Into Death's Arms (39 page)

     My father looked like he was going to explode.
One of his green eyes was surrounded by a very lovely shade of blue and was beginning to swell.
“WHAT is going on here,
” he shouted. I
cringed;
God was he always this loud?
He seemed twice as loud and twice as big when he was pissed.

       I couldn’t deal with him right now, I needed a minute so…“Laurna,
” I asked looking
into Dayton’s eyes
.
I ignored my father, my hero, and waited breathlessly for my
lover’s
answer.

      He brushed my hair from my eyes. “She is in the hospital but they
said she
will
recover
swiftly,
”
He said softly. “You did well
. W
e healed most of her wounds.”

       I
sagged with relief. “My brother,
” I asked.
I was so worried about Laith. No one had taken care of him since my mother died
.
I had promised to look after him. I’d failed him. I’d failed her. Funny wasn’t that just what he’d said about mom?

      He shook his head, “We still don’t know.”

     
My father had crowded closer
glaring at Dayton
.
“What brother? You’re an only child Macyn.” My father growled. “What have you done to her you fucking…” as dad moved around so he could see me more clearly he was suddenly struck silent. “Macyn
are you wearing Dayton’s shirt,
” he asked clearly shocked.

    Not as shocked as I was hearing him call Dayton by his first name though. I gave a short bark of laughter.
I was embarrassed I wasn’t ready to deal with this yet but he obviously wanted to get into it so I
smiled up at him.
“Yeah, I am. Oh, Dad
,
shit
where
are my manners? I’d like you to meet my AoLi.
” I was still dizzy, “
Shocked,
” I asked brightly,
I think all the trauma done to my body recently was affecting my brain. I never would have spoken to my dad like that otherwise.
“Yeah, me too
,
seems someone forgot to mention the whole AoLi slash
Vamp
ire
thing to me when they were warning me repeatedly to stay away from Dayton Tameron.” I kicked out my feet so I could stand I was feeling a whole lot better and I wanted to be standing between my
AoLi
and my father.
I glared at my father.
All the while Dayton kept trying to shove me back into bed.

     He ran his big hands through his hair a sure sign of agitation. “Macyn, Tameron can make you think…”

    
Oh, no I was not going to let him damage my self-confidence now that I’d finally gotten some.
“Yeah, how fucking pathetic do you think I am?” I asked interrupting him.
I moved forward aggressively.
Dayton had my arm and was gently urging me back in the other direction but I ignored him.
“Like I can’t push one puny
Vamp
from my mind if I wanted to?” I damn near hissed I’d had enough of this you’re just a
little
girl thing
.  F
or
a while,
he’d had me believing it. Sure, I was a girl but I was also an AoD just the same as him. I had less experience but I had my AoLi at my side, which made me so much more powerful than any other AoD my age.

    My father’s mouth fell open. Then snapped shut making a popping kind of sound, “I can’t even keep the bastard from my mind Macyn how do you expect
to be able to,
” he asked angrily.

    I frowned back at Dayton. “Give him back his hair.” I demanded. Dayton made a face like he was going to argue. I sent him images of the previous day not the end of the day but the glorious hours before.

     “You don’t play fair.” He snarled and disappeared into the darkness.

      “You can’t block Dayton because he has your hair
or blood or something real personal
. An item so personal it makes in nearly impossible to block him out.” I explained to my father as if he were the student and I the teacher. For a
moment,
our roles reversed. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
A moment later Dayton
returned with a lock of auburn hair clenched in his fist. He threw it at my father’s feet. My father stood there looking at the lock like he’d been gut punched.

      I snorted, and turned to my love. “I’m going after Laith. Are you coming with me?” I asked softly. I might demand he give my father that which already belonged to him but I wouldn’t demand the leader of the
Vamp
ire
species march into battle with me against the
Shifters
.

     Dayton smiled
warmly
. “I will follow thee unto the ends of the Earth.” He
said softly as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

      My father made a sharp sound behind me. I turned back to see him staring at us as if we’d sprouted extra heads. “
No,” he growled. “You can’t do this Macyn he is a
Vamp
ire
a blood sucking corpse,
” He hissed.

     I made a face at him. “He’s not a corpse anymore than I am believe me if he were dead I’d know it by now. I can’t believe you let that particular human myth into this conversation. Yes
,
he is a
Vamp
ire
, yes he does drink blood, mostly mine lately.
” I blushed just a little.
“
But he isn’t a corpse and he doesn’t like that particular myth so lay off.” I snarled at him.
I guess I was being particularly believable because he looked over at Dayton.

    My father’s face was the picture of disbelief, “
You really are her AoLi,
” he asked
shock
laced his tone but the truth shone through his eyes in the form of pain.

      “I would have spared you this old friend if I could have.” Dayton said regret tinged his voice. Hey? No, regretting me I turned back to him. A burst of laughter sprang from his mouth. “Now I have angered my AoD.” He put a calming hand on me. “I do not regret you Macyn only that you being
my AoD
cause
someone who was once my
friend such pain.” Well okay then
,
I thought, slightly mollified. I didn’t want my dad to hurt either.

   
“
NO! I don’t believe any of this,
” he grabbed
my
arm and tried to drag me to him, “You can’t possibly believe that thing is your AoLi! Do you k
now how many people he’s killed,
” he shook me. I heard Dayton growl behind us.

    I jerked my arm free. “I don’t have time for this Dad, Laurna was nearly killed
,
and my brother was taken by
Shifters
I have to go. And for the record, yeah, I do know how many. I can read his mind. I’ve killed more
Shadow-born
than he’s killed humans. How’s that for a double standard?” I stepped into Dayton’s arms, “Take me home so we can decide what we are going to do next.”

    He nodded once and reached
for me. “Wait,
” My father exclaimed. I looked back at him. “What do you mean your brother?”
he asked in a very small voice. One I’d never heard come from my father before.

      I took a deep breath. “I am not an only child.
I am your only child but Iris had another.” He shook his
head in denial, “Kinsley’s son,
”
I let the words I knew would devastate him fall from my mouth like lead.

    
I watched while my father’s hands began to shake.
“I don’t believe it.” He whispered
I could hear in his voice he did
.

    I sighed softly. “I remember him dad. She used to take me to visit him. She really loved him.”
His eyes grew wide with horror. He looked up at me and for the first time in my
life,
he looked unsure. “I’m sorry daddy
.” Moving away from Dayton I wrapped my arms around him.
He put out a hand warding me off and stormed from the room.

    I blinked in rapid succession for a few minutes not sure what to do. Should I follow? Did I want to? He reappeared before I could make up my mind. He held up a picture. The same picture in fact that Laith had shown me the day I learned
he was my brother. “This is him,
” he asked roughly. I nodded, still unsure of what to do.

     “Why,
why would she hide this from me,
”
h
e
growled
.
He wrapped his arms around me and dragged me to the floor.
Silently tear tracked down his cheeks
,
no sound emerged.
Emotions chased themselves across his face, finally settling on despair. Weeping doesn’t begin to describe what happened next
. His body was racked with horrific tearing sounds.

      
“Why wouldn’t she have told me,
” he asked through the sounds.
Regret laced his every word, “Why
would she think I wouldn’t understand?
I spent all these years wonder who the… fuck
… who he was and he was her son,
” he looked down at the photo. “Why did she feel she had to hide from me?
I never had a chance to protect her she wouldn’t let me.” He looked up at me his green eyes shining with
pain.

     I had sunk to floor with him because he was huge and had his arms wrapped around my shoulders. I wiped the tears from his eyes. “She never really learned to trust.
” I kissed his forehead. My poor father so much in love with someone who never could give him that last little piece of herself. “
I’m lu
cky
you protected me from growing up like that
. I’ve always had someone to trust.” I brushed his hair back. “But the
Shifters
took her little boy
, my brother,
and I am going to get him back.”

      Anger flashed in his eyes.
He nodded. Inner fire seemed to light him up.
“Hell yeah, we are,” h
e growled.
He glared at Dayton and I guessed we weren’t done with that little argument yet but at least I could have the AoD’s assistance saving my brother.
Beggars couldn’t be choosers right?

       We were having only one small problem with my whole let’s go get Laith plan. The God damned
Shifters
had gone into hiding.
It was like they knew we were out for
blood and didn’t want to play, w
ell that and every once and a while my dad would launch himself at Dayton and try desperately to make
himself the
only man in my life again.

      The
Vamp
ire
in question
sat on the couch.
My dad eyeballed him as he came into the room again.
Nearby Donovan spoke on the phone with one of their
Vamp
ires
who
was supposed to know where we could find some
Shifters
. He growled and slammed the phone shut. He shook his head no.

 
My father set out a tray of meat based hors
d’oeuvres;
he cooked w
hen he was frustrated. Donovan watching
him
warily
, g
uess he wasn’t so sure about being served food by a guy who’d been trying to kill his species for a couple hundred years. I couldn’t say I blamed him. I took a ham roll and popped it into my mouth.

    
Dayt
on followed suit. The whole
Vamp
s don’t eat thing was a myth
. They could they just didn’t have to and honestly who would cook for themselves if they didn’t have to?  I sure as hell wouldn’t
.
I had to eat or I’d die and I still couldn’t cook.

    He made an appreciative noise.
I understood my dad was a god in the kitchen.
Donovan’s brown eyebrows climbed into his hairline and he tentatively picked up one of the little meat rolls. He took a small dainty bite. I turned away so he wouldn’t see me laughing at him.
“Well they’re all hiding. What do we do now?” I asked I was getting pissed. Earlier we had all gone out into the streets we’d all come up empty handed. Dayton had warned his people to stay off the streets the Ao were out and they were pissed.