Chapter 21

Anya"s stomach clenched at the sickening sounds of cracking and snapping as the wolf started to change. When his skin started to melt, Anya had to look away before she threw up her dinner.

"Couldn"t you have done that outside, Izrayl?" Trajan complained.

"And miss the look on her face?" Izrayl chuckled, stretching his back with a final crack.

Anya looked back to see a massive man standing by the fire. He had dark brown skin and black hair that fell to his waist in a braid. He watched her with deep amber wolf eyes and stood proudly naked like it was completely normal to meet people in such a manner. Anya had to admit, recently, it had been.She did her best to keep her eyes above his waist, but damn, was he built.

"Cover yourself, beast. Anya has had enough surprises this week without seeing your junk hanging out everywhere," Trajan said, tossing him a blanket off one of the couches.

"Yes, big brother," Izrayl mocked and wrapped it around his waist before holding his hands up to the fire. "I"ve been trying to get here for a few days to tell you about this one walking around loose in Skazki." He jerked his thumb towards Anya. "Her trail is bright red with magic. Anyone could follow her."

"Hello, I have a name. Why were you following me?" Anya demanded. She and Yvan had been keeping lookouts, and there had been no sign of a black wolf.

"This time it was pure accident. I thought my nose was playing tricks on me. I have followed you on and off before in Russia, so I knew the scent," Izrayl replied, stretching out in front of the fire. "I was coming to see Trajan and then boom! Right there in my path was a nose full of Ven?l?inen magic. I"ve been trailing you for a day, making sure nothing follows you and Yvan."

"So what are you, some kind of werewolf?" Anya guessed.

Trajan bit back a laugh at Izrayl"s horrified face.

"No. I"m volk krovi. I could eat a werewolf for breakfast."

"No way. I thought you guys were made up," Anya said. Volk krovi, the wolf blood people were pure myth. Eikki had told her that they were shapeshifters and warriors.

"I"m the realest thing you"re ever going to meet, sweetheart. What are you doing wandering about Skazki? And why weren"t you watching over her like you"re supposed to, Trajan?" Izrayl demanded.

Anya turned on Trajan. "What does he mean watching over me?"

"Oh, hasn"t the thanatos told you about that?"

"No, idiot. I was building up to it," Trajan hissed, his eyes flashing red. Izrayl only shrugged, completely unafraid.

"If we waited for you to tell anyone anything, we would die of old age."

"What"s a thanatos? Is it like a demon?" Anya asked, getting more confused by the second. Izrayl laughed, and Trajan"s glare intensified.

"You can tell her this one. I"m going to get some clothes on," he said, walking away like he hadn"t just dropped two massive bombshells.

Anya turned back to Trajan and went for the more troubling question. "Have you really been watching over me?"

"It"s a long story, but the short answer is yes. Since Eikki died, I have been watching over you," he admitted.

Anya crossed her arms. "Considering a god gave me a firebird egg and then my house got blown up, you did a pretty shit job."

"I had no idea you had met with Tuoni. I saw you run from the village, but that night I couldn"t find a trace of what had upset you. I thought I could leave you alone for a few days. I was wrong," Trajan replied. "When I returned, the farm was in ashes, and there was no trace of you. I came back to Skazki to reach out to friends to join me here and help me find you, and then you and Yvan suddenly arrive at my door."

Anya sat down in one of the armchairs. She had felt something watching her that day after Tuoni"s visit, but she had thought it was her imagination. Not once since Eikki"s death had Trajan knocked on the door to give his condolences. If he had been watching over her that entire time, he had left Anya to grieve on her own.

"I"m going to need the longer version," Anya said finally.

"Yvan should be here for it. It relates to him too."

"Okay, then what the fuck is a thanatos? Tell me that, at least."

Trajan walked over to a drinks cabinet and poured two vodkas, handing one to Anya before he sat down.

"A thanatos is a part of Greek legend. In the stories, we are Death. In reality, we merely provide the service of taking the dead"s souls to Elysium or the Underworld. It"s why humans get nervous around us. They can feel death."

Anya sipped her drink before she asked, "Why aren"t you doing that now?"

"Ilya helped me break the bond that my old mistress, Eris, held me with. Now, I can take a human form if I can maintain it."

"Your human form," Anya said slowly.

"Yes, I don"t naturally look like this. I have to feed to have the power to hold it."

"Feed on what exactly?" Please don"t say blood. Please don"t say blood.

"Death," Trajan answered. Anya didn"t know if that was better or worse. "When someone dies, their body releases all their life"s essence. Thanatos feed on that energy. When the soul is released from the body, we ferry it to where it needs to go."

Anya took a steadying breath. If she could deal with a shape-shifting firebird prince, she could deal with this. "So Ilya saved you from having to ferry souls?"

"Basically, yes. I escaped servitude with his help."

"So how do you feed now?" Anya asked.

"Hospitals are always good places. When I"m here in Skazki, I can usually find a village where someone is dying."

"What happens if you don"t feed?"

Trajan shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I start to revert to my true form. Something I have no intention of doing again. You have nothing to fear from me, Anya. I would never hurt you. I promise."

"I"m not scared of you," she replied honestly. She didn"t have all her memories back yet, but she knew she would find Trajan in them. He felt like a friend, and she needed those right now. No matter how strange their true natures were.

"Oh, Trajan, please tell me you haven"t developed a taste for damsels in distress," a silken voice said from the other side of the room. "You know how tedious they can be."

A stunning woman was standing in the doorway. She had rich, cherry-colored hair that matched her lipstick. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman Anya had ever seen.

"This is Cerise," Trajan introduced as the woman strolled into the room. "She"s the other friend I contacted to help me find you and Yvan."

Cerise laughed a husky chuckle that rolled down Anya"s spine. "Looks like you didn"t need me after all. So you"re the girl who has Trajan all tangled up in a panic."

"That"s me. Are you another thanatos or a volk krovi?" Anya asked.

She had the same accent as Trajan"s and had the same unnaturally perfect features. The woman laughed loudly and sat down on a couch.

"I know I"ve been traveling roughly the last few days, but a wolf? Ha! I"m neither." Cerise was wearing a black corset, leather pants, and knee-high boots, the most unlikely traveling ensemble Anya could imagine.

"She just met Izrayl. He decided to change in front of her as an introduction," Trajan said, getting up to pour Cerise a drink.

"Oh, dear, no wonder you look so rattled. Izrayl with his dick out would shock anyone," Cerise said with another big, bawdy laugh. "No, darling. I"m a keres. My kind are Greek war spirits that hang around battlefields to take souls to the Underworld."

"Like Valkyries?" Anya asked.

"Those winged women don"t drink the blood of the dead, but my kind does," Cerise said matter-of-factly.

"Do you still drink blood?" Anya asked. This night was fast going to the top of her list for the weirdest shit ever.

"Yes, but luckily, I don"t have to chase battlefields anymore to get it." Cerise shrugged as she lit a cigarette. "There are lots of lovely morgue assistants these days who are happy to oblige a lady."

"Huh. Well, you learn something new every day," Anya said and drained her vodka. She had an overwhelming urge to go and wake Yvan up, so she had one familiar face to ground her. She almost laughed aloud over the realization he was now what she considered normal.

Footsteps and grumbles of male voices echoed in the hall, and both Izrayl and Yvan appeared. The prince"s clothes were rumpled, and his hair was tousled from the short amount of rest he had gotten before Izrayl woke him.

"Cerise! Come and kiss me, you red-haired harpy!" Izrayl bellowed, and Cerise all but flew into his arms. She squealed as he picked her up in a massive embrace and kissed both of his cheeks.

"How goes it, old dog?" she asked fondly.

"Still alive." He grinned salaciously at her. "And still young enough to learn some new tricks if you are the one doing the teaching."

"Try it, and I"ll neuter you," Cerise threatened and tugged on his braid. "You dogs, all you think of is hunting, fighting, and fucking."

"What else is there?" Izrayl growled in the back of his throat and raised an eyebrow at her suggestively.

"The cries of men in battle, of sword and shield clashing against steel, drinking the blood of heroes to keep me beautiful?" Cerise replied, making Izrayl laugh louder.

"Fucking war spirits. Let"s move this party to the kitchen. I"m hungry, and Anya is looking confused. If we are going to play story time, I need protein," Izrayl said, putting Cerise down.

Cerise"s attention landed on Yvan, and her smile turned atomic. "I don"t remember ordering a hot Russian?"

Izrayl laughed. "Stop that. You"ll make poor Yvan blush."

Yvan gave her a polite bow. "Yvan Tsarevich, it"s a pleasure to meet you."

"Cerise," she said, putting her hand in his. "Feel free to kiss it."

Yvan chuckled and did just that. "My lady."

That made Izrayl laugh even louder. "Don"t let her fool you."

Cerise shot Yvan a wink before Izrayl put an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the kitchen.

"Your taste in friends is as interesting as ever, Trajan," Yvan commented.

"Be careful. She likes to drink men"s blood," Anya told him, a small barb of jealousy stinging her unexpectedly.

Yvan gave Anya a smile that made it disappear.

"I swear, I was asleep for ten minutes, and the house erupts."

"At least it"s not literally this time."

"I did tell you that I had called for backup," Trajan said. "How are you taking this all, Anya?"

"Oh, fine. Just fine. I"m going to need another few of these, though," she replied, holding up her glass of vodka.

"Me too," Yvan said, and he nudged Anya"s foot with his. "Come on, shamanitsa, it looks like we are going to get caught up on the world tonight, whether we want it or not."