surrounded yourself with a human, and several forms of creatures with gills and wings, I would assume so, yeah.” Then he squeaked as Cyprus wrung the sponge over his head, soaking his short hair and making Unus explode in guffaws. “As I was saying, rude creature” -- she sniffed -- “I was born into a great line of war steeds and sirens.” She paused dramatically. “Does that shock you?” “No.” Sex shook his head as Cyprus deflated a bit. “It doesn’t?”

The Coven

173

“No.” But he nodded again as if something had just begun to make sense to him. “That explains you mane of hair, the way to stomp your feet when you get agitated, and your constant need to be on display.” Unus exploded into laughter at that one, and Cyprus shot him a chilling look before she too dissolved into giggles. “Okay, so maybe I still have some family traits…” “Pride, easy to anger, high-strung in nature. Cyprus, you are a thoroughbred,” Sex added, smiling as she just rolled her eyes. “I admitted to having some equine traits.” “Biting…” Unus prompted “Okay!” she shouted. “Whatever happened to respect?” “I respect you.” Unus laughed, his eyes tearing up at the look on her face. “I always shall respect you,” Sex added, reverently, reaching out to touch the face he now had permission to caress. “I shall never relinquish my respect for you, Cyprus.” He leaned forward and placed a small kiss on her chin, just below those luscious full lips. “Because, no matter what you have been forced to endure, you remained strong and fighting. I respect strength.” ‘”Oh!” Cyprus gasped, then smiled at her newest mate’s words. He always knew just the right thing to say. Then just as quickly, she shook off the serious moment by dipping the sponge once again and advancing on her Sex’s body.

174

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Twenty-seven Sex whimpered as the sponge traveled along the overly sensitive skin of his back and shoulders. He leaned against Cyprus, his bones melting. Breathing had suddenly become a challenge. A smug-looking Unus sat beside him, his arms around a grinning Cyprus as she worked over his wasted body. But this was pampering like he had never had before, and he enjoyed every moment to the fullest. “Poor baby,” Cyprus purred, a twinkle in her golden eyes. “But you looked so beautiful, so arousing, just so perfect.” Sex could only whimper in response, wanting the caresses to continue, wanting to fall asleep right where he was. He didn’t even protest as Cyprus spread his legs wide and began to sponge off his cock and his empty, loose-swinging balls. He did wince somewhat as her fingers traveled backward to the swollen skin of his anus. The puckered opening was still sore and swollen. It would be quite a while before he accepted anything back there, other than a finger, he decided. He had discovered his prostate, and he was not about to let that little gland rust due to lack of use. “What’s so funny, my baby boy?” Cyprus asked, looking amused as she diligently did what she could to sooth his hurts.

The Coven

175

“Just thinking…about” -- he opened his eyes to smile at her -- “about all of the neat new things I’ve learned since I came here.” “I can just imagine.” She smirked, then pulled away, gently patting the flesh she had been cleaning. “But for now, I need you to get out of the tub and back onto the bed. You need a massage.” Sex perked up a bit at that. The only type of massage he had ever received hurt like hell and generally came after some muscle injury. “I hope it’s a sensual massage…” “Hedonist,” Cyprus murmured as she rose to her feet, the slightly oily water running down her body, highlighting its nearly hairless state. Sex couldn’t believe it, but he felt his spent cock twitch at the sight of her naked body, her lax cock and balls. He knew what lay beneath those healthy genitalia. Hell, he had sucked and licked and lapped, delighting in finding the feminine features of her pussy hidden beneath the outwardly male organs. And she had smelled and tasted… He shuddered in sheer delight as he thought of the slick, thick taste of her pussy. He couldn’t wait to dive in and partake. But he just had to be a little more patient. He bit his lip as he realized that he could actually feel the desire for the bond to complete itself. He also felt the hunger of the others, felt the missing piece that so haunted them all. It choked him up. His eyes grew large, and he had to fight to hold in the tears, anguish, and grief that threatened to swamp him He was so lost in his fight that he never realized that Unus rose to his feet and gently lifted him from the water. He realized that he was no longer in the bathroom when he felt the cool sheets against his back. “Unus…” he began, turning his head to stare intently at the other man, but was hushed as one large finger lay against his lips. “Don’t… Just don’t dwell on it.” His breath hitched as it dawned on him that he could feel the loss intently, the loss of the critha that the others felt. And this close to Unus, he could feel the years the other male had spent waiting, waiting for the others to be chosen, waiting to complete the critha, waiting for the justice that had been denied his mate. It was almost enough to form a physical lump in his throat. He looked up at Unus, but once again was shushed by the other male.

176

Stephanie Burke

“I do not dwell on what could not be changed in the past, Sentinel. I choose to dwell on what I have yet to accomplish in the future.” Sex nodded, then jerked as something else became abundantly clear. The more he concentrated on that thin wave of grief, the more he realized that the emotions were muted, downplayed, muffled even. “You are regulating this, aren’t you?” he asked, eyes growing wide in horror. “I…” “You are taking her grief, as well as your own, and you are muffling it so that we can’t feel the full brunt of it, aren’t you?” Unus sighed, then sat heavily beside Sex. “I have to,” he finally said, elbows resting on his knees, his head hanging low. His long, black hair was a cloak that hid his face from view, but Sex could easily read his emotions. “I have to, Sentinel. For if I do not mute this grief, we all would go mad.” “It is mostly hers, isn’t it?” Unus nodded, then sat up, tossing his hair behind him, giving Sex a clear view of his face. “I have to do this for them, for her. I would never want her anger and anguish to haunt them. To make them feel incapable of helping, of being less than they could be.” “Quattour feels,” Sex added, rolling over onto his side to get closer to the grieving male. “Quattour.” Unus tilted his head to the side, a smile tugging at his lips. “With you and Quattour, it is all special and different.” “How so?” Sex asked, seriously wanting to know. Unus and Quattour had always reacted differently to him, harsher, pushing him, testing him instead of merely accepting with some concerns as the others had. “You, Quattour, and I are the only alpha males in this coven.” Sex sucked in a deep breath, going still. “Alpha?” “It is virtually unheard of to have more than one alpha in a coven. But Cyprus never does anything to anyone’s expectations.” He leaned back and smirked. “Best you remember that.” “So…too many alphas in a Coven will wreak havoc?” he mused. “Of course,” Unus agreed. “In the beginning, I thought I would have to fry his mouthy ass. But because we are not of the same breed, it made it less difficult to accept.” “This different breed thing, is it common?” “No,” Unus growled. “In fact, it has only been done a few times, and only with all submissive coven members. We were singular in that regard.” Unus turned to face Sex directly. “I am given to believe that is why the Council was so lax in their decisions regarding

The Coven

177

my…our mate. We were an anomaly that they felt would be better served incomplete. Change…it frightens them.” “Bureaucracy,” Sex sneered. “Everywhere you go.” “And their brand of bureaucracy almost destroyed us.” Instantly, Sex had a new fight. His loyalty came into play as he regarded the other alpha. “Is this going to be a problem when we get home?” He never even realized he was calling a place he had never been, nor held any loyalties to, home. “Never,” Unus growled. “I won’t allow it to be.” He shook himself, pulling himself from dark thoughts. “And as for Quattour, you both will have to come to some sort of agreement.” “Did you?” Sex wanted to know. “I threatened to fry his ass if he didn’t get out of my personal space, then I fucked him to within an inch of his life.” Sex’s eyebrows rose at that. “I assume he enjoyed himself?” “Immensely.” Unus chuckled. “But I don’t think that would be a good option for you.” “Well, I’ll think of something,” Sex mused. “Besides, Cyprus won’t let him kill me, will she?” Snickering, Unus rose to his feet, making his way toward the door. “She wouldn’t, Unus. Would she?” “I have to go and discover where Cyprus has disappeared to.” He exited, still snickering, which was like laughing like a hyena for the generally stoic Unus. “Humph.” Sex snorted, curling up and getting comfortable on the bed. “He starts anything, I’ll shave his ignorant ass bald.”

***** Cyprus slowly ran the brush through her golden mane as the door to the vanity off of the master bath opened. Her golden eyes, troubled eyes, met those of her first and froze. “He is special, is he not?” Her voice shook slightly, something not even the most avid of her fans would have noticed. But her mate, her first, noticed. “He is not human.” Unus spoke softly as he crossed the room. He placed his palms on his master’s shoulders and began to gently knead the skin. “And whatever he is, he is alpha.” “You noticed?” “I informed him.” Unus nodded. “I know that there is some Berserker blood within him.”

178

Stephanie Burke

“You noticed?” Cyprus’s sarcasm was evident in her wry tones and her rolled eyes. “Long had I battled that kind, Cyprus. It would be foolish of me not to notice the scent.” “Have you told him?” “I’ve told him nothing. I truthfully allowed him to believe Quattour’s issues with him stem from the fact that they are both alpha.” “Is that wise?” Cyprus turned to look up at her mate, one eyebrow raised in question. “I will inform him soon enough, unless you deem it necessary for him to know earlier…” “That is fine.” Cyprus turned back to the mirror and resumed brushing her long, thick mane of hair. “He will have enough to contend with, to adjust to. Too much may send his mind spiraling into shock from which he would never recover.” “You underestimate him in that regard.” Unus reached out and pulled the brush from her grasp and began brushing the silken strands himself. “You believe?” she asked, shuddering slightly as she felt his fingers follow each stroke of the brush. “I believe.” Unus allowed a small smile to cross his lips. “This one, this near human, is our sixth.” “Was there any doubt?” Now Cyprus sounded smug. “Me, doubt you ?” he teased. “Never. And I trust you implicitly.” “And I you,” Cyprus returned with a smile. “Then trust me with the burden that is now plaguing your mind.” Cyprus froze for a second, then looked over her shoulder at her tall, dark man. “It shows?” “To one who knows you.” “Well,” she began, comfortable and accustomed to sharing her thoughts with this particular male. “It’s just that…it’s almost at an end, Unus. It is almost done, and then we can resume our lives…the way they were supposed to be lived.” “And this distresses you?” “I-I don’t know what I’m feeling,” she breathed, her head hanging. “I don’t know what to feel. I mean, I am so happy to have found our sixth, Unus. I despaired of ever finding him. And now that I have, I discover he is working for them.”

The Coven

179

“He was,” Unus charged. “He was working for them, Cyprus. But they lied to him. He hadn’t a clue what was going on. Truthfully, put in his position, I believe I would have reacted the same.” “High praise, Unus.” “It was one of the reasons I bestowed the name Sentinel upon him. He is an alpha, Cyprus, make no mistake about that. But he has enough intelligence, amazingly enough, to actually use his brain instead of being too stubborn to listen to reason. Once he knew the facts, and not the lies that the scientist had spewed from his lips, he was just as outraged as the rest of us. Justice is no mere disposable word for him. It is what makes him such a good protector, such an exceptional human.” “Exceptional human.” Cyprus sighed. “Those are two words I never though I would hear you utter.” “He gives me hope for his childish race.” “But then, he is not purely human, Unus.” “He is no Berserker, either,” Unus countered. “Even though I believe his skills in battle and his quick understanding of this stems from the fact that he possesses tainted blood, his emotions, his sense of honor, his moral fiber -- that is all human.” “Is it?” “Ever try to reason with a Berserker?” Cyprus snickered at those words, running one perfectly manicured hand over her face. “You are so correct, My One. How could I ever think otherwise?” “How? From being around these humans for far too long.” He sounded arrogant and proper, her Unus, and Cyprus relaxed. “Well, I am thinking that this will end soon. Soon the critha will be complete, and we can return home, in spite of what those bastards on the Council wanted. I am thinking that we shall return home complete and whole for the first time, Unus. And at the same time, I am scared and afraid and mad and…eager for it all to be done.” “Scared that it won’t come to fruition?” She nodded. “Afraid that something will go wrong?” “That I am dreaming,” she agreed. “Mad…” “Mad because it went on for so long. Mad that they never offered to help us until you used force. Mad that I… Mad that I fell for it…” “Your guilt is misplaced,” Unus informed her. “You acted in an honorable manner.”

180

Stephanie Burke

“Guilt… It’s too weak a word, Unus. And as a result, you and Duae…all of my coven have been living in limbo, a state of suspended animation, unable to move forward, to be released to go back and find a real life.” “We have a real life with you, Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa. And none of us feel a moment of regret for being with you, for accepting what you have to offer.” “Then you are fools,” Cyprus moaned, reaching up to take the hairbrush from Unus. “Foolish for following the dictates of our hearts?” “Maybe not foolish” -- she narrowed her eyes at him in the mirror -- “but certainly lacking in common sense.” That drew a snicker from the usually stoic Unus. “No, my love.” He leaned over to place delicate kisses along her shoulder blades. “That makes us exceptional men in the eyes of our world. Do you know how many people envied me, the first in the coven of the highly desired and much admired Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa?” “The stupid section of our population?” “The wisest, richest, most well-placed individuals, Cyprus. To them, you are, and will always remain, a powerful hero, a warrior, an unparalleled beauty with strength to maintain even in the most egregious of situations. We worship you, my love. And I don’t regret a moment, the pain, the happiness, the sadness…I regret nothing. Feel no guilt on our behalf, Cyprus. You are the most honored and revered among mates.” Cyprus sniffled at his words, the sincerity of them reaching her through his tone as well as through their close bond. Her Unus loved her. Her men loved her, and she had completed them. Now after she dealt with the final piece, she and her men were going home. The wait would soon be over. “You are our world,” he added, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. “Even your newly initiated sixth, with his not-so-human-blood, would gladly spill his tainted blood upon the ground if you so desired.” He tightened his grip, lifting her from the padded bench, enveloping her within his powerful arms. “You have us all. And soon, this nasty business will be over, and we will be whole.” “Whole,” Cyprus breathed as if the very word was a benediction. “Whole.” And Unus held her as she cried out her fear and frustration. Held her tighter as she worked through her guilt and pain, until the only thing that remained was her anger. That he nurtured. “Whole,” he breathed into her hair, smiling as he felt her arms and legs wrap around him. “Whole and complete.”

The Coven

181

“And the ones who did this will pay,” she added, her eyes fiery gold chips as she contemplated the bastards who had led them down this path of destruction. “They will all pay for our suffering. When I am done, there won’t be enough pieces to shit into hell.”

182

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Twenty-eight Quin was the first, he noticed, to enter the room where Sex lay, reeling with all the information that had been fed to him. This thing was so much more complicated than boy meets almost girl and her troupe of merry men, screwing until the dawn, and living happily after. This was so much bigger than that. And his brain was struggling to assimilate it all. “So,” Quin purred, staring at Sex for a moment, before bounding across the room and diving into the large bed. “How do you feel? Can you feel us? We are all together now. Isn’t it great, not to ever be alone?” Sex blinked at the male, noting that he was extremely amused, from the look on his face, and really, really happy to see him, by the size of his erection. “Um.” Sex eyeballed his hard-on, not quite sure how to answer. “Oh, that.” He gave a chuckle. “Pay no attention to that. It just happens when I get a really powerful rush, and I just got one. What was Unus doing to you? He was shielding, but man! It had to be something. You have to learn to control what you send out. Spontaneous erections could be bad for business when we are out and about.” He tilted his head to the side, his parti-colored eyes gleaming in amusement. “Or not…” “Um.” Sex tried again, tilting his head to the other side, mimicking Quin as he examined the clearly excited Quinque. Was the man even breathing? “Well, no matter, you will learn,” Quin continued, his words running together along the same fast-paced vein. “You will learn. We all had to learn. I mean, when we were joined by Tria, and he reached his age of majority for magic, we could have jerked off fifteen times a day, and we still would have been hard, thanks to his ability to make Duae better understood.”

The Coven

183

“I would imagine,” Sex spoke softly, not wanting to provoke the overly talkative creature his friend had become. Slowly, he began to ease away from the man. “You have no idea! Whew!” Quin collapsed back on the bed. “I mean, do you know how many images you have to decipher to get the sentence ‘I would like sausages for dinner’? We were buying him all sorts of dildos and vibrators because we couldn’t clearly pickup the image he was sending. And I can’t even count the number of times we gave him the… What do humans call it? Oh, yeah! …the rear admiral before we figured out he didn’t want late-night sex, either! But with Tria finally being a fully mature night hag and having the ability to send thoughts and images into other’s heads, we realized our mistakes and spent a lot of time blowing that sea hag to make up for it. Did you know that Duae can maintain a three-hour erection without even trying? I mean, when he actually puts some effort into it, he can keep that snake of his stiff for hours -- unending hours, I tell you. But with Tria hitting maturity, all the misunderstandings were erased. We have a very diverse group. So…what do you think you bring to the mix? I mean, I can tell that the bond is different, changed somehow, but I’ve been wondering…” “Oh, give it a fucking break!” Sex was so intent on getting away from the spastic Quin that he never even noticed the door opening up and Quat making his way inside. Quin looked up, and Sex gawked as his friend began to purr loudly. “I know, puddy tat.” Quat chuckled as he moved deeper into the room to observe the feline gargoyle rolling on the bed like a kitten high on catnip. “You just can’t help yourself.” “Feels good,” Quin purred, tilting his head back and to the side, a sure sign of submission to the dark male. “I know, little pussy cat. Go on and love it up. Enjoy it while it lasts.” Quat smiled affectionately at his coven mate, genuine love and amusement in his eyes. Quin nodded, purring still louder as he curled up into the fetal position on his side and began to claw at the bedspread. Then Quat turned his searching purple/blue eyes on Sex. “Humph, so you made it.” “Made what?” Sex asked, struggling with the urge to hold in a growl. Something just rubbed him wrong about Quat. Ever since they first met, he would have liked nothing better than to add a boot to the stick that he apparently had shoved up his ass. “Made it in, became one of us, found a little niche for your little candy ass.” Quat waved his hand absently in the air, as if Sex’s new position in the coven was of no great concern. “Candy ass?” Sex shrieked, the hair at the back of his neck standing on end. “Well, it was kind of surprisingly sweet. I discovered that while I was plowing it thoroughly.”

184

Stephanie Burke

His eyes narrowed as he stared into Sex’s, almost as if he were challenging the man, daring him to retaliate in any way. “Is that so?” Sex glared in return. “Because I distinctly remember you whimpering and begging me to make it a little better for you, to tighten up, to please let you come…or something pathetic like that.” “Just who the hell do you think you are?” Quattour bared his teeth, spreading his legs and positioning his arms in a ready stance. “Oh, did I hurt the poor little alpha’s feelings?” Sex teased, rolling his eyes as he watched Quat’s widen in shock. “Yeah, I know you are an alpha, a big, bad alpha come to show me my place.” “And who are you, human, to mock me so?” “I am Jason Giles, now Sex, sixth member of this coven, and I believe that you had better get used to it.” “I know that there is a geas against killing members of your own coven, but I do not believe that extends to causing them intense pain!” Sex’s eyes grew wide as he realized what he had just done! And there was no way he could take the words back! But the fourth had made him so angry! And when he was angry around this particular male, his mouth seemed to run along ahead of his brain. The fourth just made him so irate! It was like he was challenging everything that he was as a man. And his didn’t like it, not one small fucking bit! And from looking at the white-haired man, Sex deduced that the feelings were mutual. The only difference was the nice set of claws that seemed to be growing from the male’s fingertips. Maybe, Sex thought, just maybe he had bitten off more than he could chew. But he wasn’t one to back away from a fight, no matter how hopeless. So he took a deep breath and loosened his muscles, ignoring any twinges and pricks of pain he still felt from earlier, more pleasurable activity. He lifted his arms into a defensive position, his knees slightly bent and ready to shift to accommodate anything that the angered male was going to throw at him. And from the look in his narrowed purple eyes, he was going to be throwing a whole hell of a lot. Snorting in derision, Sex watched as Quat’s muscles tightened up in preparation to attack. He took a moment to marvel at what he now had and was about to lose, and to kiss his ass good-bye, when the bathroom door flung open and a disgusted Cyprus stormed inside.

The Coven

185

“What the fuck is wrong with you two?” she demanded, tossing her hair around her naked body, her breasts bouncing merrily as she slammed her hands on her hips and glared at the two men. Quattour instantly pulled in his abortive move and turned to stare at his coven master -- his angered coven master. “The fear and disgust flowing through this damned bond just interrupted me when I was about to get a piece of Unus, who would probably beat the hell out of you both if he came in here right now.” Both men dropped their heads, both struggling to stifle the amusement they felt at the picture of a pouting, sex-starved Unus. “I don’t give a fuck how you do it; you can screw, trade off recipes, show off who has the bigger dick, or trade fashion tips, but you will find something in common and end this ridiculous rivalry before you hurt one another!” Both men rolled their eyes at that, but neither was brave enough to stand up to an angered Cyprus. “Gods, you are both so incredibly dense! Too dense to realize that you both are at each other’s throats probably because you both are so alike!” Both men peered at each other, before shaking their heads in the negative. They were nothing alike. “Are my words not heard?” she shouted, stomping her foot for good measure. “Yes, Cyprus,” both men intoned, then turned their heads to glare at each other. “Now end this,” she snapped. “End it before it has a negative effect on the bond and you begin to hurt the others.” She turned to make her way back to Unus, mumbling under her breath. “Those two asses had better be happy they are so damn cute. Otherwise, I would have a claw necklace and a man-skin rug to wipe my feet upon!” Neither of the men was amused, but they both shared a strained look of understanding before they turned look at a purring, sleepy Quin who had the audacity to start to chant, “I’m not in trouble! I’m not in trouble! You both got it! You both got it!” And it was then, in that very moment, that all hostilities were set aside momentarily, to launch a united tickle attack on the purring cat! And his screams were so much sweeter than Cyprus’s shrieks of anger.

186

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Twenty-nine Sex was lounging in the sitting room, contemplating his life and all that had happened, just appreciating all the wonderful new things he was discovering, when the past reared its ugly head. Surrounding him, in various states of undress, were the other members of the coven, some meditating, others just basking in the feeling of having someone new added to the bond. The only ones missing, as usual, were Unus and Cyprus, both retired to their rooms after a room-service feast of proportions that Sex had never seen. They’d ordered over fifteen large porterhouse steaks, no less that nine whole chickens, of all things, pounds of liver and onions, and gallons of beer. The sides were too numerous to count, and when Sex wondered at the price, Cyprus giggled. “Do you know how much they pay me to come out and sing a song and dance a little two-step? It’s insane.” She shook her head. “And in the end, this hotel will wind up comping me for much of this. Apparently, it is great publicity for them for me and my entourage to remain here.” She rolled her eyes at her words, though a teasing smile still pulled at her lips. She adjusted the thin silk robe that gently covered her generous curves as she lowered her head and peered innocently up at Sex, much to the snickers of the other males. “Besides,” she continued, “I am just an innocent little girl who needs protecting from the world. That is why I have all these big, strong men to protect me. I could never ever do anything wrong…and I must feel so safe to stay here for so long.” Her innocent act was impeccable, Sex thought, but for the knowing glint in her eyes. This was the woman who had come seemingly out of nowhere and had taken the United States by storm.

The Coven

187

Cyprus Reid was already a household name, and it had nothing to do with drug scandals or sex tapes. The mysterious mixed race black woman with the flashing gold eyes and hair had caused a stir just by showing up surrounded by her men and batting those world famous eyes. Her mystique was set the day she smiled at the camera and demurred to speak. Women wanted to be her, men wanted to have her, and the whole world was curious as to why she had so many men. The rumors ran fast and furious, but none could be corroborated. Cyprus Reid was the consummate guest, the perfect hostess, the lady who was redefining the word. She was never caught drinking to excess, high or stoned on the latest designer drug, sleeping around in public places. It was virtually unheard to find a diva who succeeded on talent alone, but here she was. If the world only knew that the diva goddess they all loved to worship was a coldblooded killer. Oh, not that she didn’t have good reason, but her vengeance was something great to behold. Sex shuddered at the thought of all that anger and frustration cocked like a loaded gun and pointed in his direction. He almost felt sorry for Crenshaw, but then he recalled the tapes of the bodies his employer had given him, the torture he’d had an up close and personal Plasma view of, and he’d fought to hold in his lunch. Death was more than deserved; but to see that slim woman, to look at that feminine near-perfection (no one was perfect), and to see her hands covered in the blood of her enemies…it was almost surreal. But soon after the feasting frenzy -- Quattour and Quin even swallowed some of the bones -- Cyprus took her time to kiss all her men in order, then retire to the large master bedroom, faithful Unus at her heels, presumably to get their orders for the next day. It was into this lull that Sex heard a sound that made his blood freeze. He recalled his wits when he selected the “Happy, Happy Joy, Joy” song from Ren and Stimpy to be the ringtone for this particular satellite phone. And as it sounded off, he turned his eyes to the direction of the guestroom that he hadn’t been in for the past few days. Had it been so short a time? But there the phone was sounding off, bringing new dimensions to this already complicated situation.

188

Stephanie Burke

“Are you not going to answer?” Tria asked, looking up from where he was cuddled next to Duae, the night hag and the sea hag naturally gravitating toward each other as usual. Sex turned to look at each male, noting that their jewel-toned eyes were focused intently on him. Nodding, he slowly made his way to the guestroom, looking around at the mess that he had left as he’d booked from the room after his initial viewing of the memories that more than explained the Coven’s need for vengeance. His bag was still sitting on the bed where he’d tossed it after his explanations from The Coven, and it was ringing like mad. He hesitated for only a moment, bracing himself to deal with the voice on the other end, before he reached in and withdrew that damnable phone. “Giles,” he barked into the phone, noticing in his periphery that the others had risen to their feet to follow, most in support, Quattour in accusation. “What is taking so long? Have you neutralized the threat?” As usual the voice was distorted by a tone box, the caller choosing to keep him- or herself as anonymous as possible. Looking around at his new family, a dark scowl replaced the apprehension on his face. He fairly snarled his answer. “I need more time.” “Mr. Giles, this is not a game,” the voice explained in a condescending manner. “This is my life, my life, that you are playing with. I hired you to stop the murderers and protect me, and if you can’t do that…” “What?” “I’ll replace you.” “Go ahead,” Sex sneered. “It will be your funeral.” “Apparently, it will be my funeral anyway,” the voice snapped back. “Well, in that case” -- Sex rolled his eyes and fought not to tighten his grip on the phone and destroy its delicate circuitry -- “my services are no longer needed. I have been paid half my fee up front anyway. I don’t need this shit. I’ll see you in the obituary pages.” He made to disconnect the phone, but the multi-toned voice called out, “Wait.” “What?” Sex snapped. “I need to pack up and bug out.” “No.” The voice managed to sound worried, even through the oddly disconnected tones. “No, Mr. Giles, maybe I was a bit too hasty.” “Well, what do you want? Am I staying, or do I leave? I don’t have time to play these games with you. I am about as deep in as I can go, and the quarry is running aground. I don’t have the benefit of time or the luxury to dither here. Am I in or out?”

The Coven

189

“In, Mr. Giles,” the voice said on a sigh. “I understand that this must be stressful for you, but please try and see it from my point of view.” “Your point of view?” Sex snorted. “You are safe and comfy in your high-security building in the middle of God knows where, holed up like a fucking pasha, while I am busting my nuts out here dealing with some very dangerous individuals. I do not believe, in this case, either party has it easy. This job is not gravy and is far from a cakewalk.” “I-I understand,” the voice grudgingly agreed. “I was just concerned about progress.” “Major progress is being made, but I am in the dark as to where the next target is located. I have infiltrated the ranks, I am now an active member of this unit, but they don’t totally trust me. I need to know where the next hit is, then I can plan accordingly and turn the tables on them.” “Well, if that is all, Mr. Giles,” the voice slowly spoke, “I can tell you the most likely of places. As I stated before, I am only in this town for a short time, to attend a function in my honor, and then I plan to disappear from the world entirely. This is their last, easiest chance to stop me before I make it nearly impossible for them to find me. And this is probably the only chance I will ever have of drawing them out to render them harmless.” “Understood.” Jason fought to keep the eagerness out of his voice. He knew that the Coven had been making almost nightly visits for the six days he had been with them, nightly covert searches, trying to sense the critha that still pulsed with life inside the last McKinley Mountain scientist. If this man would come from the underground… If he could get a bead on his location… “There will be a function in two days’ time, Mr. Giles. I will be attaining the EIXS banquet. It will be attended by heads of state and important people from the scientific community. This is bigger than the Nobel, Mr. Giles, and I must be there to attend. Get your traps and surveillance set up at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore, Maryland. I will, of course, be traveling with my security force, but I fear that they will not be enough. The only one who has a modicum of a chance to stop these deranged psychopaths is you.” “Well, now that we both understand and have been understood, I’ll leave you to…anticipate the strike.” Just as he was about to hang up, the voice called out to him again. “Mr. Giles, please understand this. I am not a ruthless being nor have I done any wrong to merit this stalking hunt upon my person. Mr. Giles…my life is in your hands.” Those words made his eyes widen, and his teeth clench in anger. Done nothing to merit a hunt? Was this…this bastard for real? “Understood,” he gritted out, and he hung up the phone before his own anger gave away the game.

190

Stephanie Burke

He turned to face his fellow coven members, and watched the gamut of emotions cross their face, from a darkly victorious sneer to the baleful glance of distrust he got from Quattour. “It’s nearly done,” he said, tossing the phone to the bed before reaching for his bag. He turned to exit the room. “Retribution is at hand.” “If we believe you…” Quat countered. “I’m sure that you have perfectly good hearing; even the most lowly of mangy mutts does,” Sex shouted, all the frustration and confusion he had been feeling turning into furious anger, a furious anger that now had an outlet. “So I’m sure that you heard that whole despicable conversation.” “Trying to grow fangs, human-not-so-human?” Quat shouted back, stepping closer to Sex as the others sighed in resignation and exited the room, reading Sex’s intent to do something through the bond. They were loath to wake Cyprus…or interrupt her and Unus, but… Before they could move far, Quat launched himself at Sex, his intention to get in a few blows before help could be summoned apparent. But just as quickly, Sex delved into his bag as he simultaneously threw himself backward onto the carpeted floor, a flash of silver in his hands. Hoping against hope that the human wasn’t planning to shoot Quat, the others raced back into the room, nearly stumbling over each other in their attempts to stop the brewing bloodbath. But they froze just as quickly as a loud, shrill, piercing noise almost paralyzed their nerve endings. “What the hell?” Quin shouted, hands over his ears as most of the men doubled over in varying degrees of pain. But it was Quattour who was closest to the furious Sex, thus more deeply affected than the rest. He was rolling on the ground, his hair as well as his arms pressed to the side of his head, trying to protect his delicate hearing. A snarl on his lips, Sex rose to his feet, his full lips wrapped almost lovingly around a small silver whistle. As he continued to blow, he walked over and kicked Quattour as hard as he could, rolling the anguished man onto his back. “Fuck you!” he growled around the whistle, before blowing hard. The noise it made, although silent to him, was enough to drop an enraged gargoyle to his knees. “I am a human,” he continued as Quat groaned again, rolling over to his side as he tried his best to glare at Sex. But the pain in his head…it was almost enough to blot out thought.

The Coven

191

Without knowing why or how, Quat threw his head back and began to howl out his misery, his sounds nearly drowning out the growling of Sex who, still blowing the whistle, dropped to his knees beside Quat and struggled to roll him onto his stomach, a submissive position in every species he had ever studied. But Quat was not going to be that easy. He too was a skilled warrior and had walked the way of humans for centuries. As Sex drew closer, a long, thick tendril of his hair whipped out, lashing at Sex’s face, knocking the whistle free from his mouth. Sex had a moment to whisper, “Oh, shit,” before Quat was upon him. The two enraged men rolled across the floor, banging into the dresser and knocking over furniture as they both struggled for supremacy.

192

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Thirty It was a twinge of alarm that made Cyprus sit straight up from where she was lying on Unus and turn narrowed golden eyes in the direction of the outer lounge. “Those…those childish bastards!” Cyprus growled, tossing her hair and fisting her hands in the sheets beside Unus’s head, before leaping off of his body. “I warned them,” she hissed, pacing, her naked breasts bobbing with her movements, her limp cock swaying with her steps. Unus found her agitation…charming. “I told them that they had to learn to work together or else, but no! Like a bunch of hot-blooded…morons, they are out there fighting!” “Let them,” Unus urged, shrugging. “It is the way of the alpha. I’m sure you more than recall some of our bouts for supremacy, Cyprus.” “But we don’t have time for this, Unus! We have to be united in word, action, and deed. It is the only way this coven will remain strong.” “So.” Unus reached up and gripped her hand as she passed, tugging and pulling until she landed on the bed beside him. “So let them get it out of their systems now, where there are no people to pry, where there are no reporters to draw unwanted attention, and where the council can’t point to this momentary discord as a reason that our mixed-breed coven should not stand.” He loomed over her, tugging and pulling at her hair until it lay like an extra body beside her, leaving the path to her body free and clear. “They will only go but so far, my love. Tainted of blood he may be, but Sex is still mostly human. Quattour will not damage him unduly.”

The Coven

193

“I’m more worried about Sex hurting Quattour,” Cyprus said on a sigh. “Sex is not…not as hampered by a sense of honor as Quattour is.” She began to nibble on her bottom lip. “In fact, I know that Sex fights dirty. It is a mostly unforgivable human state. Before, I never had a problem overlooking the unforgivable when it worked out to our benefit.” “And he will not forget himself, either. The Sentinel maintains his own rather skewed sense of honor, my love. You are not to worry about this. Let them get this out of their system -- you know that they have to -- then you can go and lay down the law. I like watching you get all serious and mean. It’s even better than when you get all prancy and high-strung.” Rolling her eyes, Cyprus snorted her amusement, then nodded in agreement. “I’ll let them handle it for now, Unus. But if they should irreparably harm themselves or each other, after I deliver my sermon to them, you’ll get a little hands-on penance.” “Ohh.” He shuddered, moaning, letting his eyes drop to half-mast as he gazed adoringly up at her. “Hurt me.” Cyprus again narrowed her eyes at him first, before they both burst out laughing.

***** “You stupid, inbred, ignorant motherfucker!” Sex screamed as he scratched and bit at Quattour, but every move he made was met with skin as tough as leather and a mouthful of hair. “Well, you stupid, ignorant, thin-skinned, weak, addle-brained son of a misbegotten snake! Or should I say monkey? You may not be descended of them, but you sure as human hell resemble one!” Quattour countered, trying to keep knees and elbows from striking delicate and sensitive places. “Well, you got off on fucking one!” Sex countered, wondering after the fact if that was an intelligent thing to say. “Well, knowing what I am, you seem to be into major bestiality!” he shouted back. “And that says what?” Then he too froze, wondering at the intelligence of his words. “You know what I meant!” he added. The rest of the men had gathered and now sat on the bed, watching the -- for lack of a better word -- catfight, with some interest. Tria winced as an elbow struck Sex’s eye, knowing that they would be covering up a huge bruise before venturing out again into the public eye. Duae snickered in his quiet way as a lock of Quattour’s hair was gripped and viciously pulled, making the rest of his hair stand on end a moment before lashing down at the male body beneath him.

194

Stephanie Burke

Quin just sat there, shaking his head at the foolishness of some males. He was more of a beta than an alpha, and he had intuitively known when to let someone take the lead and when to sit back and follow. Too bad these alphas had to be such…such…such assholes! But then Tria looked over at his two smart and sane companions on the bed and bobbed his head toward the fighting pair. “I bet you both those leather pants you like, the blue ones, and my favorite rose-colored goggles that Sex wins.” Duae rolled his eyes, before shaking his head in the negative, his red hair cloaking his body as he leaned over to get a closer view of the action. Quattour was once again on top, his hair trying to get a stranglehold on Sex, but Sex was growling and spitting like a hunting cat, managing by some strange means to prevent Quattour or his vicious hair from getting a good grip. Duae shook his head, and his other two companions’ heads filled with the imagery of a huge lollipop and a rather idiotic-looking fool sucking on it. “Sucker bet!” Quin agreed, easily interpreting the image. “But I will bet you both that Unus comes charging in here, all smoke and brimstone, and lays down the law.” Duae shook his head again, and this time the image of a naked and half hard Cyprus filled their minds. And she looked extremely angry as she clopped into the room, a huge, oversized butcher knife hand in one hand and a whip in the other. Translation: Cyprus would arrive first and kick ass with extreme prejudice. “That is a bet I’ll take!” Tria snickered, enjoying the image that the enigmatic sea hag had created. “Okay, the pants and goggles say that Unus will get here first.” “You’re on.” Quin laughed. “I’ll put up my brown leather trench and my Game Boy DS.” Duae sent an image of a huge batch of ice wine chocolates from Belgium and his Nintendo Wii. “More than acceptable,” Tria agreed, and the three shook on it before settling back to watch the conclusion of the fight. It had to conclude; otherwise, they would all fall asleep waiting for them to admit that they were almost the same in every aspect of their being.

***** He was tiring. Sex knew that he didn’t have the stamina to keep this up with Quattour, and he knew that the stubborn male would not give in. He had to think of something, and he had to do it quickly before the last of his energy reserves ran dry.

The Coven

195

Absently, in the back of his mind, he could feel the others’ amusement as well as he could feel the sense of the inevitable coming from Unus and furious anger from Cyprus. All of this was overlaid by a healthy dose of concern from his Cyprus Master, and the knowledge that whoever won, they both would be losers in the end. He tried to get a reading on Quattour and was surprised to find nearly the same identical thoughts running parallel through his head. It was a confusing, sad state of affairs that looked to have no end in sight. Like an ouroboros eating its own tail, this fight would go on and on indefinitely, with no clear winner or loser. He opened his eyes, looking up as a deadly tress managed to wrap around his neck, and everything he was about to say froze. Quattour was absolutely gorgeous like this. His dark skin was flushed impossibly red, his eyes were like purple jewels, burning with a savage frustration, his hair…although it was threatening to strangle the very life from his body, it was still soft and scented sweetly of flowers and a deadly sensual musk. If the body atop of his were writhing for any other reason than his death, this would be an all-out totally sensual experience. As it was, the feel of Quat’s sweaty skin against his was starting to make his cock sit up and take notice. He moaned as he spread his legs unconsciously, allowing a bit more of Quat’s body to settle between his legs, and fought to forget how perfect the older, larger male had felt rutting there before. Then he shook his head, attempting to clear it from all of those thoughts. Damn it, what was he thinking? Quattour wanted his head on a platter, not his head shoved into…some other welcoming tight places. He had to get his mind back into the fight and out of his crotch! But his drifting attention had not gone unnoticed. Quattour himself moaned at the feel of the stiffening flesh pressed between their stomachs. For a simpering half-human, Sex was pretty well-hung. Quat recalled slamming deep into that body, and then resisting the primal urge to squat over him and take that thick erection deep into his own. Primal would be a good word to describe their joining, Quat decided, smirking as he used his hair to get a tenacious grip around Sex’s neck. The smaller male was such a feisty bit of goods. Even now, outweighed, outclassed, out of luck, and almost out of air, the male continued to fight.

196

Stephanie Burke

It was a quality Quat admired, even if it manifested in a dirty half-human…okay, oneeighth human. But then he felt the hardness press against his stomach, and that changed the whole tone of the fight almost instantly.

So, Quat thought, the little bastard is getting off on this. He deliberately pressed his stomach hard against the other male’s growing erection, purposefully loosening the grip his hair had around his neck. He pressed a little harder, wiggled his body closer, moaning softly at the feel of that delicate human skin. He knew that the fight would be over soon, that he would either choke the male into unconsciousness, or the male would try some other underhanded trick which would probably lead to them both hurting themselves and leaving a decided gap in the battle stratagem to reclaim what was theirs. And the feeling of an irate Cyprus in the back of his head let him know that no matter how the fight went, they were both going to get their asses reamed. But he had to admire the little fighter. Sex was trying his best to win this fight, not giving in, being stubbornly alpha as he fought to create a place for himself in this coven. Sex bared his teeth, his eyes glowing eerily as he inhaled the rich male musk of his opponent. He felt his stomach tighten as drops of precum beaded up at the head of his dick, sliding down to coat his shaft and the erection that pressed so closely against his. The natural lubricant made the slide of their two dicks unbelievably delicious, forcing a groan from his throat that had nothing to do with aggression. The sounds being pressed from his throat now were all about the pleasure. Sensing this, Quat lowered his body further, the leaking head of his cock making his very own slug trail across his tight abdominals. His balls tingled as they fell lower, slapping against the upturned globes of Sex’s ass. “Surrender,” Quat hissed from between gritted teeth. “Give in to me.” “Fuck you!” Sex panted, shuddering as the hair that was previously choking him seemed to decide on more erotic maneuvers. The long, silken strands now wound around his body, making him long for each caress. “If that’s what you really want.” Before Sex could even grasp the ramifications of his words, Quat was sliding back, positioning his dick at the wet, winking, puckered entrance to his body, and slamming home with a roar of triumph. “Christ!” Sex gasped, his eyes wide as the shock of pleasure stole his higher motor functions. His thighs flexed, tightening around Quat’s waist as his fingers tore at the flesh of his back.

The Coven

197

“Quattour,” he bent low to whisper in his ear, mind reeling with the feel of the tight silk enveloping his dick. “If you must call me something.” Neither moved, Quattour because the feelings traveling through his body from his cock were so damn overwhelming he would blow if he shifted an inch, and Sex because his body was overly sensitive, almost to the point of pain, and he knew that if he started moving, he would not be able to stop. Then Quat shifted, his cock making his internal walls burn, and the game was over. Snarling, Sex reached up and wrapped his fists in handfuls of Quat’s hair. Jerking and tugging, he pulled the man’s head low enough to scream in his face, “Fuck me, you little bitch!” “I’d knew you’d beg!” Quat laughed before circling his hips in such a way that the head of his dick danced against Sex’s prostrate. Sex roared. That was the closest approximation to the sound that rolled out of his mouth. With his head tossed back, his eyes squeezed shut, his breath rasping in his chest…if he hadn’t been pulling Quattour deeper into him, his expressions of passion could have been mistaken for pain. They growled, bit, and screamed at each other, their sweat sheened bodies glistening in the light of the room. Quat arched his back, the thick strands of his hair wrapping around Sex’s cock, tightening and pumping, keeping his partner on edge as he pounded his ass. He rested his elbows on either side of his head, inhaling the rough breaths that Sex exhaled, feeling his mind beginning to open to him. Sex gasped for every breath as he felt the weight and the sheer thrusting power of Quat inside of him. The man’s dick was so thick and hot it seemed to sear and stretch him to his limits. He felt his back burn as he arched up, throwing himself toward every pounding downstroke. Fire seemed to fill his veins, and he felt the primal need to scratch and bite the man attempting to dominate him. His heart began to pound, and whimpers flew from his throat as his eyes closed in ecstasy. His whole body tingled as tiny explosions set off in his brain. He felt Quat riding his body, piercing his very soul, felt his thoughts trying to intrude on his.

“Let me in! Capitulate to me!” And Sex refused to surrender. “Come for me!” Quat breathed, increasing the speed and depth of his thrust. He gripped Sex’s hips and lifted them higher, resting his ass on his straining thighs, and he bent back to get more depth. “Make me, you son of a bitch!”

198

Stephanie Burke

Snarling, Quat’s hair spasmed, then began to whip and snap over Sex’s body, lashing at him, raising welts, and driving endorphins straight to his brain. Then Quat leaned down, licking at each raised welt, enjoying the struggles of his partner in lust as he tried to thrust so deep that he became a part of the man. “Ah, FUCK !” Sex bellowed, his prostate burning as it was pummeled; his nipples were being raked with the silken flogger of Quat’s hair, and his whole body quivered with unleashed passion. Quat’s nails raked over Sex’s abdomen, flicking at his pebble-hard nipples, hitting sensitive nerves in his side, driving Sex harder and harder until… “Oh, yes, you white-haired bastard!” He felt his balls straining against the caressing hair that held them trapped…then suddenly they let go. His dick trembled and quivered, thickened in preparation to release his burning load. White flashes filled his eyes, his brain shut down, and suddenly he knew what it was like to take his writhing, fighting body; suddenly he was inside Quattour’s head. “No!” Quat moaned, before he felt his defenses collapse, and the ecstasy he was delivering to Sex was returned, tenfold. Then they were of one mind, a never-ending circuit of passionate, erotic fire. Every thrust was felt and shared, every tingle, every quiver, every single whimper. Then Sex was coming, he was exploding, he was shooting so hard his steaming seed splattered against his own chin. And Quat was pulsing, his cock swelling and vibrating inside Sex, his movements sending the nerves in his ass spasming anew. Panting and gasping for breath, for mercy, for it to end and to never stop, Sex collapsed backward onto the floor, Quat a warm, wet weight on top of him. Then Quat lifted his head, baring his teeth at Sex as he lay panting in an afterglow so deep it nearly left him blinded He felt his mind separate from Sex’s as they both struggled to pull air into their oxygen-depleted brains, Then a wicked smile crossed Quat’s face. “Multiple orgasmic,” Quat bragged. The hardened cock still buried hilt deep in Sex’s ass was evidence of this fact. Still panting, Sex arched a blond eyebrow, a malevolent grin spreading across his face. “Seconds?” he asked archly. And a new understanding was reached between the two of them.

The Coven

199

Chapter Thirty-one “Wow.” Quin spoke for Tria and Duae as the trio of observers watched the fiercest, bloodiest bout of sex that they had ever experienced. All thoughts of bets were gone from their minds, their brains almost too shocked to come up with anything coherent to say. But their bodies…their cocks, on the other hand, decided to stand up and jump for joy. All three men were sporting heavy, blood-engorged erections that let anyone observing know that the stunning expression of male sex and dominance was very much appreciated. “Wow,” a darkly irritated voice spoke from another doorway. “Wow is one word that would describe this.” Cyprus Reid had entered the room, and she was not a happy camper. Both Sex and Quat’s ears were ringing as an angry Cyprus Reid gained her bit of flesh. This was no soft, sweet-voiced heroine of their dreams. Instead, she was a fierce, angry Valkyrie who made no bones about informing them of how stupid inter-coven arguments were. “You only wind up hurting yourselves in the end,” she bellowed, arms akimbo, stomping her feet in anger as she observed her cowering men. A chuckling Unus stood in the background, trying not to laugh as he watched the men get their dressing down. The three on the bed were taking note as well, erections flagging under the anger of their master, and making an effort not to wince whenever her gaze crossed theirs. On their knees, Sex and Quat, the new understanding between them alive and well, tried to sink into each other, not wanting to draw more anger from Cyprus.

200

Stephanie Burke

“And another thing,” she continued, her tirade exceeding by fifteen minutes the best ass-chewing Sex had ever received in the SEALS, when the phone rang. Everyone froze because the phone that rang was not one that belonged to Sex. Scowling, obviously upset that her stress-relieving shouting was over for the moment, Cyprus stormed into the living area while Unus calmly moved toward the phone. “Cyprus Reid,” he answered, his calm voice not indicating his nude state. “You are performing at the EIXS, The Excellence in Experimental Sciences award ceremony. Your target will be there. Now you have an excuse to be on hand. I trust your tame watchdog already has an invitation?” “What day?” “Tomorrow night,” the voice answered. “The Clan Crimbluagh sends their regards.” “For what your Master has…consumed, we expect more than regards and wishes of good will.” “For what my Master has consumed… We know of our obligation. We own the building. You will not find your access denied or impugned upon.” “And?” Unus would not give them an inch of wiggle room. “And any assistance you require will be given. It is known to us that your enemy has amassed troops of her own. We will not let them hinder your march. From this day forward, your enemies are our enemies. Those who seek to oppose us will meet a bloody fate.” “Agreed,” Unus accepted, closing the connection. “We have our allies,” he spoke softly, knowing that Cyprus and the rest were listening. “We have a singing engagement, thanks to our new allies, and a plausible reason to be in the building.” “And when we are there?” Quat asked, sufficiently recovered from his embarrassing dressing down to allow his dominant nature to reassert itself. “They will offer any and every assistance.” “And the kill,” Cyprus snapped, walking back into the room, clad in a golden silk kimono. “They are assured that the kill will be there.” “Yes, my lady.” Unus nodded. “Then the kill is mine,” she hissed, eyes glowing red as she paused, suddenly filled with nervous tension. “Soon all of this will be over, and we will be free…” She stumbled over the words, tears choking her voice. “We will be free to go home and carry on with our lives.” Then turning, she exited the room, and for the first time slammed the door between them, shutting them out. Mere seconds after the physical barrier fell into place, the mental one came down, cutting the men off from her thoughts and emotions. It was a painful break, one that stunned all of them. “She has never…” Quin gasped, eyes wide as he realized what Cyprus had done.

The Coven

201

“She needs time,” Unus explained, moving over to the sitting area and gracefully seating himself on the long couch. “She had…it has not been an easy time for Cyprus. You all know her story, stuck in limbo, unable to move forward, denied the comforts of moving backward. It is a lot to take in, now that this is nearly at an end.” Slowly, the men gathered around Unus, taking comfort in each other. “It is almost at an end,” Unus repeated on a sigh, seeming to relax in the male company. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back, his long, black hair surrounding him like a cloak. Duae nodded in understanding, snuggling up to his side. Tria sat at his feet while Quat sat beside Duae, sandwiching the night hag between them. Sex stood there, looking a little lost as the men snuggled together, strengthening their own bond, when Unus raised his arm in invitation. Understanding his instinctive need for comfort, Sex allowed himself to seek it with his Coven. Tossing pretense aside, he dove into the offered spot, no thought of dominance in his mind, and sought peace. And together, the men of The Coven took comfort in each other, sitting and waiting for their master…and for their future.

202

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Thirty-two Cyprus was dressed in black, as were all her companions. The limo driver was the same as before, not quite human and totally discreet. The looks on the men’s faces were daunting and serious. No one had ever seen the group of performers behave in such a manner. For a moment, it stunned the fans. But when word got around that they were going to be joining the well-to-do set at the EIXS Awards, people behaved as if they understood. After all, science was serious business. You couldn’t go to a scientific awards ceremony like it was the MTV Music Awards. These people had class and intelligence, and their sweetheart had to fit in. The ride to the ceremony was somber, as if the anticipation of this moment, the thing that they had fought so very hard for, for so long, was almost too much to bear. “You know the plan?” Unus inquired of the men. “We enter the room and go to the staging area that they have set up for us,” Quat recited, as if bored by the whole affair. Only the red heat in his eyes gave away any emotion. “From there, under the pretense of a perimeter search, Quin and I will scout out the building, looking for the rat bastard who started all of this. Sex will search too and try to set up a rendezvous with the target. Quin and I will also have a little chat with the owning clan, get the numbers we have to deal with, and the layout of the building.” “After that is reported,” Quin picked up without missing a beat, “we get to create a diversion, stir up some trouble to draw attention away from the target and possibly most of the crowd as well. Once they are away from the target, we rejoin you, end this shit, and drag our tired asses home in the company of our newest alpha.” “Makes sense to me,” Tria added, a smirk in place on his face. “And it looks like it won’t take too much time, either.”

The Coven

203

“Yeah,” Sex said and snorted. “So long as I convince them that you are not here to kill them all and that the extra people are not necessary. He says that you all are hybrid animals, by the way,” Sex added, just to be helpful. “And I think he is a useless waste of flesh and tissue that should have been put out of his misery years ago to do mankind a favor. Mad dog and all that,” Quin added with a smile. “I think we’re pretty much even as far as that line of thought goes.” “And that is about as far as it goes,” Quat added. “No time for much else. We are here.” “And you’re sure we don’t need communicators?” Sex asked, wanting to be as helpful as he could. It wasn’t like he had anything like the shifting powers his fellow brothers possessed. “Mind speak,” Unus sent to him, understanding without words Sex’s desire to aid in any way possible. Nodding, Sex lapsed into silence, his mind going over the plan. Soon, they were approaching an enormous black building, highlighted by huge spotlights and thronged by security. “Remember, people,” Quin added as the limo rolled to a stop in the circular drive in front of the prestigious-looking gothic building covered in ancient gargoyle statues. “Smile for the camera.” “Wait!” Sex suddenly called out, making everyone freeze in place. “What do we have in mind for an exit strategy?” Silence reigned. “Come on, who are we, a presidential cabinet? We have to have an exit strategy!” “Um, try not to get killed?” Quin snickered. “Get out in one piece,” Tria intoned, a smirk on his face. “Follow the leader,” Quat snapped, reaching for the door. “And don’t get left behind.” Cracking the door open, he slid out of his seat and motioned Quin to follow. The two made their rounds, noting the great number of gargoyles around the building. There were the usual paparazzi, but this time the group was tempered with members of the so-called “legitimate media,” as well as a few fans who’d turned out to hear Cyprus Reid sing. “Who knew so many were interested in science?” Quin said, getting a nasty look from Quat. Rolling his eyes at the younger male, Quat circled the limo once more, ignoring the camera flashes, and gripped the door handle. It seemed the whole world held its breath as he pulled the release, and the door swung open.

204

Stephanie Burke

As usual, first to emerge was Unus, dressed in all of his magnificent, black-haired glory. He rose from the limo like a Titan from the sea, calm and dangerous-looking, observant, and very dominant. Next out was Tria, with his dark hair and pale skin, once again giving new meaning to the term “vampyric.” Duae, with his red hair, was the next out, and his eyes flashed dangerously as he moved with unnatural grace to stand beside his brothers. And finally, Sex emerged, looking cool and elegant in his black tux with his spiked blond hair. His face, like the others, gave nothing away of his thoughts, but he was new to the group so he garnered a lot more attention than the others. After stepping out of the car, Sex, ignoring the cameras and the screaming fans, began to take note of all the shadowy places where a man or woman could hide. He counted the extra security that he knew would be there, and a few professionallooking men wandering about trying to fit in with regular security. They drew his attention because of their military carriage and bearing, and the way their eyes seemed to take nothing for granted, even the same dark, shadowy places he himself was examining. His eyes narrowed as he realized that his client had been less than truthful when it came to full disclosure. If he hadn’t developed such a violent dislike for the bastard, he could almost admire him. Turning to Unus, he relayed his thoughts, but smirked as the man signaled that he too noticed the extra men and was not concerned. “Nothing will stand in the way of vengeance,” he sent, and Sex heard quiet murmurs as the others agreed. Nodding his understanding, Sex stood aside and a hush overcame the crowd as one long, golden leg, the dainty foot strapped into an extremely high heel, slid out of the car and dropped softly to the ground. One delicate, black-gloved hand emerged, ringed by several golden bangles, and was gently grasped by Unus. There was a shift in weight and slowly, accompanied by a gasp from the watchers, Cyprus Reid, in all her Hollywood glamour, emerged. Her gown was the color of a midnight sky, the strapless bodice a thousand diamondlike stars on a sheer material plane that gave teasing glimpses of the creamy flesh below. It fit tightly from her hips to mid-thigh, where a slit along the side exposed those world-famous legs.

The Coven

205

She flowed fluidly from the limo, her hair a cascading, curling mass held off of her face with diamond clips. A long, velvet shawl encased her bare shoulders, her trademark operalength gloves adding a bit of Old World flair. Her smile was electric, her eyes innocent and sparkling as she stood to her full height and gazed out over the crowd, a look of awe touching her face. Then she blew everyone a kiss, and the crowd went mad. Cameras flashed, people shouted, and security was forced to intervene and hold the crowd back. “Like fish in a barrel,” Sex said under his breath, earning a wink from Cyprus before they turned to make their way inside. As usual, they moved as a phalanx, with Cyprus, as usual, in the center of the formation. Swiftly, they began to move, keeping Cyprus covered, until they entered the grand doors that a few security people were holding open. As the doors shut, the noise on the outside suddenly disappeared, and Cyprus and company were now facing a whole new world…being surrounded by the unknown with no way out. “I guess we crossed the Rubicon,” Sex muttered, before turning to face the approaching man. “Ms. Reid,” he said with an unctuous smile. “I am Pembroke Dexter, and I will be showing you to your dressing room.” With a nod, the small group was off again, Sex trying desperately to hide his nervousness, while the others sought to fight down their eagerness. The mental connection between them buzzed with life, with satisfaction, fear, and anger. The final show had started; they had crossed the point of no return. And through it all, Cyprus smiled.

206

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Thirty-three Sex strolled casually along the halls, eyes taking in the sheer number of alcoves being guarded by strange and hideous gargoyle statues. He had no idea that there would be so many. He smiled among the milling guests as laughter tickled his mind from the bond.

“Of course, there are a lot of them. A clan owns this building, a clan in debt to us.” “So, you are what?” he mumbled quietly to Quat, just knowing that the sarcasticsounding voice belonged to him. “You are big shit in these parts?” “Yes.” Unus’s voice took over. “We are indeed ‘big shit,’ as you put it. We are a royal

Coven, a clan and royalty all unto ourselves. Next to the ruling council, there are none higher than a Coven.” “So” -- he smiled as he walked past a scholarly looking group of men clustered around a photo of what appeared to be a DNA strand -- “that makes you what, princes or something?” “More like it makes us territorial lords,” Unus answered. “We own our own lands and

enforce the laws on our home world. And because of the make up of this particular Coven, we own territories in a lot of different and powerful lands. We always bear watching.” “Aren’t we unique,” he whispered.

“Especially so, since through you we now have rights in Pswren territories.” Sex paused suddenly, eyes wide in confusion. “What? You forgot your own little bit of alien blood ?” Quat took over, smart-assed as ever. “Why do you think we have a human in our Coven?” “The Berserker blood…?”

“If we can find your lineage, we can demand rights and privileges…which gives us more of an upper hand than any other Coven or the Ruling Council itself. Through you, we

The Coven

207

could end this war, if your blood is placed highly enough. Or if it is ordinary, we still have the advantage of demanding your rights as a descendent of a warrior. Either way, we can use your blond ass for something that gives us more of an edge.” Sex flushed where he stood, but as soon as he started garnering attention, he smiled at the nice scientists and carried on, moving and counting hiding places as he got closer and closer to where the target was hiding. He would deal with this blood business at a later time. He already had enough on his plate to think about. “Good decision.” Unus’s voice held a touch of humor. “We wouldn’t want you to get

caught mumbling to yourself, especially when you can just think your comments, and we will hear them.” Again, Sex flushed, but continued on his way, sighting possible escape routes and getting a rough count of the number of people present. “When are you supposed to meet with the target ?” Quin’s voice sounded in his mind. “As soon as…” He paused as he felt the buzz from his cell phone. “Apparently soon.” He moved into a small alcove guarded by a fierce lion before pulling the phone from a side pocket. “Giles,” he snapped. “You are here.” The voice was still disguised by a tone box. “Yes.” “And they are here.” “Well, I have no control over the guest list, now, do I?” he asked, trying to mask his anger at the scientist on the other end. “I think hiring you was a mistake.” “I think that I already have your money and that I’ve identified the people who are after you. I also think that that is more than anyone else in your hire has been able to do.” “You are correct.” “And I believe after the lies --” “Non-disclosure…” “Lies in my book; you had better be damn grateful that I didn’t turn around and leave this job as soon as those lies came to light.” Silence. “So, you have brought in extra security, some real pros.” “I have to protect myself!” “So what is the plan now?” “Pardon me?”

208

Stephanie Burke

“I am speaking English, am I not? What are your plans? What are your intentions? You have me hot and heavy in the middle of a terrorist group that you know is after you, and you bring in mercenaries.” “I- I…I have to be safe, and I didn’t know if you could keep me alive.” “You are still alive, are you not? You are living and breathing in his building when you could be a cold slab of meat in a cooler, is that not right, Doctor?” “Yes, that is true…but…” “But what, Doctor? You tell your troops not to kill all the hangers-on when the shooting starts? It don’t work that way, Doc. Your people won’t know me from Adam when it comes to gunplay, and yes, Doctor, there will be gunplay. I want to know what is in it for me. I want to know what safety net you’ve put into place that will prevent them from trying to blow my head off my neck when it comes down to it.” “I will…I…” “I need to you verify my identity, and I need you to do it now. Either that, or I’ll think you are taking this national security thing too seriously and walk. But before I do, I will be sure to tell the crazy lady at the top exactly who I am and what you have done.” “Blackmail?” “No, Doc, just call it a security thing -- insurance, if you will. But know this. I will not die for you and your fucking test subjects. You either set up a meeting where I get face time with your boys, or this whole thing becomes a clusterfuck of unbelievable proportions. Your call, Doctor.” There were a few moments of silence, but Sex knew that the monster was there. He could hear it breathing. Finally, “Okay, to ensure your safety, I am trusting you with my life.” “You have been,” Sex snapped, “since this whole thing began.” “Very true.” The mechanical voice managed to sound controlled and suspicious at the same time. “Where are you?”

***** Quat and Quin stealthily made their way through the building, smiling at people, nodding at statues they passed, and listening in on what Sex and the target were speaking of. “The boy is smooth,” Quin said with a chuckle, nodding at his partner. “Humph, if you go for the barbarian type,” Quat answered, a smirk on his face. “He’s getting results.” “So true, and I believe that this building has seven floors. The clan has the top three locked down, but the three below and the basement -- that is where the security issues lie.”

The Coven

209

“True. There are civilians wandering around the first level, which means that the bitch of a target should be on the first or the basement level. I doubt that she would be on the second floor -- not enough escape routes.” “Well, we will know in a second.” Quin stopped in an alcove and leaned against the back wall. “I think I have counted about fifteen regular security and about twenty special cases. How about you?” “About the same.” Quat nodded. “Which means that we will have to drive everyone up a level. On the second floor, they will not bear witness, and the target cannot escape in a crowd.” “I think we will need the clan’s help,” Quin said softly, looking up at the stone frieze above them in the alcove. The center creature, a stone fish, nodded, and melded into the stonework, no doubt relaying the message to the others. “That is done,” Quat said. “Now let’s head back. I am sure that we will get accurate reports within the hour, and I feel the need to be with my Master.” “Understood.” Quin nodded, and the two started back.

***** “I don’t need to know where that creature is,” Cyprus hissed at Unus as Tria and Duae paced inside the dressing room they had been shown to by Pembroke. “I just need Sex to look at its face.” It was still a full two hours before the awards ceremony’s start, and Cyprus wanted to be in a car leaving at that point. Her eyes flashed as she tossed her hair, blowing softy as she tried to rein in her anger. To distract herself, and to prepare for what was to come, she exchanged her delicate sandals for a pair of tight, steel-heeled stiletto boots. “If I can see that bitch’s face, I will know where she is.” “We will stick to the plan,” Unus reminded her. “It is your plan, after all. We don’t need to expose our existence to the entire human world while we seek our revenge.” “I am beginning to care not one whit, Unus,” was Cyprus’s reply as she rose to her feet. “I just want this to end. I can feel it, Unus. I can feel my critha. It is calling to the others’ souls within me.” Silently, Unus stalked over to his distraught Mistress, wrapping her in his arms, pulling her shuddering body close. “I can feel the pull,” he whispered into her soft, fragrant hair. “I can feel the pull through you, as well as through my own soul. I understand your need, but we do need a

210

Stephanie Burke

home to return to. If we act rashly or expose ourselves, the council will have the excuse to see our lives as forfeit.” “I know that.” Cyprus sighed, trying to fight the burning that was growing behind her eyes. If she gave in, she would be sobbing in frustration when she should be conserving her strength for the coming retrieval. “But…but…” “It’s been much too long,” Tria added, walking over and pressing himself close to his Mistress’s back. “It’s been too long since we have been complete. The desire to rush in, headlong, is great.” Silently Duae followed, wrapping them all in his arms, trying his best to reassure them all. “Thank you,” Cyprus whispered, pulling on their comfort, wrapping it around her psyche like a blanket. “Sex is doing his job.” Unus spoke softly, tightening his grip on his Mistress and opening his mind more to the conversation taking place between Sex and the scientist. “And he has expertly maneuvered the monster into a position where he can demand what is needed.” “I hear.” Cyprus relaxed, letting go of the tension…at least for the moment. And they waited. Soon, Quat and Quin joined them, and the group adjourned to the couch, to sit in one big muddle of flesh, hair, and limbs, and they waited.

***** “Second floor.” Sex nodded as a vicious smile spread across his lips. “I will see you soon.”

The Coven

211

Chapter Thirty-four Sex stood and stared at the creature who had started this bloody war so many years ago. This was the detestable monster who had been the cause of so much death, so much pain. She looked…amazingly normal. Crenshaw was of normal height for a middle-aged woman, about five feet four inches, and had a thick head of sleek blonde hair pulled back in an elegant chignon. Her gown was covered by a thick blue robe, but he was sure it would be dripping with diamonds and jewels, symbols of her importance. “As you can see,” she began, her blue eyes glittering with amusement. “I am very well protected, Mr. Giles.” “So why all the subterfuge?” he asked, arching one eyebrow in question, his bond links open to their fullest. “Subterfuge?” “Let’s not play games,” Sex snapped. “You know very well what I am speaking of -- the tone boxes, the cloak-and-dagger crap you seem to live for, and now this small personal army. Just what is your boggle, lady?” “Boggle.” Crenshaw smiled as she rose to her feet, the men in black behind her shifting as their patroness moved closer to the unexplained male. “You call trying to keep my life a boggle, Mr. Giles? I call it prudent planning.” “One man’s trash and all of that,” Sex sniped. “But I was referring to all the information you didn’t tell me.” “Government security…” she began, but Sex cut her off.

212

Stephanie Burke

“I have one of the highest government security clearances in this country and contacts with higher clearance than mine. The only person in your immediate bloodline that even rings a bell is your father, and his clearance was revoked over twenty years ago. Try again.” “There were things that my father started, Mr. Giles…” “So the sins of the father are visited upon the son, and all that bull?” he asked, crossing his arms before him. “Something like that.” “So…you don’t trust me.” “And you come to that conclusion because?” “Because you sent me into the mouth of the lion without any real reason to keep me alive.” “You don’t know that…” “I know that you let me see your face. Odd for someone who went through so much trouble to disguise her identity.” The men behind her shifted uncomfortably, their hands stiffening as if preparing for action, yet Sex didn’t move. “So you think I would kill you?” Crenshaw laughed, throwing back her head, exposing a thin throat that was amazingly devoid of an Adam’s apple. “I am not a murderer. I hired you to protect me from a murderer, Mr. Giles.” “And only gave me enough information to close the lid on my own coffin as well as theirs.” Sex smiled as her laughter abruptly cut off. “Why else hire this elaborate army of pros, Crenshaw? And even now, I still fell into your trap. I am looking you dead in the face, and I must commend you, it is a lovely face, probably the last face you intend on letting me see before I die. I know you can’t hire this many men on such short notice, Crenshaw. I am beginning to believe you considered me expendable from the beginning. And like a good little solider, I have led the enemy right into your ambush. All that’s left is for you to spring the trap. Cyprus Reid will be known as a vicious, mad-dog killer, and all of her men, including her new talent” -- he pointed to himself -- “will be taken out in the midst of a terrorist attack. Simply flawless.” He lifted his hands and began to slowly clap, the sarcasm in the maneuver evident. “Hmm, not so ignorant after all,” Crenshaw said. “Bravo.” “And I guess this is where you pull a gun and get the thrill of plugging one in me yourself?” “No,” she replied. “This is where I make my excuses and make my exit, Mr. Giles. They always said that you were too good to be true, and now I believe them.” “They, this ubiquitous ‘they,’” Sex said, hoping against hope that his Coven was listening in and were on their way like a great big stone cavalry. “They know so much that

The Coven

213

we automatically live our lives by their dictates. Funny that no one ever really knows who ‘they’ are that everyone keeps referring to.” He needed to keep her talking just a little longer. Every second she spoke was another second for his people to arrive. “I wonder,” he said. “How do they know all that they know? And I wonder,” he added, smiling at Crenshaw, “if they know as much as they think they do.” “Charming thing to think about,” Crenshaw mused, before turning toward the door. “I’ll consider it when I receive my award.” “Do you deserve that award?” Sex called out to her as he moved closer to the door. The men in black moved closer to him, their expressions intent. “That’s what ‘they’ say,” she said and chuckled, reaching out to the door and then flinging it open with glee.

***** “Let’s move!” The minute Sex came face-to-face with the murdering bastard of a human, Cyprus sprang into action. She rose to her feet, the light glinting off of her steel-heeled stiletto boots, an elegant warrior goddess, flinging her hair behind her back as she strode to the door of her dressing room, her men falling into place beside her. “Unus,” she began as they exited the room with the precision of a well-oiled machine, a bevy of beautiful males surrounding a stunning woman, all radiating power and barely leashed control. “You, Tria, and Duae will go and help the clan with moving people out of the building. Quat, Quin, you are with me.” Nodding, the group divided, their purpose clear. Cyprus wanted few casualties, but she wanted room to maneuver. Revenge was at hand, and Cyprus was giddy with joy.

214

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Thirty-five “Fuck!” Sex exclaimed as he dodged yet another blow from the determined solider. There were three of them in all, and each one more dedicated to taking him down. “Guess taking me out will cement your name in the mercenary hall of fame,” he muttered as he threw Crenshaw’s abandoned chair into their midst, scattering them a bit and giving himself time to regroup. The men said nothing, but the smirks on their faces gave away their thoughts. “Great,” he muttered, backing toward a wall, putting a solid surface behind his back. “Glory hounds.” “Of a sort,” came a chuckled thought through his link, then the door exploded as a huge bi-colored cat sprang into the room. “Shit!” someone exclaimed as shards of wood and plaster dust showered the occupants, making them duck and gasp. But that was the least of their worries. A huge, unidentifiable cat leapt into the room, pouncing on one of the hired goons, knocking him flat and immobilizing him. Sex took the chance to rush the second man, catching him off guard and getting in a direct hit to his temple. The third man turned to assist his buddy being held down by the cat when a huge monster of a black man stormed in, his white hair reaching out and tangling around him, choking him, holding him immobile. It was into this mess that Cyprus calmly walked, peered around the room, then turned her nose up in disgust. “Kill them or throw them out,” she snapped. “The bitch is getting away.”

The Coven

215

The man Sex was fighting was so stunned that his defenses dropped, allowing Sex the opportunity to swing his elbow at his temple, dropping him like a ton of bricks. The man under Quin seemed to have had passed out from sheer fright, while Quat choked the consciousness out of the remaining man. But Cyprus wasn’t paying attention. She was stalking her prey, her eyes glittering red as she threw herself into the hunt. Crenshaw would die this night, by her hand, and then this nightmare would finally end.

***** There were screams in the hall. The screams were followed by the sound of rushing feet, and several well-dressed people ran from the second floor as reports of “monsters” began to infiltrate the once-merry partygoers. Security was pulled in to deal with the rising terror on the second floor. They had no idea that the reports of a blood red dragon and a vampire chasing people were true. And then there were the even more outlandish tales of the building’s statuary coming to life and chasing people down. In any case, the second floor was cleared and searched for a gas leak of some sort. But when the reports spread from the first floor, they began to take the situation more seriously. It was on the first floor where Cyprus slid easily among the panicking patrons with two of her men and managed to smile as she asked for directions to the ballroom. Of course, she was shown where the festivities were to take place as soon as they quelled the panic from these unsubstantiated reports. Yes, they were very pleased that she had agreed to perform at the last minute, and she was more than welcome to go into the ballroom where several people were already ensconced, away from the confusion of some frightened drunks. Why, their guest of honor and some of her security detail were already in the ballroom, ensuring Cyprus more than enough protection, even if something went wrong -which it wouldn’t, of course, because their theater was the safest in the city, security-wise. Hearing this through their bond, Quat shifted back into his human form and left off the wonderful game of tag he had going with some security personnel to meet with his Master, as did the others. They all met up on the ballroom level, all smiles and eagerness to get this over with and move on with the rest of their lives.

*****

216

Stephanie Burke

Cyprus crossed her arms as she looked over the gathered men in the doorway to the ballroom, a look of both impatience and anger on her face. She ran her tongue over her lips and tossed her hair as she observed her coven, complete at last. Her foot began to tap out an odd tattoo on the marble floors as she crossed her arms and examined each of the men. Unus, as always, was a large, quiet mass of strength and will at her right shoulder. Duae nibbled his bottom lip, but looked just as eager as she appeared. Tria was calmly tying his hair back into a large braid, his eyes starting to take on a metallic sheen. Quattour paced, creating a small path for himself that he absently marched, his eyes glued to hers, his attention totally focused. Quinque -- well, he was grinning like a loon, licking his lips in excitement and eagerness. And Sex, little Sex, stood almost as still as Unus, his arms crossed in a defensive manner, his eyes spitting anger as his head cocked to the side to listen to the revelry that was taking place behind those brass doors. “I do believe,” Cyprus began, her gaze switching from man to man, “that they are not expecting us. It is such a pity, seeing that we have come so very far to see them.” “Shall we knock?” Quin asked, his eyes sparking merrily as he rubbed his hands together, anticipation almost a palpable thing in him. “Or should we just announce ourselves?” But before anyone could make a move, there was a shout from behind, and the hall was suddenly filled with uniformed men, none looking too happy, as they brandished guns and authority. “You all can’t be here,” the soldier to whom all the others deferred said, obviously the leader by the way he snarled his comment, and the first man drew his weapon. “You will all raise your hands and slowly walk toward us. You will be taken for debriefing and detained until further notice.” “First they lose our invitation to his shindig on the seventh floor, and now we get an unusual escort. My, my, how people just seem to adore us,” Quattour snarled as he paused in his pacing, then continued, as if dismissing the armed men. “Resistance will be dealt with…with extreme prejudice,” the leader continued, taking a more serious stance as the people he was talking to chose to ignore him. “Prejudice.” Tria snickered. “I could teach them a thing or two about prejudice. No one respects the differences in us anymore!” “Comply or we will use deadly force!” The man was angry; there was no doubt about that as his face reddened, and his grip tightened on his sidearm. “Oh, go and fuck yourself,” Quattour growled, his voice suddenly so deep it sounded inhuman and demonic. He froze, his eyes, his purple inhuman eyes glowing menacingly as he seemed to dare the soldier to move with his gaze.

The Coven

217

A bead of sweat rolled down the commander’s face as he visibly forced his hand to still the tremor that shook it. Then he twitched, his finger tightening on the trigger. And in that split second, in the space of a heartbeat or a blink, Quattour disappeared. His body became one huge, black, amorphous cloud. The soldier, now scared beyond belief, reflexively pulled the trigger. The sound of the report was almost deafening in the small area, but before the explosion of sound even concluded, in the place where the tall black man stood, there was this…thing. “Oh, you are so fucked…” Quin called out teasingly in a singsong voice as he calmly watched the huge hellhound that was Quattour begin to take form. The bullet pushed from scaly skin as black as night and made a loud ping as it dropped to the ground. It sounded like a bomb going off in the area that was so quiet, not even the rapid breathing of the now-frightened men could be heard. “What the fuck?” the lead soldier gasped, and in that moment, a mountain of scales, white mane, and dagger-like serrated fangs was upon him. Quattour in his Lupine form was something to cause nightmares. The huge hound stood almost neck high to the average man, his mouth huge and distorted by the layers of fangs he sported. He truly resembled an ancient gargoyle as his razor-sharp talons scraped at the marble just before he launched himself at the foolish soldier. Quattour’s head actually blocked out the sight of the soldier as he lunged, his mouth open wide. There was a sharp, shrill scream, abruptly cut off, and a huge explosion of blood that squirted from around Quattour’s mouth. The man’s head hit the ground with a thump, drowned out only by the sounds of several guns being cocked and fired. Instantly, Unus shoved Cyprus behind him as the remaining Coven formed a protective ring, pushing even Sex into a safe position behind them, and simply watched the carnage. “He needs to work off steam.” Cyprus spoke aloud what they all were thinking. “This is good for him.” Screams filled the air, nearly drowning out the sounds of the party behind the brass doors as blood flowed like flood water. The bullets had no impact whatsoever on Quattour, other than making him even angrier. With a low growl, he attacked the armed men, ripping off an arm, biting through a neck, raking his talons across shocked and frightened faces.

218

Stephanie Burke

The bullets that struck him buckled and bounced harmlessly to the floor. But even more horrifying was the long, whip-like strands of hair of his long mane that lashed out independently, wrapping around the armed individuals, rending hands from arms and slapping the deadly hardware aside. And those who ran…Quattour hummed as if he missed the gamy taste of human flesh as he ran them down and spilled their intestines in a gray/pink waterfall across the floor. Within seconds, all six men were reduced to quivery piles of meaty flesh that glistened a reddish-purple in the chandelier light of the hotel. Shaking his head, the silent, scaly lupine curled his lips back at the remains, before focusing his purple eyes on the surrounding men and silently padding toward them. Knowing that this attack was over, Unus stepped aside, allowing Cyprus and Sex to witness what their fourth had wrought. “Oh, good little puppy,” Cyprus purred, stepping forward, but pausing as Unus grabbed her arm. Silently, he directed her to stand a few feet to the left, away from the spreading pool of blood that painted the marble floors like thick burgundy syrup. Pausing, Quattour stepped back and violently shook his whole body. It would have been amusing if it were not pieces of flesh and splatters of blood he was shaking from his person. But within seconds, his scales glinted darkly black, seeming to pick up all the colors in the night sky as he moved forward. Smiling, Cyprus dropped to her knees, kneeling before this horrifying creature from the darkest nightmares, and raised her arms up high, staring directly into his eyes, a challenging maneuver. But instead of attacking, Quattour tilted his head to the side in a show of submission, then lowered his head to nuzzle his Coven Master. “So beautiful,” Cyprus crooned, wrapping her arms around his head and tilting her head back, exposing her throat so that that dangerous and deadly mouth gently grasped her throat and purred in a sign of affection. “Not the word I would have used,” Sex breathed, looking out over the carnage that now littered the once-pristine floor. It seemed sacrilegious somehow, he thought, to mess up those pristine white tiles. He whistled in reaction, shaking his head, too shocked to feel any nausea at Quattour’s treatment of what used to be his fellow man. “Oh, my Quat is a big old puppy.” Cyprus chuckled, before rising to her feet and smoothing her black gown into place, checking to see if any blood splotches marred its perfection.

The Coven

219

“Puppy, yeah,” Sex breathed deeply, then winced at the sour-sweet smell that told of rent intestines and flowing bodily fluids that usually never saw the light of day. A low growl from Quattour had him turning in the lupine’s direction. “What? Like you are gonna take top dog in the American Kennel Club show?” Rolling his eyes, Quat sat down beside Cyprus, giving a perfect example of beauty and the beast. His long, purple tongue licked at a few specks of blood left on his serrated fangs, before proceeding to turn his head and ignore Sex. “You know that is going to bring someone running.” Quin broke the silence as he looked at Cyprus and Unus. “Then I propose we get moving,” she answered, turning to look at Unus. “You are needed here, My One. I’ll go in.” “Not alone.” Unus’s answer was short and straight to the point. “Well, I’ll take…” she looked around and grinned. “I’ll take Quattour and Sex with me.” “You need more…” “I’ll let them clear out the room first,” she conceded. “But…” “That is my word, Unus.” Suddenly her golden eyes flashed red, her nostrils flaring as she narrowed her gaze on her first. “Unless you have suddenly decided that you outrank me in this.” Unus dropped his head, his head tilted to the side as a low growl emerged from his throat, a sound that no human would be able to reproduce at all. A small puff of silver smoke rolled from his nose, but he held his submissive position. “I love you, My One,” Cyprus spoke, walking over to the dark man and reaching up to place her palm flat against his face. “But there are some times, My Prince, that your need to protect and lead interferes with what I need. I will handle this frontal assault. You and the others join me after you deal with the problem I sense racing toward us. Until then, I will be safe with my fourth and my sixth.” “I don’t like it,” he spoke, his whole head wreathed in smoke. “You don’t have to like it.” Cyprus caressed his face, and then pulled back, a harsh tone filling her vice. “But you will accept it.” Then regal as a queen, she turned on her high heels and made for the brass doors, her words as absolute as her trust in her men. “Allow me,” Quin spoke, stepping in front of his Master as Unus nodded in agreement. He placed both hands on the reinforced handles, and with one hard wrench, parted the metal doors from their jambs. They clattered to the ground in a shower of sparks and plaster dust.

220

Stephanie Burke

And as the partygoers turned at the loud, ugly sound and billowing dust, the first thing they saw was Sex, strolling confidently through the cloud, waving his hand before his face. “Well, folks,” he called out, coughing a little as his lungs fought to expel the plaster dust he was inhaling. “I think the party’s over. It’s time to leave.” The majority of the people seemed to ignore him, instead staring at the dust like they expected some grand prize to pop out and make all of their dreams come true. Rolling his eyes, Sex slammed his hands on his hips, his feet tapping on the marble, and tried again. “If you don’t want some murder, get the fuck out!” Sex bellowed at the well-dressed crows as they continued to stare at him, some in disgust, some in amazement, but none of them moving anywhere. “Oh, it’s like that?” he snarled, reaching back and waving someone forward. “Some people think their shit don’t stink until they’re neck deep in it.” The snarling black demon that exploded into the room got the desired effect. The richly dressed people began to scream and shriek in fright at the snarling black death that rushed into the room. “Oh, the hellhound comes in and you all run,” Sex shouted, rolling his eyes at the stupidity of some people. “Nice, you rat bastards!” And Quattour roared loudly, exposing all of his fangs, keeping the mass exodus moving and away from the main doors. It was into this barely controlled chaos that a pair of golden stiletto heels and a sparkling sequined dress moved into the room. Walking like hot sex on the prowl, Cyprus Reid, Cyprusurakaliesupreidesa, made her entrance. “Crenshaw!” she called out, her powerful voice nearly shaking the rafters and causing the crystal to tremble as she vented her anger. “David Tobias Crenshaw! Stop hiding, you stupid bitch! Retribution has come to play!”

The Coven

221

Chapter Thirty-six By this time, most of the innocent and not-so-innocent bystanders had fled the area, screaming and shouting tales of demon dogs and madmen with guns. But neither Quattour nor Sex paid any attention. They scanned the room looking for obvious targets, looking for those who would do harm to she whom they both loved so well. “Crenshaw!” Cyprus bellowed again. “Come out, come out wherever you are!” They moved in beside her, two dangerous and deadly guards, enough to frighten the staunchest of individuals, a moving phalanx of death and destruction. Quattour snapped at a man who looked to be thinking of doing something both heroic and foolish with a large champagne bottle. But at his actions, the man released his makeshift bludgeon and made his way to the nearest exit, pride and urine left behind. “Out, people!” Sex continued to urge the shrieking partygoers. “If you don’t want some, I suggest you get the fuck out!” Finally they stood in the center of the ballroom, the chaos swirling around them like rings around Saturn, yet they paid no attention. They were all seeking the one person who could end this, searching for the one who had courted death and now had to pay the price. “They will bring the others,” Cyprus said to Sex, turning her head away from the elegant destruction of the room to stare at her sixth. “All of this screaming, this mayhem, it will bring others with guns.” “Most assuredly,” Sex agreed. “Then you will go and assist the others.” That made them both turn to stare at their master.

222

Stephanie Burke

“Are my words not heard?” she hissed, watching as the last of the people cleared out and left the room almost eerily quiet. “Go! Assist the others. They have all exits blocked, and the only access to this floor will be the stairs. I know that Unus and the others will allow all of these stupid civilians to exit, but then the doors have to be sealed. No one should come in or leave.” “Cyprus…” Sex began, but then she turned on him, her eyes glowing molten gold, her whole person seeming to grow larger than life. This was one aspect that even being forced into a secular form had not stolen form her. Cyprus Reid had started out life as a warrior, a war horse breed, and that breeding still showed through the human guise. “I said go,” she snarled, baring her teeth, tossing her hair, and stomping the ground almost hard enough the crack the marble flooring beneath her feet. “You are needed elsewhere, Four and Six. You will assist the others and then will return for the reckoning. These are your orders.” “But…” Sex, an alpha in his own right, wanting to protect what was his, feeling the need to protest. That was as far as he got. Cyprus’s arm lashed out, striking Sex across the face, sending him sprawling across the floor, knocking him toward the main exit. “Damn you, go!” she bellowed as Sex shook his head, trying to recover his equilibrium as he room spun around him. “Take your disobeying asses to the others and do not return until it is time.” There was no recrimination in her eyes for striking the most human of her coven. Nor was there guilt. She had issued an order, and her coven, her soldier, had questioned her orders. If she were of the mindset of some of the warriors in her ancient line, Sex’s actions would be enough to cause his own death. But Cyprus truly loved and needed each of her Coven to be alive and well to complete her. She would brook no disobedience from them; she couldn’t in her position as Master. Her word was solid and meant to be obeyed at all times. There was no time for dissension. The yawning gap in her soul was close to completion, the stolen parts of her calling out to be returned home. It was almost time. “Go,” she called again, and Quat immediately raced over to Sex, assisting the man to his feet by gripping his arm and lifting with his cavernous mouth filled with those magnificent, nightmarish fangs. Then he wasted no time in urging Sex out of the trashed room and toward the others.

The Coven

223

It would give Sex time to recover from the blow and would give Cyprus time to set out to do whatever she was so determined to do.

***** Cyprus watched as her two men left the room, Quat, still in his lupine form, lending support to the shaken Sex, who leaned heavily against him as they walked. Both would recover from the shock of her acting so violently, but now was not the time for her to give into the need to comfort them. Her critha was screaming for completion, and it was leading her right to the bitch who had possessed part of her soul for far too long. Turning, she made her way unerringly toward an antechamber, a room set off of the ballroom where people gathered to have private meetings or conferences. It was also the perfect place to hide a scared little bitch and all the puppets she surrounded herself with. Making her way to the largest of the chambers, Cyprus grinned as she wrenched the door off of its hinges. Apparently, this place was soundproofed, and there was a small reception going on for the guest of honor to privately celebrate with members of the guild. How appropriate, she thought, smirking as she allowed the door to fall from her grasp, winking at several people as all sound of revelry stopped. People froze, glasses to their lips and in mid-conversation, as they all turned to look at her. “Death has come to call!” She laughed maniacally, her eyes searching for the one person she would kill and kill slowly. She met those dark blue eyes, watched as they widened in fear before they disappeared behind a small army of muscled, black-suited flesh. Oh, yes, the bitch had no place to hide now. “Death sees its next victim,” she said and then laughed again, throwing back her head and letting the dark, cynical sound fill the room. Slowly, she recovered herself, standing up straight, her eyes going a cold, dead gold that did more to inspire fear than all the mad laughter she could muster. “Death has come to play,” she sang again, her powerful voice wrapping around the room, sending a few women fainting to the floor as the cold, angry emotions sizzled their nerve endings. “Death has come to play.” She looked around the room, an evil smile pulling at her full lips. “Run.”

224

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Thirty-seven She strolled through the room, her eyes narrowed as she took in the scattering occupants. People didn’t wait around for death to come and hunt them down. No, people tried their damnedest to get out of the way! And they were doing a fine job of it too, scattering like leaves, diving behind boxes, overturning tables, and trying to find the nearest escape into safety. But she was having none of that. She had a goal in mind and nothing would stop her from reaching her objective. She smiled at the screams that filled the air, little shrill bursts of panic and fear that fueled her need to cause more damage, to create more havoc, to utterly destroy the one she had come to assassinate. Her life was very, very good. Her eyes scanned the room for the one person she was determined to find, but she was distracted as someone tried to rush her from the front.

Silly, she thought, putting on a burst of speed and moving toward the one who had targeted her. She saw the knife at the last minute, but her steps didn’t falter. She attacked, one hand slamming into her opponent’s chest at the same time the other slammed into the forearm holding the knife, deflecting its deadly arc. The man was knocked backward, arms sprawled wide as he fell off his feet, and she wasted no time in moving upward and slamming her high heel-booted foot into the soft tissue of the exposed throat. There was a low crunch, the body jerked, and the man fell dead. She spun around quickly as more guards decided to take action.

The Coven

225

She circled slowly, never standing still, a constantly moving body with shifting balance, one that could not easily be stopped. And she waited. The next attack happened just as suddenly as her entrance into the sparkling ballroom and its glorious festivities. Two men this time, one toting a knife, while the other obviously tried to draw a gun, were distracted for a moment at the stunning realization that a female was creating such carnage. So she took advantage of their lapses and went for the knife first, moving toward the man, forcing him to take a wide downward stab at her with his weapon of choice, a nice stiletto with a carbon-steel blade. This time she rushed the man, her arms upraised. One of her arms knocked at her opponent’s fisted hand, shoving it out and wide, leaving his body open to attack, while the her remaining hand slammed full force into his chest, causing him to stumble. Granted a few seconds time by his breathless flailing, she gripped the wrist of the hand holding the knife and, using sheer strength, forced the arm down, ensuring that the man stabbed himself in his own thigh. The man let out a pained shriek that even drowned out the panicked chatter of the guests, and clutched at his bleeding thigh, looking down at the wound and away from his enemy. He never saw the knee that came up and smashed into his nose, snapping the bone and driving it up into his sinuses, killing him instantly. He dropped like a stone. Before she could make another move, however, she felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of her head. “Die,” her newest threat hissed. “You first,” she snarled back, rapidly spinning around into the man’s body space, facing him as one of her hands went smashing into the gunman’s elbow joint, the other gripping the gun itself, forcing it out and away from her body as she twisted her head back to avoid any accidental fire. Holding his arm out straight at his side, she twisted the gun, forcing it and the fingers that held it backward, snapping finger and thumb bones like twigs. The man screamed as she followed through with the move, locking the joint in a painful arm bar before applying an inch more pressure, hyperextending the forearm back far enough to totally demolish the joint. She ripped the gun free of the man’s suddenly slack grip. The gunman hit the ground, groaning and clutching his destroyed arm, while she took a quick step back and hefted the gun at the growing crowd of men, men who were hesitating, fighting instinct, confused and not knowing how to respond to the feminine guise who in a few seconds had caused so much destruction.

226

Stephanie Burke

Her eyes narrowed with hate and anger, she moved the gun from person to person, begging for a target to step up to be put down. No one else was willing to take a chance. They stood back, impotent with fear and anger, growling and snarling, gnashing their teeth at the woman who had so calmly entered into their territory and taken out some of their most highly trained and decorated warriors. “Who’s next?” she snapped, her eyes glowing with anger. “What do you want here?” a voice screamed out, a female voice filled with rage and anger. “You know what I want,” she answered, a smirk spreading across his pale lips. “And you know why.” “You are not wanted here.” “You think I don’t know that?” she shouted back. “You think that because of my alien blood that simple common sense has deserted me?” Silence greeted his words, and she chuckled a bit. “Yes, I openly admit that I am of alien blood, tainted, a disgusting thing who should not have been allowed to live. But you lost that opportunity when you allowed me to escape from the mountain.” “And you show your face?” the woman spoke, still hidden behind a wall of men. “You disgusting, unnatural…” “And what a beautiful face it is,” she preened. “And how androgynous the body beneath this female form, ripe with sleek, rippling muscles, muscles that have now been trained with one specific purpose in mind -- your complete and utter destruction. Isn’t it wonderful to see the fruits of your labor come to fruition?” Silence was the only answer, the only one she could ever expect from the people who were now cowering back in fear of what she was. “Hello, Crenshaw,” she purred. “I’m back. Did you miss me?”

The Coven

227

Chapter Thirty-eight Livid was the only word good enough to describe the well-dressed woman in the sequined ball gown. Face twisted in fury, she forced her way through the protective wall of men, her heels rapping sharply on the marble floors. “Crenshaw does not exist.” “Oh, the bitch may change her guise, but I can smell her rotten stench from across the room.” Cyprus stalked closer to the bitch in question, her lips pulled into a sneer. “What? Chop off your little, and I do mean little, prick and think that I won’t recognize you? You must be out of your fucking head.” “I never…” “Never what? Gave any thought to the atrocities that you and your compatriots forced upon my person? Never thought that you would get caught? Never thought that you wouldn’t get away with it?” “Never thought that you survived!” Crenshaw screeched, the elegant woman in the expensive evening gown melting, turning into a harridan. “Never thought that I would ever see your wretched hide again!” “But in this, too, I guess you were wrong.” Cyprus took another step forward, getting closer to the monster that had so ruined her life. “You are nothing!” Crenshaw screamed, taking another step back. “You are nothing! Just a damned experiment!” “And the best part of you dribbled down your whore of a mother’s ass and became a cum stain on some cheap motel sheets.”

228

Stephanie Burke

Crenshaw paused, her mouth hanging open. “Then again, you would know nothing of mothers, would you, you pretentious bitch?” What color anger forced into Crenshaw’s face faded away, leaving her with a pale, watered-milk complexion. She stumbled backward, but Cyprus matched her step for step, getting closer and closer. “You were supposed to die!” Crenshaw screamed, tripping over her own heels and landing in an inelegant lump on the floor. “It was all your idea,” Cyprus almost purred, breathing in and relishing the fear she felt pouring off of Crenshaw. She had to resist the urge to start stomping and not stop until there was only a slimy little ink spot where the bastard scientist once stood. “I remember you telling them to drain me. I remember your face as you carved your initials in my left breast.” “I…I…” Not knowing what to say, Crenshaw began to scuttle backward, the silence of the room amplifying the sound of her pounding heart. “”Pure life, you said,” Cyprus hissed, tossing her hair as she moved closer and closer to her quarry. “Pure life that you drained from my body. That pure life I begged you to leave be. I allowed you to violate my body with the promise that you would do nothing to my critha. But what did you and your perverted companions do? You cut me open and stole most of my soul, you heartless bastard. You left me to die. You tore my being in twain and stole the only thing that gave me purpose. And even worse, you consumed it before my own eyes. You took my child and divided its soul into so many pieces. And you consumed them!” “There was no child!” Crenshaw screamed. “I would never…” “Shut the fuck up!” Cyprus leapt forward in a burst of speed and slammed her foot into Crenshaw’s stomach, sending her skidding across the slick wooden floor. “You don’t know shit!” Crenshaw bent over in a fetal position, wrapping her arms around her trembling body, her eyes wide in horror as Cyprus stomped in anger, moving ever closer to her all too human body. “The rest of them died on their knees, begging,” Cyprus snarled. “Begging like you made me do. Begging even though they knew that there was no way I would let them keep what was holding their miserable bodies grounded to this earth.” “They…they didn’t deserve that!” Crenshaw screamed, struggling to raise her body up off the floor and failing miserably, falling back to the hard, cold marble. “Didn’t deserve…” Cyprus paused, her eyes glittering with a red gold fire before she charged forward again, kicking out at Crenshaw, sending her sliding, screaming into a table, the sound of her breaking ribs louder than that of the falling chairs that collapsed all around her.

The Coven

229

“Fuck you!” Cyprus screamed, kicking the chairs out of her way and bending over to reach for Crenshaw. Gripping the false woman by her hair, she lifted her until their eyes met. Ignoring the running makeup and tears that streaked Crenshaw’s mature face, Cyprus smiled, showing all her teeth, herself rising to her full height Maintaining her grip on Crenshaw, she dragged the screaming, struggling woman across the floor toward the stage where that evening’s entertainment was supposed to be performed. “You really have no idea how much trouble you are in,” Cyprus sang, her voice filling the room with her righteous anger. “You have no idea how…how fucked you are.” “Let me go!” Crenshaw struggled, digging her nails into Cyprus’s hand, the hand that held her hair tightly, nearly pulling it from her scalp, gouging bloody rivulets in her flesh. “Release?” Cyprus chuckled. “You want release? But you still don’t understand what real pain is.” That said, Crenshaw was lifted and slammed, back first, onto the stage, Cyprus taking a few precious seconds to slam her head into the carpeted stage flooring, leaving Crenshaw dazed and less likely to squirm. “No, you don’t know how to beg, bitch. You don’t know how to put your whole heart and soul into your pleas!” Laughing, Cyprus stood back a few steps and calmly observed Crenshaw, a smile tugging at her lips. “You don’t know what it’s like to feel the weight and suffering of five people, Crenshaw. You don’t know the pain of knowing that parts of their souls are missing as well. You don’t feel that agony and guilt. You don’t understand their anger and yet be so helpless to end it. You don’t know what it’s like to have the weight of a world in your body, then have some sadistic bastard pull it out of you and then cannibalize your child right before you. You don’t know!” she screamed. “But you will.” That said, she reached out and dug her fingers painfully into Crenshaw’s scalp, her nails cutting into the delicate skin, sending trails of dark red blood welling up to slide down her face and darken her honey-colored hair. Grinning maniacally, Cyprus suddenly threw open the doors in her mind, the doors that separated her from her men, the doors that held back all of her pain and suffering. Within her mindscape, she could see the men, all of her men. Unus, Quin, Duae, and Tria all racing toward their posting, their hands covered in the blood and gore of their enemies, reveling in delivering the long-deserved retribution. As she threw open these doors, she saw them pause as the protection on their minds was shattered. She watched Duae open his mouth in a silent scream and Tria drop to his knees, clawing at his hair. Unus paused, his whole face turning red, black smoke pouring from his

230

Stephanie Burke

nostrils as he pressed his hands to his head, his eyes glowing red as he began to understand what was happening. Quin paused, puzzled, then gasped as he leaned against a wall, his mind open and vulnerable. Right outside the door, Quat let out a moaning wail as he fell to the floor, his talons shattering the marble where he dug them into anything to gain purchase. She saw Sex kneel beside him as his own brain suddenly lost its shields, but the pain he felt was minor in comparison. Then in an explosion of agony, all of their minds melded, sharing their own private pain, sharing the agony they’d all experienced throughout the years. And once more, suddenly in that flash of light, they all had a clear understanding of what she had been hiding from them all these years. It brought tears to their eyes and screams of pain to their mouths; even the stoic Unus had no idea of all that Cyprus had been through and had hidden from them. The pain didn’t last long, for just as fast it came, it dispersed, taking with it the agony that they had all seemed to live with for years. “Cyprus!” They all heard Unus gasp, tears freely running down his face as he whispered through their link. But then she was gone, and along with her presence, the dark that seemed to be such a part of them, the pain and anger that had built up over the years. Even Sex now had a better understanding of what they all had been through, and with that understanding came a closer bond as he, in those seconds, experienced everything that this Coven had undergone. It was horrifying and unifying, a painful beauty that left them all connected deeper than before. As the pain slid from them, it joined the pain that Cyprus carried, the anger, the hopelessness, the feelings of shame and fear that had always darkened the core of what was her soul joined and melded with theirs. Cyprus knew that no one could understand the pain of loss, the limbo that a woman goes through as she is confronted with the loss of a child. But to have seen that hope of a child, that promise, the pieces of the souls of her mates ripped from the protection of her body and devoured… It was amazing that she was functional, let alone sane. They suddenly all felt it, the bulk of the burden that Cyprus had chosen to take upon herself to spare her mates as much pain as she could. They understood the desolation of her soul, her guilt at not being able to let them continue their lives, the fear that she would fail them all, that this black landscape of hurt and pain would be their existence and their legacy to all who dared to fight against the established norm to try and seek true happiness. All of this pain, this negativity -- all meshed into a huge wave of blackness that Cyprus pulled into herself.

The Coven

231

She grinned down at Crenshaw, for the first time tears running freely down her face as she tossed her hair and dug her nails in deeper. “Come,” she forced out, her eyes glittering maniacally, the smell of fear and anger and righteous retribution thick in the air. “Come, play with me, Crenshaw. Time to reap and wallow in what you have sown.” She lowered her head, holding the trembling Crenshaw still as she nuzzled her face almost lovingly, smearing tears and snot and thick black makeup on her own flawless skin. Then the growling started, almost a purr at first, rumbling softly from her throat. “I have so much to share,” she breathed, running her tongue along Crenshaw’s neck, tasting the fear on her skin. She ran her nose along Crenshaw’s neck as she slowly inhaled the scent of her most hated enemy, as she carefully formed the wave of black pain into a pronged spear. “Time to play.” Holding Crenshaw’s wide blue eyes in her gaze, she pulled back enough to grin at her, exposing the double set of fangs that grew from her lower jaw. Crenshaw attempted to scream, to move her head away from the unbelievably horrific thing that was holding her in its grasp. As she watched, Cyprus’s eyes sank into her head while her face elongated to hold the massive lower jaw that was still growing. Her nose stretched and melded with her upper jaw that was expanding at an incredible rate, creating a huge muzzle that held more of the wicked fangs. Only her breathing and the sound of cracking, snapping bones filled the air as Crenshaw struggled to remember her childhood prayers, for surely as she was still breathing, death was staring her dead in the eyes. And those eyes, those blazing red eyes, seemed to pierce deeper into her soul, finding and naming all of her misdeeds, ready to call her to task for each and every one. Crenshaw wanted to look away, to close her eyes, but those shining red orbs held her immobile. Then the thing that she had once held in her lab, the horrific caricature of female and horse began to sing. At first, the notes were soft, wordless and entrancing. Despite the horror of that transforming thing atop her, she was held immobile in the force of such a powerful song. The notes grew in volume and tone as Cyprus sat up, her talons in Crenshaw’s hair remaining fast. Cyprus tossed her head back, honey blonde hair flung behind her as she sang faster and louder, the sound mesmerizing with its beauty.

232

Stephanie Burke

But there was the tingling in the back of Crenshaw’s mind, a tingling that demanded she pay attention to it, a tingling that grew more and more painful as the song continued. Cyprus was smiling now, as much as a horse’s muzzle could smile, exposing more of the teeth, showing an almost dark eagerness that would have made Crenshaw’s toes curl and her bladder release any other time. But she remained still, not struggling as the pain grew, and it grew more intense, filling her ears and her mind to the exploding point. Cyprus grinned as she held Crenshaw in her thrall. It was important for her to be aware of everything she was about to experience. Cyprus wanted her awake, for every painful moment to seem like an eternity that the disgusting bitch would have left to live. Cyprus was smiling now, her song of anger and vengeance still trilling as she released one hand from Crenshaw’s hair to hold it out to her side. Slowly a dark cloud began to manifest, a writhing, nasty, many tentacled thing that seemed to breathe as it became corporeal in mid-air. This mist began to writhe and gasp, crying out as if in pain as Cyprus caressed it gently with her fingers. The darkness that had surrounded her, that had so much been a part of her, nuzzled her like a good little pet. It wound about her arm, a part of her for so long that it was like an extension of her own being, Fisting her hand, she began to sing to it as well, her multi-toned voice filling the air with sound. As she sang, she began to force the writhing black mass into the spear she had envisioned in her mind, It was a thick spear with a barbed head and a long, twisting shaft. It was the physical representation of all the anger and anguish that she had experienced over the years. When she combined the pain and anguish she took from her mates, it became a glinting red and black thing, a weapon of total destruction, a dark thing that would seek and destroy the spirit of whatever it was sunk into. “Pretty, pretty pain,” she sang, adding another layer of sound to the overloaded room where the song was like a physical thing weighing them down. Grinning, she grasped the writhing shaft, watching the pain of her men as it swirled and twirled, as it hissed to her, as it cried and demanded retribution, something that she was all too willing to give. She gripped that dark spear of memories, lifted it to her face, gave it one last lap of her tongue before she turned to gaze back at the frozen Crenshaw…and slammed it as hard as she could into her right eye. “Eiiiiiiieeeeeeee!”

The Coven

233

Crenshaw’s screech of pain rang out louder than Cyprus’s song as the frail woman bucked beneath her. “No!” she wailed, bucking underneath the powerful body of the Coven Master. She was bombarded with more pain than she could handle. She wanted to die; she prayed for death, but two things held her to her mortal coil: the pulsing blue light in her abdomen, which was the combined stolen souls of Cyprus’s unborn child, and the teasing strength of the voice that held her in check. Pain, loss, fire, anger, desperation, desolation…they all filled her to overflowing, making her heart stutter and her breathing cease as she received over two decades of anguish all at once. It filled what was left of her vision with bright red as she experienced each and every emotion the Coven had felt during Cyprus’s loss and after her return, when they realized what the humans had done to her. Drowning. Crenshaw was drowning in the black, drowning in the sorrow that she had helped cause, drowning in the combined forces of the destruction she herself had wrought. Her mouth opened and closed on her unvoiced screams as Cyprus straddled her, grinning. “Enjoy,” that strange muzzle sang, adding still another layer of sound in the room. “I know I have…for so many years. I know my men have, for so many long years.” She paused then, her fingers ghosting over Crenshaw’s breasts, chuckling as she felt the heartbeat begin to slow. “But you will not die!” she hissed at the prone woman, the hand still buried in her hair slamming her head against the stage floor as her song came to a halt. “You haven’t earned death!” Crenshaw gasped as her head made contact with the floor, gagging and choking as her body struggled to deal with the overabundance of negative energy that was forced upon her. She choked, blinking one eye before she realized that the second one, her right eye, was not moving. Cyprus laughed as one of Crenshaw’s hands rose up to touch the side of her face. Her screams were music to Cyprus’s ears as Crenshaw realized that there was just blackened, withered flesh where her eye once resided. “Hush-a-bye,” Cyprus crooned, her deformed face sneering as she caressed Crenshaw’s face. “Hush-a-bye, darling. Can’t get you too worked up. We still have so much fun to get through.”

234

Stephanie Burke

Chapter Thirty-nine Crenshaw whimpered, thinking that she was finally getting control of the pain that had so filled her. Never in her life had she felt such overwhelming hopelessness. It was so bad that she actively sought death to avoid it, and yet the pain and agony remained. She turned one large, liquid, frightened eye to her tormentor, wincing as that inhuman monster threw her head back, laughter welling up from her misshapen throat. “Now these few moments that you have left are amazingly too short, Crenshaw, too short for you to feel what I carried all of these long, terrible years,” Cyprus taunted, staring down at the person who had ruined her life with such ease, her lips twisted in disgust. “Stop blubbering and behave like the psychopathic monster that you are.” Crenshaw had no answer. She could only sniff at the mucus that ran down her nose and blink away the stinging mascara that filled her eyes. “You disgust me,” Cyprus sneered, running her fingers over the ruined bodice of the designer gown Crenshaw was wearing, watching as the talon that tipped that digit rent the material in two. “In this female guise, in this weak caricature of a human being, in this guise of emotions. But I know the truth. The only emotion you feel is fear; fear that you are now facing a death you sought to put off by taking what was rightfully mine. And you got away with it for years. I am impressed by that at least, the fact that you managed to manipulate the pieces of my child’s soul.” “I-I…” “I-I,” Cyprus mocked. “There is nothing you can say. But there is something you can do. You can scream for me, David Tobias Crenshaw. And yes, I know your full name. It’s carved on my back. I kept it there as a reminder,” Cyprus purred, eyes daring Crenshaw to deny it. “And now you are Delilah Renee Crenshaw, carrying on your daddy’s work.”

The Coven

235

Cyprus shook her head, chuckling a little. “You changed your sex, and yet you couldn’t hide yourself from me.” “H-how?” Crenshaw stammered, her words thick from the tears that were threatening to choke her. “Easy.” Cyprus leaned down and licked her face, then grimacing and spitting the taste of her to the stage beside her head. “Don’t you know to use natural makeup made from plant extracts? That chemical shit tastes like hell. And for as how I found you, do you really think that I’m the only one ever to land here, to live here, to take on this secondary human visage and exist among you? How arrogant a species you all are.” Cyprus shook her head rather sadly, as if the stupidity of this one person was an affront to the whole human race. “You are enough to make me prejudiced against your species,” Cyprus growled, exposing her lower fangs. “It is a good thing that I know better.” That said, she began to tear at the dress, pulling it down past the tightly laced bra that held the impressive bosom that Crenshaw had developed. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that going straight to a D-cup was overkill and murder on your back? Unless you are planning on stripping or selling your… Oh,” she chucked as she hefted her weight to pull the tatters of the dress down far enough to expose the waistcinching girdle that protected her stomach. “But you are prostituting yourself already, to all those poor dead soldiers that you now have on your head. And to the idiots who think that you are actually going to come up with a fountain of youth for their personal use. How ridiculous you all make the human race out to be.” Then Cyprus froze, her fingers gently caressing the soft flesh beneath the tightly laced girdle. Slowly a pulsing blue light began to glow from beneath the barrier of cotton and metal. As if answering the silent call, a pale blue glow suffused Cyprus’s body, giving her a faint aura that seemed to synchronize with the pulse from Crenshaw, like calling to like. Smiling, feeling the near completion of her quest at hand, Cyprus once again threw open the doors to the minds of her Coven, noting that they had all recovered and were now racing toward her position. Sex and Quat at the door had recovered and were looking quite shocked at the weightless feeling that seemed to have come over them. Then Cyprus knew that she didn’t have time to delay. She had to come up with a plan to get them out of this hotel without any more bloodshed to innocent parties. She had to come up with a reason for what had transpired, because there was no way she could get out of the building without someone recognizing her. Sometimes fame had its downside as a disguise. But for now, her men were coming, and the missing piece of her soul, of all their souls, was pulsing gently beneath her palm.

236

Stephanie Burke

Snarling at the barrier that separated her from her life’s joy, Cyprus dug her nails into the material, rending it, having not a care for the body that gasped and writhed beneath her frantic actions. Cotton rained, and the sound of rending material hissed along with the pitiful moans Crenshaw emitted as her body jerked around on the stage. Then Cyprus gasped, tears welling up in her eyes as she ran hands over the soft belly of her enemy. “Mine,” she breathed, her hands trembling as she ran her fingers over the quivering flesh. “For so long…” Her eyes lifted and locked with Crenshaw’s as the woman tried to turn away, to buck Cyprus off of her. “No!” she whimpered. “No! It’s mine!” “Defiant to the end,” Cyprus snarled. “Now lie there like a good girl and die!” “I won’t -- I won’t let you!” Crenshaw tried to fight through her fear and pain, anything to stop this from happening to her! She was a great scientist! This is not how her life was supposed to end! “You won’t let me?” Cyprus threw back her head and laughed, the sound mocking and sarcastic. “Who are you to stop me?” “I-I made you!” “Bitch, you only made your death all the more inevitable.” Rolling the woman back over, Cyprus lifted her hand over that soft stomach, over the body that encased her critha, that thing that held it away from her, and chuckled with glee. “Take comfort in the fact that this will not hurt as much as the pain you inflicted upon me.”

***** “Where is she?” Unus was red in the face, surrounded by a pulsing black aura as he came upon Quat and Sex standing outside a ruined set of huge double doors. “Inside,” Sex answered, still shaking his head as he tried to lose the feeling of dizziness and euphoria that suddenly filled him. “Then that is where we shall be.” “But she told us to wait out here…” “And miss the one that that has sustained our very existence for all of these long years, Sentinel?” Unus asked, rolling his eyes, an all-too-human gesture. He snapped his wings tightly to his back and gently pushed the mostly human male aside.

The Coven

237

The others offered no objection; in fact, they began to look rather gleeful as they gathered around Unus and the doors. “Stand aside, Sex. We have waited too long, much too long, to miss this.” Nodding his head in understanding, Sex stepped aside and watched as Unus lofted one bare, taloned foot and slammed it against the heavy wood of the door. It splintered into a thousand small projectiles that Unus protected them from by snapping out his wings. As the wood dust cleared, Unus proceeded to furl his wings back into their proper place and strode into the room, as if out on a pleasant evening stroll, the others falling in line behind him. Not a word was spoken as they calmly traversed the marble floor of the ballroom, over the carpet and the hardwood floors, to the stage sitting against the far wall.

***** Cyprus snickered as she felt Unus’s approach and knew that her men would be soon joining them. “Goody,” she breathed to Crenshaw, laughing as the woman yelped and fought harder. “We will be having company. I guess I had better get presentable.” “Monster!” Crenshaw sobbed, her head exploding, her mind shredded by the pain no human was ever meant to feel. “To some,” Cyprus allowed. And as the sound of the exploding door reached them, she winked, and suddenly, as fast as her face mutated, it slid back into its more familiar contours, the skin smooth and unblemished, the face perfection. By the time her line of six men made it to the stage, she was once again Cyprus Reid, envy of all, with perfection of form, frame, and voice. “We are witness to this justice.” Unus nodded, smirking at the smile his mate was now sporting. “As if I could keep you out.” She chuckled and then turned to Crenshaw again. “David,” she sang. “These are my mates. Be grateful that I am doing this myself. They would have had no pity for you.” “Murder…” “Retribution,” Sex snapped, stepping closer to the client who had hired him, had lied to him, who had almost made him destroy his own personal code of honor -- something that was deserving of death in his personal philosophy. He looked down at the self-righteous bitch who had hired him and shook his head, knowing that he had almost been brought low by this disgusting creature.

238

Stephanie Burke

“You!” Crenshaw’s eyes widened as she recognized his voice. “You traitor!” “My sixth.” Cyprus leaned forward to place a kiss on Sex’s forehead before turning again to her victim. “A man who seeks the truth.” She sighed, her hands again running over the pulsing light that seemed to be growing in intensity as the men approached. “It knows it will soon be complete.” Cyprus laughed, tossing back her hair, joy and triumph in her voice. “Hurry!” Unus insisted, knowing that the humans would soon be sending people inside, soldiers who would shoot first and ask questions later. The sight of them mutilating Crenshaw was sure to merit a few bullets and would bring more innocent deaths on their hands while the Coven lost control and slaughtered them all in protection of their master. Nodding, Cyprus stared one last time into the pale blue eyes that had haunted her nightmares for years. They were so weak, so frail, so human. And yet these eyes had orchestrated the near destruction of her Coven and had ruined her life. They were the eyes of a fanatic, a killer. She couldn’t wait to the see the light in them dim and the colors fade away in death. Raising her arm, she slowly pressed her right hand, the razor-sharp talons, into the skin. She watched as the flesh dimpled, watched as it slowly began to part and the blood well up red and hot, to run in rivers over that soft, white flesh. “Good-bye, Crenshaw,” she whispered, then threw back her head, a scream tearing from her throat as her talons made contact with the pulsing blue light. A sound like a lion’s roar filled the room as an unseen wind rose up in power, tossing their hair around their bodies. “No!” Crenshaw screamed. “God help me!” “Maybe…the devil,” Quin sneered, his words torn from him as the winds increased in strength. “Nooooooo!” Crenshaw wailed, her scream growing in strength as the flesh of her stomach began to bulge and leap, as if something was trying to tear free. Cyprus nodded her head, her eyes glowing gold as Unus and Sex snatched both of Crenshaw’s hands, the hands that were trying to rise up and hold onto the flesh that was bubbling and bulging. Cyprus sank her fingers in deeper, parting more of the flesh, smiling as the light grew in strength until it all but obliterated her form, hiding it within bright pulsing lights. Crenshaw screamed and bucked, her sounds horrific and ringing as she struggled to keep her insides from being torn free.

The Coven

239

But the critha recognized its true possessor and the remaining halves of itself. It struggled to break free of its prison of human blood, flesh, and tissue. Crenshaw’s voice began to gurgle as her screams tore free something in her throat, blood spraying from her mouth as she shook her head from side to side. But nothing could stop the power, once called. It would return home. With a thick, wet, ripping sound, the flesh of her stomach exploded outward, the pulsing blue light rising up from the fleshy pink insides that had held it for so long. Crenshaw gave one more shrieking cry and then fell still, almost like a puppet with its strings cut. She fell limply to the stage floor, a useless, wasted vessel, and the light that she had stolen, that she had manipulated and used to change her own form and extend her unnatural life, floated from its berth and shot toward its one true owner. “Yes!” Cyprus screamed, tossing her head back as the pulsing in her center stilled. Nearly blinded by the light, the men watched in various degrees of shock and disbelief…and relief, as the pulsing light left Crenshaw’s body and circled around them, zipping as if it reveled in its freedom, as if it wanted the men who had created it to know that their long years of torment were over. “It’s…it’s beautiful,” Sex breathed, letting go of the limp body and rising up to his full height as the light danced over his features, as if caressing him, then repeated the same movements to Quin. It danced around Unus, flying through his hair and zipping around his stomach before leaping to Duae and dancing over his webbed fingers. It spread to Tria, who threw back his head in laughter as it ran up his back and around his neck. And finally it spread to Quattour, who once again was in his human form with tears running down his face, raising his hands in welcome. It settled there for a moment, caressing and nuzzling his arms and face affectionately before it spun around them one last time and headed toward Cyprus. Laughing, crying, and singing her welcome at the same time, Cyprus threw back her arms and exposed her abdomen, where the glowing light seemed the strongest. It circled her body a few times, moving faster and faster as her singing grew more intense. Joyful emotions filled the room as Cyprus trilled her joy, making the others smile and nod, chuckling themselves, their eyes in wide wonder as they watched this spectacle. The glowing, pulsing ball finally stilled at her abdomen, then ran over it, gently touching her, making the gown that separated it from her naked flesh melt away into nothingness. “Critha chinka.” Cyprus laughed as the ball pulled away, then zoomed straight at her. “Yes!” she screamed, rising up to her knees over the dead body of the scientist as life -pure, sweet life -- returned to her.

240

Stephanie Burke

Her hair exploded outward, a golden cloud, before her body arched backward, the light inside of her growing supernova, exploding outward with a force that knocked all the men off of their feet. Cyprus herself found herself flying backward as the force of the joining knocked her away from the stage. The energy generated was so powerful that it blew out all the windows, shattered the chandeliers, and nearly disintegrated Crenshaw’s body. It was into this spectacle that the SWAT team raced, weapons drawn, set to protect the missing Delilah Crenshaw and her special guest, Cyprus Reid. Almost everyone was unconscious, and one person was a blood red fleshy smear around the room and very much dead.

The Coven

241

Chapter Forty “Ms. Reid? Any comment on the terrorist attack that struck the scientific awards ceremony?” “Ms. Reid! Ms. Reid! Is it true that your vocal cords were damaged in the explosion?” “Ms. Reid? Any truth to the allegation that you are an alien sent to enslave the minds of our weakest men and reproduce alien babies?” “Is it true that because of this incident, you are going to retire?” “Cyprus? IS this a publicity stunt?” “Ms. Reid? Is it true that your group has links to Al-Qaeda?” “Ms. Reid! Was the bomb under the stage? Were any of your men harmed?” “You bitch! You stole my man! Faker!” “You look well enough to me!” “Are you sleeping with all six men?” “Ms. Reid? Ms. Reid?” Cyprus, sitting in a wheelchair, looked regal and brave as her men surrounded her on their way out of the hospital. After valiantly almost giving their lives to protect the woman who brought them together, the six men were no longer looked upon as arm candy and stupid boy toys. They were now being hailed as heroes. Several eyewitness reports had showed them fighting off armed men in desperation to reach their alleged lover. Though most of the details of that night were sketchy at best, the world was now looking at their beautiful songbird as a victim and her men as the new national treasures.

242

Stephanie Burke

But who could tell? There were accounts of huge gargoyles coming to life, of the hated devil dogs attacking people, and reports of mysterious lights emanating from the ballroom where the famed scientist Delilah R. Crenshaw met her grisly fate. It was assumed that the bomb was set as a tactic to force the Secretary of Defense to release information about some new weapon they had developed, and the SWAT members who raced into the ballroom in time to see the bomb detonate had verified that some incendiary device had been used. The mysterious lights were an enigma, as was the nature of an incendiary device that burned away clean, leaving hardly any traces of itself behind. But the explosion had been clearly seen, and its effects were conclusive and visible. Dr Crenshaw had been a liquefied mess, leading the investigators from the ATF and the FBI to assume the device had been beneath the stage where she apparently was hiding. The fallout had knocked Ms. Cyprus Reid and her bodyguards across the room, injuring the singer and leaving her men in various stages of injury -- from the broken arm that the one named Unus received to the concussion that knocked out the newest bodyguard, Sex, and left him unconscious for hours. They were all covered by burns and lacerations, including Ms. Reid herself, whose face was severely damaged in the ensuing explosion. They had been questioned by the police and released soon after, being key witnesses who had just managed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was sad that her voice had been destroyed, but at least she and her men were alive. The nation watched as the injured singer and her men were escorted to a limo that would take them to parts unknown, possibly never to be heard from again. It was a sad, sad day, and the fans turned out in droves, crying tears for their favorite pop star who had now become a living legend. But… “Can I take this thing off now?” Quat grumbled, eyeing the pale blue cast on Unus with distaste. His hair was delicately restrained in a ponytail, and there were a multitude of cuts and scrapes along his face and neck. “The sight of Unus in one of these is as ridiculous as watching a hippo in a tutu and leg warmers.” “It was rather overdone.” Tria snickered at the sight of such a huge man in such a palecolored, nearly dainty-looking cast. Rolling his eyes at their antics, Unus flexed his forearm, and with a faint popping sound, the cast neatly split into two. “Neat trick.” Sex sighed, lifting his hands to run through his hair, his customary sign of agitation, before he recalled the line of sutures that neatly held his scalp together at the hairline. “Now if it only worked on stitches…”

The Coven

243

“Stop whining,” Quat growled, reaching over to shove at his fellow alpha. “If you behave, I’m sure that Cyprus will fix it for you.” A huge set of blue, hopeful eyes landed on Cyprus, who was chuckling in her seat, watching her men learn to be…well, happy. “For you, my Sex.” She snickered, tossing aside the huge black sunglasses that had covered most of her face. She let people assume that they were there to hide some damage to her face, as they assumed the scarf wound around her neck and lower jaw were to hide some hideous malformation as the result of the explosion. In truth, they were needed to hide the permanent smile on her lips and the light of laughter in her eyes. “Please?” he asked, lips wobbling in what was as close to innocence as he could muster. “It really hurts.” “Like your acting.” Quin snorted. “Can you be any more obvious? I know you lack the eyes of canine persuasion that Quat can pull, but that Berserker blood has to be good for something!” “Oh, it manifests itself.” Sex smiled smugly as Cyprus reached over and ran her fingers along the black line of silk holding his flesh together. Within seconds, a pulsing blue light ran over the area, and then Cyprus was carefully popping each knot, pulling the strings free. “In bed mostly,” Cyprus murmured, before pulling his head forward so that she could place a small kiss on the pale and fading line where the injury had occurred. The moans and groans that filled the back of the car were music to Cyprus Reid’s ears. At last, her coven was complete. She had her six men, happy and healthy. She had her critha united once more, just waiting for the addition of her final two men. Life would blossom in her womb, the promise of a child soon to be fulfilled. And most wondrous of all, she was about to go home triumphant! The elders there, old tired men and women who were eons past their prime, would have to acknowledge her Coven and the viability of the mixture of species that made them so strong and unique. She settled in her seat beside Unus, who as usual exuded warmth and protection, and trilled lightly. “Happy, my lady?” he asked, turning away from the light-hearted banter that filled the car to drop a small kiss on her forehead. “Ecstatic,” she replied, that infectious grin growing wider. “Everything is just perfect, Unus. We are united and…” She looked over at her men, at Duae who was as usual sending pictures of erotic amusement through the powerful mate bond they all shared, to Tria and Quat, who were in a shoving game, to Quin who was poking at Sex, making ribald comments

244

Stephanie Burke

about his sexual prowess in bed when he had only been sleeping with other men for a few days. “We are perfect.” She smiled up at Unus, one hand across her stomach, protectively cradling the bundle of energy, the soul pieces within her that zipped and pinged within her with untold energy and promise. “We are going home.”

Stephanie Burke Stephanie Burke, known as Flash, is just your typical housewife who keeps a collection of slave-type males in her attic, leather and bondage gear in her living room, dimensional portals in the downstairs bathroom, and a few dozen worlds in the basement where they tend to collect dust and require vacuuming every now and again. Stephanie has no pets; she has a husband and two little ones instead, gardens when weather permits, forces family members and loved ones to pose for her paintings, and has an unfounded reputation for assaulting waiters! (Big untruth! No one has documented proof!) In between maintaining her own little piece of the universe (the sky really is magenta there), she writes constantly, travels to conventions, is actually paid to give lectures (go figure), and devises new ways to try and push the envelope, any envelope, just a little bit further. Find Flash’s chat group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlameKeeper or contact her at [email protected].