My Guardian (Bewitched and Bewildered Book 6) (10 page)

She looked at her mate; he wore an equally concerned look. "I take it this isn't normal behavior for her?"

Adriel pursed his lips. "I do not believe so. She is a bit different, but she looks to be in pain, and that is not acceptable."

"
Denka
, I am here." A tall Japanese man said, walking up to them quickly, reaching for Meryn's wrist.

Within moments, Meryn's erratic breathing had slowed, and she looked calmer.

"Is she okay?" Eva asked.

"She will be once I get her back to Level One," he responded.

"I'm fine. I have to watch after Eva; she's my assigned person," Meryn protested.

Eva met the man's eyes and they both seemed to come to an unspoken agreement.
 

"How about you show me Level One? We can eat some of that pudding you were talking about," Eva suggested.

"You're being too nice. I hate getting like this." Meryn scrubbed at her face with her sleeve.

"What's wrong? Or is it something you don't like to talk about?" Eva asked.

Meryn shrugged. "Kendrick thinks I'm part witch, but I didn't get any cool powers like fireballs or flying, just stupid emotions."

"You're an empath," Eva said, understanding her dilemma. She looked around the room. They were surrounded by pain, confusion, and fear. "We need to get you back to this other level."

"I agree. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sei Ryuu; I am Meryn's squire. You can call me Ryuu, it would be an honor to escort you both back down to Level One where my
denka
can rest." Ryuu's eyes darted to Meryn's midsection.
 

"Oh my Gods, you're pregnant." Eva exclaimed.

"Yeah." Meryn's eyes were starting to go blank.

Eva turned to her mate. "Point me in the right direction, I'll get us there."

Adriel pointed to the opposite end of the hall. "The transport tunnel is located along the far wall. Under normal circumstances, I would not leave your side, however," he indicated to the crowd around them.

"You go take care of my people, and I'll be with Meryn on Level One. I'll be waiting," she promised.

His eyes darkened. He hesitated for a moment, she could see in his eyes the desire to stay with her, but his sense of duty won out. "I will come for you."
 

"Find Stefan or Demetrio Bolivar. Stefan is the current Alpha, Demetrio is the previous Alpha, either will be able to tell you if anyone is missing and help organize the people."

"My thanks." He lifted her hand for one last kiss then headed toward the Ledge opening to assist with the townspeople.

Eva grabbed Meryn's arm and began to push her way through the chaotic crowd. The further they got away from the mob, the better Meryn seemed to get. By the time they were at the tunnel, Meryn's green eyes were focused and alert.

"Meryn, wait!" They turned to see a man running toward them.

"Hey Micah. I thought you were helping to heal people?" Meryn questioned.

Micah nodded. "I was, but everyone has been transferred down so the other witches don't have to worry about acting as transport; they've been moved to healing. It's not my strongest ability, so Adriel redirected me to you." He turned and looked her up and down. "And who is this Amazon goddess?"

Eva smiled. "I'm Eva, Adriel's mate."

Micah's face turned tragic. He mimed as if he were getting stabbed in the chest. "Cruel Fate! To see such an ethereal site and know that you belong to my brother warrior, the tragedy."

"You're fun." Eva shook her head smiling.

Micah turned to Ryuu. "Sir, if you would transport our delicate flower, I will assist my goddess." He lifted his arm, indicating to the tunnel.

"Of course." Ryuu walked Meryn forward to the tunnel entrance.

"Halt. No shifters are allowed down to the levels, they must remain here in the Grand Hall," the tunnel escort sneered at them.

Meryn scratched her head. "But we came up from Level One."

"I highly doubt that. Level One is reserved for vampire royalty, no shifters are allowed," he scoffed.

"What about Broderick and Elizabeth Monroe; they're shifters," Meryn countered.

The escort's eyes narrowed. "They are royalty. Broderick Monroe is mated to our prince's own brother and Elizabeth is their daughter."

"And I am her sister." Meryn crossed her arms over her chest, glaring up at the escort.

"Elizabeth Monroe has no sister. Now get back to your charity cot, cow!"

Meryn's mouth dropped as her eyes filled with tears. Eva might not have known her long, but she was betting those were tears born of anger and frustration rather than fear or weakness. She wasn't in the least bit surprised when Meryn lifted her leg as if to kick the escort.
 

"This. Is. Sparta!" Meryn crowed. She went to kick but couldn't lift her leg high enough. The escort laughed mockingly.

Meryn turned to them. "I can't kick! I can't do my kung-fu!"

"You know kung-fu?" Eva asked.

Meryn shook her head. "No, but what if I wanted to learn one day?"

"Get out of here, you useless sow!" The escort gave Meryn a not so gentle shove.

Without even thinking, Eva turned her body and roundhouse kicked the man square in the chest. The force of her kick flung him back into the tunnel. It took a moment for him to catch his breath, and then he was hovering in mid-air.

"Stupid bitch! Vampires can fly."

Ryuu snapped his fingers. The escort's body jerked as blue light danced across his body; he froze and then plummeted down the tunnel. "They can also fall." Ryuu sniffed in disdain. He turned to Meryn. "
Denka
, are you hurt?"

"I'm okay." Meryn answered before staring up at her with a look of child-like wonder on her face. "That was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life," she said in whispered awe.

Eva shrugged. "You're still young."

Micah turned to her. "How did you know there was a net at the bottom of the tunnel?"

Eva looked at him in surprise. "There's a net?"

Micah held out his arm. "My unit leader is the luckiest bastard I know. My glorious warrior goddess, may I escort you down to Level One?"

She placed a hand on his arm. "Yes, thank you."

They watched as Meryn leaned over the edge of the tunnel. "This. Is. Sparta! Bitch!!" She did a small victory jig and then allowed Ryuu to escort her down.

Maybe staying in a vampire city would be more fun than she thought.

CHAPTER FIVE

Eva walked through the opened door behind Meryn.
 

The handsome man who held the door open for them grimaced at the litany of curse words coming from the net below them. "Is everything okay? I am appalled that you would be exposed to such harsh language, little one." He quickly closed the heavy door, blocking out all sound from the hallway. Eva held her tongue. She had already heard some colorful language from the "little one".

"Sebastian, this is Eva Mae Miller. She is my person and Adriel's mate. She'll be joining us for lunch. Eva, this is Sebastian, Magnus' squire."

Sebastian's face brightened. "I have always believed the more the merrier. Congratulations on finding your mate. I must say, I am so glad our young Adriel found you; he was ever so worried."

"She is amazing! She kicked that asshole escort right in the chest, then POW! He flew backward at least fifty feet. Then Ryuu froze his ass, and he dropped like a rock. It was awesome! That's what he gets for calling me a cow."

Sebastian's eyes gleamed dangerously at the escort's words for a moment, but it disappeared when he turned and beamed at Eva. "Strong and lovely, was there ever a more intoxicating combination? Welcome to Noctem Falls dear. I hope that you will not encounter any more unpleasantness."

Eva felt her face flush then marveled that this man had caused her to do so. She was over five hundred years old, had owned a saloon during the Wild West then a bar for over one hundred and fifty years. Not much on this earth could make her blush; yet his sincere praise had blood rushing to her cheeks. "He only flew about fifteen feet, Meryn," she corrected.

"Whatever!" Meryn flung herself into a recliner that looked like it had been designed for someone twice her size. She reached down to the floor on one side and pulled out her laptop, which was connected to the wall by a long cord. She looked at Sebastian and stuck out her lower lip. "May I please have some pudding before lunch Sebastian? I think the baby is hungry."

Eva watched as the squire melted on the spot. "Of course darling, I will be right back." He hurried away.

Eva sat down close to Meryn on one of the many sofas. "Shameless hussy," she admonished.

Meryn shrugged. "For his pudding, I have no shame."

Micah sat down on the sofa opposite Meryn. "I get to spend time with two gorgeous women and partake of Sebastian's pudding; I must have done something right in a previous life." He leaned back getting comfortable.

Eva looked around. She had never been anywhere so opulent. She was beginning to feel her humble Texas roots. "I understand why Magnus has a squire, he's the prince around here. Why do you have one?"

Meryn tapped away on her keyboard while Ryuu busied himself at the sideboard making tea. "Because Aiden's mom said I needed one."

"Why?" Eva was quickly learning if you wanted a direct answer from Meryn, you had to ask a direct question.

"Because one day he's going to be the shifter elder, and I'll be Lady McKenzie. I'm kinda hoping that never happens; I don't really think I'm cut out for charity meetings and sewing circles."

"That sounds ghastly," Eva shuddered. No one back home had squires. Even the local get-togethers were casual.

"Thank you! Finally! I'd rather get bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails than attend a high society charity luncheon. It would be less painful to siphon off funds from some unethical corporations and donate that, than rub elbows with a bunch of uppity assholes."

Eva stared at the small woman. "I really do like you." It was true. Meryn's honesty and view of the paranormal world was refreshing.

"I think I'm going to like you too, my person."

"Are you really going to keep calling me that?"

"If it's not broke... Anyway, y'all got attacked by ferals, huh? That sucks." Meryn stopped tapping, stared at her screen, and then resumed pecking away.

Eva just gave her a droll look.

Meryn turned when she didn't answer. "What?"

"Is getting attacked by ferals so commonplace where you're from that you're this blasé about it?"

Meryn nodded. "Well... yeah. I've been attacked by ferals..." she scrunched up her nose. "Personally, I think it's been twice. Then they attacked the city; that's when I got in trouble for coating Lycaonia's city square in flour glue. But in my defense, it was the only way to see the invisible bastards."

Eva and Micah exchanged shocked expressions. She turned back to Meryn. "You're actually serious. How did you survive?"

"This first time, my sprite friend went for help, then Aiden went all shifter Hulk version and Loki'd the feral's ass. Whap, whap." Meryn mimed slamming something around. "The second time, my minion Wheels used a fireball spell to keep a feral from coming into the house. That was when Gavriel became super vampire. He was ripping out the feral's arms then beating them to death with them." When Sebastian came back, pushing a cart, her face lit up. "Magic pudding!"
 

Eva saw how Meryn's words pleased Sebastian. "It is just a simple recipe, little one," he refuted, serving her a huge helping. He turned to Eva holding a bowl. "Would you like to try some?"

She nodded. "Yes, thank you." When Ryuu walked around a moment later with a jasmine scented green tea, she knew she had died and gone to heaven. She could get used to being served like this. "Later, you'll have to tell me about your shifter Hulk version, minions, super vampires, and Wheels."

Sebastian handed Micah a bowl and they all dug in.

Meryn laughed and nodded.

Behind them, the door opened then closed as Adriel walked into the room. He smiled. "Am I in time for pudding?"

Micah stood and Adriel waved at him to sit back down.

Sebastian nodded and scooped out another serving.

Adriel pointed to the door. "Why is there a tunnel escort in the net screaming obscenities?"

Meryn didn't even look up from her laptop. "Douchebag."

"Ah. I see." Adriel walked over to Eva. She was about to scoot over more, to make room when he shook his head. "Stay comfortable. I learned later that you were one of the first brought in due to injuries. Are you well?" He sat next to her on the sofa. Though his words were spoken in a cool, casual manner, when he took her free hand in his, she could feel his heartbeat racing. He must have come directly to her after learning she had been hurt.

"I'm doing right fine. I have pudding and tea; I couldn't be happier." He simply nodded without saying a word, but his heart rate began to slow.

"Right fine," Meryn snickered.

"You makin' fun a me?" Eva drawled deliberately.

Meryn laughed. "I like the way you talk."

The door opened and closed again. This time Magnus, Aiden, Gavriel, and Beth walked in with Tarak behind them.

Magnus pointed to the door. "Why is there a screaming man in the net?"

"Douchebag," Meryn answered again.

"Ah." Magnus collapsed into an oversized chair and exhaled. He looked at the coffee table excitedly. "We are having pudding?"

Eva turned her head so the prince of all vampires didn't see her smile at his question. Man screaming in a net, helpless. No worries. Pudding? Stop the presses.

Aiden eyed Ryuu. "Why is he glowing blue?"

Ryuu gave a delicate shrug. "He was disrespectful to my
denka."

Aiden turned as if to head back out. "Oh, he was, was he?"

"Aiden, need cuddles," Meryn said.

The Unit Commander did an about face and walked back over to the recliner. He scooped up his mate and sat down, putting her in his lap. He ran his chin over her head. Meryn hadn't even looked up from her laptop. Never before had Eva seen anyone so in tune with their mate. Meryn knew exactly what Aiden needed, and without giving it a second thought, gave it to him. Meryn yawned but kept typing.