He might have replied back but a scream split the forest and I turned and ran.
No matter who Summer was, I wasn’t about to let her die.
* * * *
Summer
I strode away and was only the slightest bit upset that no one seemed to follow me. I made a mental note to look up what a hunter with a capital H was and how to deal with that kind of creature. I assumed she was from the Earth plane. I also needed to look up the god Bris. Or I could ask Erna. She was an expert on the old gods.
He hadn’t seemed unkind. There had been a moment when he’d addressed me as daughter that I’d wanted to walk into his arms and throw all of my problems in his lap. He was a god, or so he claimed. He should be able to fix me, right?
I’d done the smart thing by walking away. If there was one thing Erna had taught me over the years it was to stay far away from temptation. My past didn’t matter. Or rather, my past would only get me in trouble. I had to worry about the future of all the creatures of the planes if I couldn’t figure out what was going wrong.
I walked around the lake’s banks, seeking the place where the lake became a river. The river would lead me to the abandoned village where I would hide away.
“Hello, shining one.”
I stopped and turned, taking in the sight of a gorgeous woman lounging in the shallows of the lake, her naked body barely concealed by the dark water. “Hello, Gwragedd Annwn.”
That wasn’t her name. I didn’t know her particular name, but I did know her species. She was a water sprite, mostly harmless unless you were a male who happened to swim in her lake or pond and she had an itch to scratch. Then you better hope your significant other never found out because I’ve heard they can get quite intimate. As I was a female and hadn’t touched her water, she couldn’t have any hold on me.
But she might be able to help me out.
“Hey, there’s a vampire chasing me.” At least I thought he might chase me after he finished talking about Kelsey’s child.
The sprite sat up, her eyes completely focused now. Her breasts were covered with dark-green mossy vines that also clung to her long hair like they were a part of her. “A vampire? I thought they had left this plane. I haven’t seen one in years. Funny creatures, vampires. They have such odd magics.”
What they had was tech, but I wasn’t about to explain that to the sprite. “I don’t think he meant to come here. He fell through a doorway.”
Her big eyes widened. “I felt something happen hours ago, and then again a few moments ago. The ground is happy and so are the trees.” She touched the vines that wound around her torso. “They’re practically vibrating with excitement. Does that have something to do with the way the world shifted? Did you do that, shining one? What kind of games are you playing with the rest of us?”
“I’m not playing any games. I’m trying to get home,” I explained. “I don’t know what’s causing the convergence, but I mean to find out. As to the plants, well, there’s a Green Man walking this plane.”
The sprite’s spine straightened. “Are you speaking truth?” She touched her hair. “I’m not ready. I…how is my hair?”
It was coated in moss. What was I supposed to say? “You look lovely and I would be forever grateful if you would distract them all. They’ve got a female with them.”
A single pale shoulder shrugged. “I’m not picky. It’s been terribly boring here since the sidhe left for Tír na NÓg. I miss them. I don’t suppose you would send that wizard boy my way. I promise I won’t eat him up.”
The last thing Dean needed was to be initiated into sex by a horny water sprite. “I don’t think Dean could handle you.”
Don’t run from me, bella.
I groaned and shut down the walls of my mind. He was a persistent predator. I would give him that.
I glanced back and sure enough, the vampire was running up behind me.
The sprite turned her head his way. “He isn’t wearing normal vampire clothing. How is the sun not harming him? Are you sure he’s a vampire?”
I’d seen his fangs. “I don’t understand anything about these creatures.”
They claimed they knew my parents.
“I don’t have to understand them to have some fun. Run along, shining one. Or stay and watch. I’ll take care of the vampire. And please send the Green Man my way. The forest is alive because of him. Even the plants in the water are humming. It feels so good. I can’t imagine what he’ll feel like when I take a bite.” The sprite smiled, though there was something vaguely malicious in the uptick of her lips as she retreated into the water.
I stared down into the midnight depths and wondered if I was doing the right thing.
Marcus stopped in front of me, close to the shore. All I had to do was get his feet to touch the water and the Gwragedd Annwn could do her job. I didn’t feel bad about it. She wouldn’t kill him. He was a vampire and could hold his breath for long periods of time. If he’d been human like Dean, she might drown him with her love, but Marcus Vorenus would survive the experience. It would give me plenty of time to get home, and hopefully he wouldn’t follow.
“I told you I wasn’t interested.” I settled my satchel on my shoulder and faced him. He really was a beautiful male. It was a shame he was a vampire. Had he been a sidhe, I might have given him more of a chance, but I knew what I was in his eyes. Consort. It was the name the creatures of the Vampire plane had for women like me. On the Earth plane they would use the term companion. There were women like me across the planes and vampires always chased us. My mother had been one, and though I remember the love she’d had for my father, I also knew she’d worried that his love for her had come from the glow she held, the fact that her blood strengthened him in a way other humans could not. That fear I’d felt from my mother was precisely the reason I’d turned down all vampire suitors. I’d been born knowing that vampires would always need me and I should stay away.
“You haven’t gotten the chance to know me so you can’t possibly gauge your interest.” Vorenus took a step forward, his foot inching closer to that moment when the sprite could take him.
Every word out of his mouth made me believe I was doing the right thing. “A female can’t possibly not want a male? Of course. I owe you the time to know you, to allow you to vie for my affections. I know how this goes, vampire. I give you time because I owe it to you. If I don’t want you then I’ve wasted your time.”
He took a deep breath. “You owe me nothing, Summer. I’m fumbling and that’s something I never do. Please, can we start again? I promise I’m not here to hurt you. I want to tell you about your parents. They are friends of mine.”
“You’re from the Earth plane, not the Vampire plane?” I was confused because it wasn’t normal to see a powerful Fae lord, a vampire, and a hybrid human traveling together. It was a little like a joke I’d heard once. A goblin, a troll, and a sidhe walk into a bar…
He frowned. “Vampire plane? I don’t understand. I am a creature of the Earth plane.”
Sure he was. I wasn’t completely ignorant. After all, my father was an earthbound vampire. “Earth plane vampires can’t stand the sun at all. Try again. Vampire plane vamps have adapted, but they need special gear here on this plane. The UV light is stronger here than their home plane. I’ve heard one of the big corporations has made a breakthrough with something called sunscreen. Is that how you’re doing it?”