Thanks for stopping by and reading! This has turned out more swoony than sexy, be advised :-)
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Feldspar scrutinized the beaters from the electric hand mixer, checking to ensure they were completely clean after using them to whip egg whites for the morning's waffles. To his satisfaction, the chrome shone flawlessly. Yago was perched on a stool at the kitchen counter, watching Feldspar cook while thumbing through a wine magazine and sipping his coffee.
Several weeks of organizing and clearing out Brody's things had left Silver exhausted. Brody hadn't owned much, but what he had had was steeped in nostalgia for Silver. The process had been agonizing at times, and Feldspar had convinced Silver to take frequent, sometimes days-long breaks. Between touring the sights and catching up with Silver's friends, break days had turned out to be even more exhausting than work days. Now that the work was finished Feldspar had ordered Silver to sleep in.
In just a few days they'd be heading back to the Wood. It felt like they'd been gone years rather than a month. Part of him mourned leaving the human realm when he was just starting to appreciate all it had to offer. Silver had taken him to dozens of restaurants that had been a revelation. Yago had introduced him to true crime podcasts and noise cancelling headphones, which made cuddling up and watching Silver's awful reality TV thoroughly enjoyable. Arnau had get-togethers at his tattoo shop every few days, and each time there was at least one or two fascinating fae who he wanted to get to know better. His world was expanding by the minute, as it had been since he'd met Silver.
Silver had already stocked up on junk food to bring back to the Wood. He'd also bought a slew of cookbooks and begged recipes off friends, so he could recreate Feldspar's favorite meals from the past month, and had downloaded the back catalog of every true crime podcast he could find. Feldspar knew they could bring bits of the human realm back with them, but it wasn't the same.
He found himself rubbing the ache in his chest. This wasn't goodbye. Silver was already talking about their next trip, and no matter where he went Silver would be with him. There was a lot to look forward to, too. He wanted his own bed and the comforting sounds of Gneiss and Nephrite moving around their tree. He had missed the feeling of grass beneath his feet and hot days spent exploring the ever-changing enchanted woods. He much preferred the sound of aspen leaves rustling in the breeze to the sound of sirens and car horns, and the smell of the redwoods in the early morning mist to the ever-present stench of smog. Going home would be good.
Feldspar heard sounds from the bedroom and stuffed the electric beaters into the pocket of his apron. He darted a guilty look toward the bedroom, holding his breath. The shower turned on and he released a relieved breath.
"Are you trying to fool him? He's going to know you didn't beat those by hand," Yago said, nodding toward the bowl of whipped egg whites.
"Maybe, but it'll drive him batty if I don't confess." He took the beaters out of his pocket and examined them one last time, making sure he'd dried them completely. He handed the hand mixer to Yago, who coiled the cord up just as it had been, smiling the whole time. Feldspar put the mixer and the beaters back in the cabinet where he'd found them, spending a few extra seconds to ensure the contraption looked just as it had before he'd used it.
The front door opened and they both looked up to see Liam sauntering into the kitchen. "I have come to return a few things," he said, holding up a cell phone and a well worn journal. The vampire placed the items on the counter and slid onto the stool next to Yago.
"Don't you look well this morning," Yago said, narrowing his eyes. The vampire's youthful face was unusually rosy and his eyes bright under his signature pageboy cap. "Just the picture of health, aren't you."
Liam twirled his handlebar mustache and smiled, revealing his sharp fangs. A shiver ran down Feldspar's spine. The sight of razor sharp teeth and cold eyes set in the face of a twenty-something hipster was unsettling in the extreme. Feldspar glanced uneasily back toward Silver's room, where he could still hear the shower running. He knew intellectually that Liam didn't consider him prey, but his instincts alternated between screaming at him to run and screaming at him to cut Liam's throat before he could hurt Silver.
"Who was it?" Yago asked in a tone that made what he was imagining explicitly clear. Feldspar was surprised Yago was interested in hearing about Liam's hunting habits. Yago was a gossip who liked to stir shit; casual murder of humans was darker than his usual fare.
"I am afraid it will not be the diverting tale you are accustomed to hearing from me."
"Not one of your delicious paramours? But I love it when you kiss and tell," Yago drawled. "Who did you eat then?"
"No one anyone would miss."
"Just one?" Yago said. "You look quite well, for just having one."
Liam examined his nails. "Several people who nobody -- yourselves in particular -- will miss."
Yago stilled and his playful facade dropped away as he looked intently at Liam. He tilted his head in query, one hand rising to stroke a horn absently. Liam nodded, answering Yago's silent question.
Feldspar was lost. "Why do you say that? What does your... diet have to do with us?" he asked. His mind raced ahead, trying to grasp what Liam had done. Yago clearly knew something he didn't, based on the way he had gone completely still and his eyes were shining with unshed tears.
"It is well known I do not have a great deal of regard for the majority of the human race," Liam said. "Other than my bed and breakfast proclivities, naturally."
"He takes them to bed and eats them for breakfast," Yago supplied.
Feldspar gave him a dry look. "I'd gleaned that much, thank you."
"There have been a few humans who I suppose I have affection for. Brody, though he may have had the dignity and intelligence of a golden retriever, was under my protection. His association with me was known. His death was a slight that I could not let go unanswered."
Yago and Feldspar exchanged a look. There was a line here, one they could choose to cross or not. Liam had said enough that they could be fairly certain of what he'd done, but not so much that they couldn't maintain some level of plausible deniability. Feldspar waited for Yago to decide how much he wanted to know.
Eventually Yago put his wine magazine down on the counter and asked, "What did you do?"
Liam paused for a moment, stroking his mustache. "Brody's cell phone and journal were most illuminating. It was a small matter to identify the miserable sod who sold narcotics to Brody after he had quit. The man claimed ignorance of how the product he sold Brody was tainted. So, I claimed ignorance of how long I can drink before a 180 pound human male goes into fatal shock." He held up one finger, then continued. "His supplier also claimed ignorance, though it was clear he'd profited handsomely from selling impure product." He added a second finger to his count. "A few of my brethren joined me in finding others in supply and sales. Odd how none of them knew that their product was killing people." He now held up eight fingers. "It has been a most busy and fortifying month."
Yago let out a long whistle and met Feldspar's over the kitchen counter. "Don't fuck with a vampire, eh?"
Feldspar ignored Yago's asinine comment and turned instead to Liam. "Good," he said firmly, meeting his hard gaze. Most people would have been unsettled by Liam's brutality. He couldn't argue with the efficiency of Liam's justice, nor did he want to. Silver's grief demanded vengeance. He was glad he hadn't been the one to dole it out, though he easily could have. Staring into Liam's cold eyes, he couldn't help but see himself reflected back. An earlier, different version of himself, but himself true enough.
Liam turned slowly Yago, apparently deigning to address his comment. "My kind does not have the luxury faeries have of being one of the more appealing fae creatures. Vampires have been hunted to extinction on every continent. Our only protection is brutal and swift retribution for slights against any of our number. Vampires do not abide harm coming to one of our own. Brody was one of mine. What I did, I did for Brody, and for myself and my kind, and yes, even for Brody's other loved ones." The shower shut off, prompting all three of them to look down the hall like guilty teenagers. "Not all would take comfort in what I have done, however."
