“When did he start calling himself Shadow?”
“Oh, a while ago. I think it’s good he chose his own name, don’t you?”
Personally, Orion had liked Smoky, but whatever. He looked around but didn’t see Shadow’s brother. “Where’s the little bastard?
“Probably shitting in your shoes,” Rolf answered.
Fara choked on laughter. “Rolf.”
Orion saw Varu hide a grin as well while Macy sputtered about her loveable feline.
Khent chuckled. “You know, for a thief constantly stealing my scorpions and death beetles, I can’t stay mad at him. He is pretty clever. Macy, you have a remarkable familiar.”
She cocked her head. “He’s sleeping off a bender. Apparently, he got into some cream that was supposed to go in a dessert.”
Bella’s eyes widened. “Not my custard pie!” She raced to the kitchen. “Oh, Nightmare! You are in so much trouble when I catch you, buddy.”
Orion turned and nearly walked over Mormo, who had suddenly appeared. The magician wore a smoking, ripped black robe over black tactical wear and a holstered weapon at his side, which was shocking in itself since he typically used magic, not a gun. His long white hair had smears of blood and ash in it, and when he moved, Orion saw the pointed tip of an ear, which was super weird, because Mormo had rounded ears.
Unless the bastard had always been wearing a glamour. Hmm...
“A new look for you, Mormo,” Kraft said. “It’s like black ops meets the Legend of Zelda. I like it.”
Mormo’s ears turned round once more. “I hate the Norse,” he muttered, glared at Rolf, who ignored him, and stalked through the main living room to the kitchen, yelling for Bella.
The main living room was a large, spacious area filled with a sectional sofa and many bookcases, holding all manner of magical knickknacks and books. Done in creams and browns, the room was inviting and connected the main entrance to the rest of the house. On the wall facing the sectional sat a brand new large-screen television, to replace the one that had broken not long ago thanks to some in-house fighting. Across from the living space was a large dining area that overlooked the backyard through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Only Hecate’s magic protected them from the sun’s rays during the day, should any of them be moving during daylight hours. Though Varu didn’t get so foggy when the sun was up, most of them felt the exhaustion that forced a sleep until sunset. Off of the dining area sat the kitchen, a glorious expanse of counters, a large kitchen island, and top-of-the-line appliances, including a magical refrigerator that seemed to hold all kinds of food items.
So why Bella would be upset over missing cream was anyone’s guess.
“Where’s Hecate?” Varu asked as everyone started moving toward the kitchen.
“She’s on her way,” Mormo answered and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. He downed it in one swallow.
Everyone watched, but only Fara asked, “Are you okay, Mormo?”
“No, I’m not okay.” He looked around the room. “My mistress should have been back by now.” His gaze landed on Orion, and he frowned. “What happened to you?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Orion could only stare back.
“I sent you to find an island. Then we suddenly hear you’re in trouble? You need to communicate better.”
Orion opened his mouth and closed it, wondering if he should just rip the guy’s arms off or start and end with a decapitation.
Mormo kept talking. “One slip of a sea witch and you’re no good to me. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to keep things running with just five vampires, two fae, and a witch?”
“Technically, mate, it’s Bloode Witch,” Duncan murmured.
“Bloode Witch, yes, thanks.” Mormo grabbed another beer and drank while Orion planned which body part to tear off first. Ripping Mormo’s head off would be too easy. “So while the lycans out of western Washington are getting ready to attack the local pack in Seattle—and we’re talking a major blood bath coming—we’re also dealing with some lycans who’ve gotten their paws on a fourth bloode stone”
“Maybe,” Kraft interrupted. “The lycan in the basement hasn’t confirmed anything, and we’re still not sure who he belongs to.”
“Because you keep babying him,” Khent directed to Mormo. “He can live with three limbs. Let me cut off his leg and I can use it to get to the truth.”
“So can I,” Kraft said. “I can beat him to death with it.”
Orion tried not to laugh, because he was fucking pissed, but he’d missed Kraft’s attitude. “Or you could beat him to death with both his arms.”
“Yeah, that.” Kraft nodded. “Orion gets it. Because he’s smart like that.” A pause. “So when I tell you our vryko is missing, you... should... listen,” he roared.
Fara and Macy winced. Varu sighed.
“Not so loud,” Khent said drily. “The magician has poor decision making skills, yes. But he’s not hard of hearing.”
Rolf patted Kraft on the back, egging him on. “Preach, bro.”
Hecate and Onvyr arrived in a flash of light, the battle cat that often appeared in the house not far behind and still the size of a Siberian tiger. The three-faced goddess arrived with only one face, fortunately. Tonight she looked older and wiser, dressed in ceremonial robes of black and gold, a wreath of some kind on her head, encircling her temples. Her long hair had been braided down her back, a dark-red threaded with white.
She glanced around, her gaze lighting on Orion. “Oh, good, you’re back.”
Onvyr, the other fae in the house, had clearly returned from battle. He had night-dark skin and white hair, the dark elf part of his dusk elf heritage prominent during the night—unlike Fara who remained gray all the time. Onvyr’s lavender eyes looked battle-hardened. He had bloody wounds and dirt all over him, a bruise under his left eye, and wore the clothes of an elven warrior—black trousers, boots, and a sleeveless black leather tunic with a tactical belt holding a few potions. He wore a bow over his shoulder, a quiver of arrows at his back. In his hand he held a bloodied blade that smelled of wounded divinity.
“We kicked ass.” Onvyr grinned and said something in his native tongue to the feline.
The giant cat with black and white stripes and a mouthful of very sharp teeth chuffed and made some odd sounds.
“Catherine will have your cream downstairs, dear,” Hecate said.
The cat gave what sounded like a laugh before trotting away and disappeared down a stairwell that appeared then vanished in a flash.
Hecate gave Onvyr a look. “We really need to work on your aggressive tendencies, Onvyr.”
“Whoops. My bad.”
She narrowed her eyes on him then explained, “A small group of elves were in talks with a few Norse gods about coming to peace over shared territory. Then Hel showed up with some dead warriors to change the terms, which had Danu’s Children up in arms.”
Fara looked worried. “Onvyr? Are you okay?”
“I’m great. I saw Dad. He said hi.”
“Really?” She smiled.
Orion didn’t want to ruin the elf family moment, but he had a problem that needed to be addressed. “I’m really glad you’re all back in one piece.”