Chapter 16

Chad missed Morgaine. After Gwyneth and Nathan summarily dismissed him, he had no one to talk to. Just like the old days, he grumbled.

Maybe he could drop in on the two newest residents and test their psychic sensitivity. After all, he hadn’t discovered Morgaine’s ability to communicate with him until he followed her around for a while, insulting her.

He chuckled to himself as he remembered the exchange. He was mocking her gothic makeup and coloring—black hair, pale skin—as well as her all-black wardrobe, when she suddenly whirled around and shook her fist at the ceiling.

“Cut the shit you damn spook,” she yelled.

Chad remembered laughing so hard, if he had an ass to fall on, he would have stumbled backward and landed on it.

A quick visit to the strange fish-man might prove interesting.

Chad floated down the stairs and pushed his way into the super’s apartment.

Just as he suspected, Jules lay in his giant fish tank. Fingers locked under his head, he floated on his back, gently agitating the water with his large tailfin.

Here goes nothin’. “Hello there, fish-breath.”

Jules didn’t react. His eyes closed and a slight smiled played across his face.

“Wet enough for ya?”

Nothing.

“I wish I knew why you decided to become a landlubber.”

When no reaction to that followed, Chad figured the super was completely unaware of his presence. He was about to leave when it occurred to him, he could use other means to communicate besides telepathy.

Let’s see…I could use my telekinesis to move the toaster out of the kitchen, across the room and dump it in his fish tank. Naw, it wouldn’t be worth the effort without a massively long cord. The threat of electrical shock would get him to spring out of that water, and wouldn’t that be fun to watch?

Hmmm…there must be something I can do to get his attention.

Chad eyed two rolled up towels on a shelf near the tank. Ah, those must be what he uses to dry off. I know! Wouldn’t it be fun if dry towels weren’t so handy, and he had to drip across the floor all the way to the bathroom?

Chad concentrated on the towels until they floated off the shelf and hovered in midair. When he was ready, he mentally directed them over the tank and dumped them into the water.

The disturbed surface tension alerted Jules and he opened his eyes. “Hey!”

Grabbing the waterlogged towels, he glanced around the room in confusion.

Heh Heh. That was fun.

“Very funny, Chad,” the super said.

Huh? He knows about me?

Chad cleared his throat and yelled, “Hey, Jules. I’m over here.”

Jules ignored him and climbed onto the edge of his tank. He wrung out the wet towels and waited until his tail turned into legs.

I’ll try telepathy one more time. “Hellooo…Your momma’s a guppy.”

Jules pattered across the floor, leaving a wet trail behind him.

With no real satisfaction in the effort, Chad let out a deep sigh. Okay, cross another resident off my list of intelligent conversationalists.

Sly had made love to Morgaine, twice. They lay side by side, holding hands, basking in the afterglow. The way he whispered endearments to her while he was thrusting affirmed the loving nature she knew he had.

Making love. Yes, those were the right words—not fucking. He loved her. He must. She’d made him nuts for taking a risk to her own safety. He had said in that way, she was like Alice. His dear departed wife, who drove him out of his mind by attending rallies and protest marches despite his worry that violence might break out.

He hadn’t said the words to her yet, but she was sure he’d find the right moment.

“I don’t want you putting yourself in that kind of danger again, Morgaine.”

“Oh, come on, Sly. Don’t kill the mood. I did good, right?”

“Yes, you did.”

After resealing the doors against vampires, then inviting him in again, Mikhail had been so impressed he offered her two cases of wine. His cases were actual briefcases lined with plastic foam in the shape of his bottles. Each one carried only three precious bottles. They sat at the foot of their bed.

“And I ‘saw’ how we can make more, so you’ll always have your cure. That vision probably wouldn’t have happened, if I hadn’t been in the warehouse.”

“I know, sweetheart, but Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Like that would have killed you?”

He chuckled. “You’re right. It wouldn’t have. Otherwise, I’d be dead.”

She rolled up onto one elbow and stared down at him. “Well, I’m glad you’re not. And by the way, why do you call on Jesus? I didn’t think vampires could be Christians anymore.”

He shrugged. “Why not? I was raised Catholic and was never excommunicated. It’s not like I chose to become a vampire. I don’t think there’s a manual that says vampires have to surrender their rosary beads. Is there?”

She chuckled. “Forget I asked.”

Just as she was scooting down the bed, getting ready for a third round, the phone rang.

Damn.

She groped for her smartphone on the nightstand. On the fourth ring, she answered it.

“Hello?”

“Well, howdy, y’all. Did I interrupt anythin’?”

“Hi Gwyneth. Uh, no. As always, your timing is impeccable. What’s up?”

“Y’all are never gonna believe this. Guess who I made out with last night? Go ahead, guess. You’ll never—”

“Nathan?”

She heard Gwyneth’s gasp. “Well, fiddlesticks! You probably got a psychic news flash. Sometimes that ability spoils all the fun.”

“No, it had nothing to do with the sight. I figured he’d make his move eventually. He’s been in love with you since the first time you met.”

“That’s what he said! But how did you know that?”

“By the way he tries not to look at you but can’t help himself. And he becomes totally awkward around you—more than usual. It doesn’t take a psychic to figure it out.”

Sly cleared his throat. “What doesn’t it take a psycho to figure out?”

His eyes twinkled and she knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her.

With her hand half over the mic, she answered, “Psych-ic, sweetheart.”

“Oh, so y’all are callin’ each other pet names now?” Gwyneth giggled. “I reckon things are goin’ well with Sly.”

Morgaine glanced over her shoulder at him. He smiled and winked. Damn that acute hearing of his. He’s getting every word of this.

“Yeah, well, I’m more interested in talking about your new development.”

“I think we’re good together, Morgaine. I make him laugh. I never seen that boy laugh before.”

“And what does he do for you?”

“Well, I know he’d never cheat on me, and I guess you’d say he keeps me grounded. Least ways he gets me to look afore I leap.”

“Thank the Goddess,” Morgaine mumbled.

“What?”

“Um—that’s good. And the chemistry? Is that there?”

She giggled. “I guess that’s the biggest surprise of all. I can’t get enough kissin’ when I’m with him.”

“Do you think you’ll start seeing him in earnest?”

“Who’s Earnest?”

Morgaine stifled a laugh. “I mean, are you taking his feelings into account? Or are you just messing around with him? I don’t want to see anyone in our building get hurt.”

“I’m no cock tease, Morgaine.”

“Good.”

“So, I have your seal of approval, I guess?”

“Is that why you called? You wanted my approval?”

“Heck, no. We’re in a bit of a pickle now, and I wanted to ask all your opinion. Sly too.”

“Okay, let me put you on speaker phone.” Probably completely unnecessary, but whatever… Morgaine pushed the button marked ‘speaker’ and said, “Go ahead.”

“Well, first off, don’t go getting’ all rattled right away. It takes a bit of explainin’.”

Morgaine took a deep breath. Whenever Gwyneth began by telling her not to get upset, it meant she wasgoing to upset her. “Uh-oh. What happened?”

“Well, nothin’ yet, but I went to Nathan hoping he could fix it, but, well, he couldn’t.”

“What is it? If there’s a plumbing problem or something, that’s what the super is for.”

“It ain’t no leaky faucet, Morgaine. Apparently, our new neighbor, Lily, is a she-dragon.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say about someone.”

“No, I mean, she’s a real-life, actual dragon. She needs sex to blow off steam.”

Sly sat up and Morgaine sensed sudden tension coursing through him.

“She used to control it by being a call girl in San Francisco. Now that she’s moved here, she ain’t got no clients yet. I tried to get Nathan to sleep with her and, well, he refused, sayin’ he was in love with someone else. So, that’s how I discovered—”

Sly interrupted. “Gwyneth, skip to the problem at hand.”

“Well, to make a short story shorter, if she don’t have sex, she sneezes fire. It’s some kind of weird allergy to abstinence or somethin’. Her whole apartment is scorched. If she don’t get sex pretty soon…”

Sly jumped off the bed. “She’ll burn down the building. My daughter’s building. Jason could shift and fly to safety, but Merry… Morgaine, start packing. We have to get home, now!”

“Just a second. Gwyneth, have you told Jules?”

“Well, no. I didn’t want to get Lily in trouble. She’s a real nice girl and t’ain’t her fault she was born a dragon.”

“You have to tell Jules! He’s responsible for everything that happens there. Besides, do you want our home to go up in flames? For Goddess’s sake, Gwyneth!”

Sly shouted, “Shit, the still! That would turn any fire into an inferno.”

“Okay, okay. That’s why I called, dagnabbit. I thought you might come up with somethin’ other than tattlin’ on her. But if I have to tell Jules, I’ll just tell him.”

“Tell him now. We’ll be back as soon as we can but promise me you won’t do another thing until you talk to Jules.”

The phone went dead.

“Gwyneth?”

Sly tossed their clothes and toiletries into Morgaine’s suitcase so fast he whirled like a tornado. “Come on, we have to go.”

“Gwyneth? Are you there?”

No sound from the other end. Holy shit. Did she take me literally, drop the phone and run to the super’s apartment or did a fire just eat through the electrical and phone lines?

“Fuck. The line’s dead.”

Sly had zipped up Morgaine’s suitcase, then picked her up off the bed, tossed her over his shoulder, and grabbed one of the two cases of vampire wine. “If I have to carry all of this and you out of here, I will.”

“Put me down. I’ll help carry the stuff.”

“Then hurry.”

“No! You can’t evict me. Please! I have nowhere to go. No one…”

Jules didn’t want to toss his beautiful new neighbor out on her keester. But when Gwyneth from upstairs said Lily had been setting small fires in the apartment right below hers… Well, what was he to do?

“I’m sorry. If you have a problem… I mean, if you’re a fire starter and you want help, maybe I can find—”

“No, that’s not it at all.” Fat tears rolled down her soft cheeks. “Please, let me explain…”

He paused. There was no real harm in letting her talk. After all, she wouldn’t set a fire in front of him. Her behavior had him baffled. An explanation might not change anything, but he’d sure like to hear it.

“Please?”

“All right.”

“Come inside. I’ll get you a cup of tea.”

He followed her inside and appraised the damage as she went to the kitchen. Scorch marks on the hardwood. That would have to be sanded and restained. It looked as if some drapes had caught fire and the trim around the window would need to be replaced. Other than that, it was her own furniture that looked and smelled like it had been set on fire and put out.

Jules sat on the only chair that looked relatively unscathed. “Don’t make any tea for me. I have a bottle of water.” His ever-present plastic bottle carried salt water with him wherever he went. Something she ought to do.

She poked her head out. “Oh. I guess I won’t bother, then.”

“You can go ahead and make some for yourself. Don’t let me stop you.”

She smiled and said, “I’ll be just a minute.”

As soon as she disappeared again, he rose and softly stole to the kitchen entrance and peeked around the corner. She held a cup of water in her hand and dropped a tea bag in it. Then she blew on the cup and fire came out of her mouth!

“What the hell?” Jules strode toward her but stayed out of blow torch reach.

Her body froze in fear, but her eyes were wild. “Oh, no. What did you see?”

“What do you think I saw? Look, lady. I came in here for an explanation, and I want it more than ever now. I just saw you heat that cup of tea with your breath like a fire-breathing…”

She smiled innocently and shrugged.

He reeled back as reality hit him. “You’re a dragon?”

She nodded. Then she lowered her head in shame. “I—I have a certain condition. There’s something I need on a regular basis, and if I don’t get it, I have the tendency to sneeze—and fire comes out. I…”

She glanced up at him, then must have decided not to continue. He realized he must be wearing a very stern look. He could feel his brows bunched together and knew he was frowning. Her tears returned and his heart ached for her.

“Look, if it’s something I can help you find, like medicine, just say the word. There’s a pharmacy right down the street.”

She shook her head, then covered her eyes with her hands.

“Hey, let’s not have any more of that. There’s no need to be embarrassed. Tell me what I can do to help.”

She looked up and hoped shimmered in her dark eyes. “You’re so understanding. I thought you’d call me a freak and have the cops take me away.”

“You’d be surprised how understanding I can be. Now, why don’t you tell me more about this thing you need. What is it?”

She hesitated for a good long time. Finally, she hung her head and muttered what sounded like the word, “Sex.”

“What did you say?”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“It sounded like you said, ‘sex’.”

“I did. I need sex to stop sneezing.”

After a few moments, he realized he had been staring at her. “Oh.” He scratched his head. “Well, I might be able to help with that…”

She straightened and looked him in the eye. “Really?”

He chuckled. “Why not? I mean, it’s not exactly a hardship.”

“And—and I can stay?”

“Hmmm…” He folded his arms and thought about the consequences. “I guess that depends.”

“On?”

“On whether or not it works.” He reached for her hand. “Come with me.”

She took a step back and eyed his hand cautiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“I might be a little warm blooded for you right now. I don’t want to burn you.”

He snapped his fingers. “I have an idea. Come.”

That was all he said, and all he intended to say until he showed her the kind of steamy sex he knew they could have. He left her apartment and marched across the hall to his own. He didn’t turn around to be sure she was following until he reached his door.

She paused in her doorway. He opened the door to his own place and swung it wide. She must have seen all the fish tanks, because her jaw dropped, and she entered slowly as if mesmerized. Once she was inside, he locked the door behind her.

“Watch this,” he said. He strolled to his human-size tank and stripped down, figuring that if she was willing to sleep with him, she wouldn’t be shocked to see him in all his glory. The next part might surprise her a bit, but he hoped since he’d shown her understanding, she’d offer him the same kindness.

Her gaze swept over his body and a small smile curled her lips. Good. She likes what she sees. Then he vaulted over the wall of water and his tail formed almost immediately.

She gasped.

He grinned at her and leaned back, then clasped his hands behind his head. He floated with his tail gently treading water.

“You’re a merman!”

“In the fin.”

She giggled and asked, “What happened to your…”

“It’s still there. Come on in, the water’s great! It’ll cool you down and as soon as I can ‘handle you,’ we’ll get out and try it.”

She glanced all around. “Where? I don’t see any furniture?”

“I have a bed, but maybe this first time we could try it in the shower.” He winked. “Think of all the steam we’ll generate!”

She laughed, stripped off her clothes quickly, and jumped into the tank. Sure enough, generous plumes of steam rose from the surface. “Ah…I feel better already.”

“Great. Well, I can feel the temperature rising, so I’ll get out and meet you in the shower whenever you’re ready.”

“You don’t have a tail in fresh water?”

“Nope.” He hauled himself up onto the side and let the water sluice off. “You’ve never heard of lake-men have you?”

She smiled. “No, I guess not.”

When his lower half became human again, he hopped down onto the floor and leaned over the tank. “There’s an old saying, “When a bird and a fish fall in love, where will they live?”

She nodded.

“I guess they’ll have to live at this address.” He cupped her face and brought her lips to his for their first kiss. One of many, he hoped.

Sly saw Morgaine’s breath in the cold late November night as they strode from the Copley Square subway station to their Beacon Street neighborhood. He hadn’t calmed down much since leaving New York.

“Slow down,” Morgaine muttered. “I don’t hear fire engines.”

“I won’t feel better until I get there and see for myself that everything’s all right. After that I plan on having a chat with our hot new neighbor, and I don’t mean ‘hot’ in a good way.”

Morgaine let out a weak chuckle.

They passed beneath a streetlight and he glanced over at her. “By the way, I’m proud of the way you handled this whole trip. I hope you’re proud of yourself too.”

She grinned at him. “Yeah, I really didn’t know if I could do it. Having you beside me the whole time made it possible. Thank you.”

“Hey, you were the one doing me a big favor. Going with you was the least I could do.”

“How are you feeling by the way? It’s been a while since you had any wine.”

“I’m okay. I’d much rather use it conservatively until we know we can make more of it.” He didn’t want to tell her that his blood lust had returned. He could control it until they reached their destination safely. The last thing he needed was to be stopped and hassled for public consumption of alcohol.

“It’s pretty quiet tonight,” she remarked. “Of course, it’s the wee hours of the morning.”

“Plus, it’s probably too cold for most people. I smell snow.”

“You can actually smell snow?”

A sudden movement from above caught him by surprise. Vorigan Malvant landed on the sidewalk right in front of them.

Morgaine yelped.

“Shit!”

“Is that any way to greet your maker?” Malvant said in his oily way. “I had hoped you’d be happy to see me.”

Sly stepped in front of Morgaine. “Why the hell would I be happy to see you?”

“Because of all the wonderful things I have to teach you, of course.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Malvant sighed. “I didn’t want to do it this way, but you leave me no choice.”

“What way?” He took a swing at Malvant.

Malvant shoved Sly off the sidewalk. He lost his balance on the curb and while he was busy landing on his ass in the street, Vorigan Malvant grabbed Morgaine, took a giant leap, and disappeared with her over the rooftop.

Her scream shattered the night.

Sly tossed his precious briefcases of wine into the bushes. He tried to follow, but Vorigan was too fast and too clever. When Morgaine’s protests became muffled, then stopped altogether, Sly realized in horror that he’d lost them.