Guardian's Joy #3 (14 page)

“It seems our little Faith has taken a liking
to our guest. You don’t mind, do you?” he asked JJ. “Very pleased
to meet you, by the way.”

“Likewise and the name’s JJ,” she answered.
“Faith and I met last night. I’ve taken a liking to her, too, and
I’d be happy to share my breakfast with her.”

“Good luck with that.” Broadbent smiled at
Faith affectionately. “The poppet doesn’t eat enough to satisfy a
bird. We argue over it daily. Don’t we, luv?”

Faith showed no sign that anyone had spoken,
nor did she smile. She was too busy pouring syrup over the pancakes
and offering the first bite to JJ.

JJ was going to tell the men to run along,
they’d be fine, but her mouth was full of pancake before she could
speak and she ended up shooing them out with her hand instead.

After the first half dozen bites, she held up
her hand between her mouth and the fork. “No,” she said, “Not
unless you eat some too.” She laughed when Faith’s mouth set in a
firm, stubborn line and the tiny woman tried to force the fork past
JJ’s hand. “Nothing doing, kiddo. One bite for you, two bites for
me or we’ll both starve.”

It took another few minutes of one sided
arguing, but Faith finally gave in. They shared the pancakes and
the eggs and JJ used a wineglass from the night before to share out
the juice. She lost the battle of the bacon and thought she saw a
tiny wrinkle of Faith’s nose when JJ offered coffee so she didn’t
push it. All in all, JJ considered it a successful breakfast and
she thought it was over when Faith picked up the tray from the
bed.

But Faith had other ideas. She set the tray
on the chair and went into the bathroom, returning with a washcloth
and comb. She washed JJ’s face and combed her hair in the same
robotic way she’d fed her and then she touched the fingers of JJ’s
casted arm.

It was the same tingle she’d felt the night
before only stronger and this time concentrated in her broken
wrist. It wasn’t painful, yet it was so odd a feeling that JJ
wanted to pull away. She forced herself to keep still and as she
watched Faith’s fingers play over her own, she saw a faint gold
glow.

“You have magic in your fingers,” JJ
whispered and when Faith showed no reaction to her words, she said,
“So do I.”

She called up the fire to her free hand and
wiggled her fingers in front of Faith’s nose. Faith stopped what
she was doing and stared.

“It’s not the same as yours, but it’s magic
nonetheless.”

JJ never expected Faith to reach out, fingers
sparkling with gold, and touch her bluish glow. She snatched her
hand back, but it was too late. The contact sent a shock through
them both. Faith’s eyes widened with the buzz. It was the first
reaction JJ had seen in them.

“I’m sorry,” JJ said quickly, “I should have
warned you not to touch. Please, I’m so, so sorry.”

She thought she saw the corner of Faith’s
mouth twitch before she turned and scurried from the room. A door
across the hall slammed shut.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she muttered as she
climbed out of bed. All that these people had done for her and the
one thing they ask in return, she blows.

“Something I can help you with?” Grace poked
her head around the door.

JJ stared at her hands. “No. I’ve just
screwed things up.”

“Yeah, but it brought you to us,” Grace said,
thinking JJ meant her injuries. “Silver lining and all that stuff.”
She held out a plastic bag. “I brought this for your arm. I figured
you might enjoy a shower. I can help if you need me.” The smile
left her face and she sat on the foot of the bed. “What’s
wrong?”

“Why are you all being so nice to me? What do
you want?” She may as well find out now as later. “And please don’t
lie. I’ll be able to tell.” She knew it sounded rude, but she had
to know.

Instead of being insulted, Grace laughed.
“Ooo, does that mean when I open the box with the ugly green
sweater and say ‘Oh Canaan, it’s beautiful!’ you’re going to point
a finger at me and yell ‘Liar, liar, pants on fire’? Because if you
are, you’re not invited for Christmas.” She laughed again and began
filling the abandoned breakfast tray with dishes and glasses from
the night before. “Hope can hear the questions in your mind. How do
you think we knew about Betty Crocker and Mary Poppins? I can read
emotions. Your little lie detector gift fits right in. Rule number
one among the Daughters is we don’t lie to each other. It wouldn’t
work anyway. So, to answer your questions, we’re being nice because
you’re one of us. You needed help and we didn’t see anyone else
doing the job. We don’t want anything from you except friendship,
but that may change and when it does, you’ll be the first to know.”
She set the tray aside and held out the plastic bag. “Now, care to
go get your shower or would you rather stink for the rest of the
day?”

*****

It did feel good to be really clean again.
Along with her own freshly laundered underwear, Grace had left her
a way too short pair of sweats which she’d rolled up to her knees
and a way too big sweatshirt the sleeves of which she rolled far
enough up to free her hands. She was pretty sure the sweats
belonged to Grace and she wondered who’d donated the shirt. Without
makeup and her hair combed flat, she looked like a college kid
lounging around the dorm.

Of course, this room wasn’t the least bit
dormlike. Grace called it the Rose Room and it didn’t take a genius
to figure out why. The cream colored wallpaper was covered in tiny
red rosebuds and the pattern was repeated in the larger print of
the spread. Even the curtains had a rose design woven into the lace
and the cream colored carpet had a border of full blown red
blossoms. The traditional chair and the nightstand looked new and
blended well with the bed and dresser which hadn’t been new since
the turn of the previous century. It wasn’t her style, but JJ had
to admit it was warm and cozy and from the basket of toiletries in
the bathroom, it was designed to welcome guests.

She stepped out into a long, wide hallway
with four doors to each side and another at the end that stood
slightly ajar. There were stairs behind it that led to Hope’s
apartment above. A television, the volume turned low, played in
Faith’s room directly across the hall and she wondered for a minute
if she should check on her, but decided against it. Faith wasn’t
physically hurt and if the young woman was upset or angry, JJ would
find out soon enough.

To her left, a wide set of stairs led down to
the main floor and JJ set off to investigate, her bare feet silent
on the polished wood. She was amazed at how good she felt.
Yesterday, she needed to be carried. Today, she could easily take
the stairs two at a time. It was Faith’s doing. She wondered if the
others knew about her talent.

The stairs ended in a wide entry hall and an
old fashioned parlor stood off to the left, empty but with a small
fire burning in the hearth. To the right, more closed doors and
while she was curious, JJ wouldn’t offend her hosts by peeking. She
followed the hallway around the stairs and saw an open door to the
right. She peeked around the doorframe and then stepped quietly
into the room.

Nardo sat in a high backed swivel chair in
front of a computer screen that was last in a bank of six. It was
covered with gibberish she assumed was code. His finger tapped out
a constant beat on the tabletop and he was so intent on his work
that he didn’t look up when she entered.

This must be what Grace referred to as the
War Room. A long conference table took up the center of the room,
its dull surface marred by water rings, numerous nicks, a few
gouges and a series of punctures confined to an area near the foot.
Someone from the past had played with a knife while they listened
or maybe used it to make a point. The edges of the slits were
darkened with age so whoever made them had either grown out of the
habit or moved on. There were nine chairs around the table with
room for a half dozen more.

By the placement of the chairs, JJ could
imagine where everyone sat. The two side by side at the head were
definitely Grace and Canaan. Two more at the foot were the obvious
places for second in command and his mate, but JJ would wager that
the pair of chairs closest to the head were for Hope and her mate
while the pair at the foot was the old vampire's place as a
courtesy to age and wisdom.

The women had explained about Otto, Manon’s
mate. The Guardian had suffered a violent death in a fight with a
demon. They called it first death which resulted in ‘turning’ which
was a nice way of saying the old guy had become a vampire, who
Grace and Hope affectionately referred to as Uncle. They claimed he
was perfectly harmless as long as he received regular doses of
human blood from a blood bank. JJ knew they were telling the truth,
but after seeing the torn throat of that poor young woman and the
bloody fanged creature bending over her, she wasn’t taking any
chances. There was no way she and the old man would be spending any
time alone.

Broadbent, who she’d only met briefly and
couldn’t picture as a killer of anything, would sit beside Nico and
Hope allowing the twins to sit together on the other side. Nardo
would take the spot where a chair seemed to be missing. He’d use
the wheeled chair he was currently sitting in to swing back and
forth from table to screen.

There was a large white screen on the far
wall with a projector mounted to the ceiling that she knew was
connected to the computers. The police department had purchased one
and they’d all been endlessly reminded of the expense. She smiled
at the incongruity of the old, sealed over fireplace sitting below
the modern white touch screen.

The long wall opposite the bank of computers
held something she was much more familiar with. A huge paper map of
the city covered three quarters of the available space. In the
center, blown up still further, was a two by three foot section
held in place with silver thumb tacks in the corners. Two blue and
three red pushpins were seemingly placed at random. JJ knew they
weren’t random at all. This was an incident map. She took a closer
look and realized one of the red pins marked the spot where she had
interrupted the vampire murderer.

“That’s my girl,” she said aloud as she
placed her finger on the red pin, “Who are these others?”

“Shit!” Nardo spun in his seat and stared at
her. “Where did you come from?”

“I’ve been here for ten minutes,” she laughed
and poked her chin at his screen, “Where have you been?”

Nardo sighed and pushed himself away from the
station. “Working on some code for my next game. I tend to get a
little over involved when you put me in front of a computer
console. Grace says if the place burns down I’m on my own because
I’ll never hear the alarm and she won’t let anyone back in to
rescue me. She’s not a big computer fan.”

“Grace may not appreciate you, but Hope sure
as hell does. She thinks you’re a genius.”

“She’s my business partner. She has to say
nice things about me.”

In a motion so swift and smooth she barely
saw it, Nardo rose from his chair, slid across the table on his
butt and landed standing close beside her.

“What can I do for you?” he asked with a half
smile that added another level to the simple question.

JJ took a step back. That smile and the soft
intoxicating smell of him was too enticing. This must be a part of
that vampire – and by their own admission, there was a vampire
lurking in each and every one of them - enthrallment you read about
in books. It was part of the way they mesmerized their women. All
well and good for Grace and Hope if they were happy with it. They
were both smart and strong, but became moony eyed and mushy at the
mention of their mates. It wouldn’t happen to her. She knew
better.

“I was wondering about the pins,” JJ said and
pointed again to the one marking the place where she’d found the
girl and met Nardo, “I got this one. Please tell me the others
aren’t related.”

Nardo turned her toward him and her resolve
disappeared; a wisp of fog blown away on the wind. She wanted to
pull back, knew she should, but she just stood there and allowed
him to lift her chin with his finger. He smelled so good and his
lips looked so soft. Her lips parted and her eyes half closed when
he brought his face down to hers. The brush of his lips was gentle
and it made her feel soft and gentle inside. He didn’t press for
more. Instead he pampered her lips with light, silky touches of his
lips and tongue until he felt her respond. It was her tongue that
invaded first and she felt his body tighten. Was that her moan when
his tongue returned the exploration? His hands stayed where they’d
started; one on her shoulder and one beneath her chin. She was
touched by his tenderness and felt her body following when he
pulled away.

“The Guardians have it now,” he said
soothingly, “There’s nothing for you to worry about. We’ll take
care of it.” She’d want to go out and hunt and he was all too aware
of where that could lead. She would have died if the twins hadn’t
found her. He couldn’t let that happen again.

Her eyes snapped open, breaking the trance or
whatever the hell it was. Her lip curled back in a snarl. “Don’t
worry your sweet silly head about it, you incapable twit. Is that
what you mean? Because let me tell you, pal…”

Incapable twit? Where had that come from?
“No,” he answered. “That’s not what I mean. You’re too weak, that’s
all. You’re with us now. There’s no need to put yourself in danger.
I refuse to let you…”

“You refuse to let me? Who the hell do you
think you are? And what the hell do you think I am?”

“Mine and I won’t risk losing you.” His face
hardened and his fangs flared.

His? “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on,
cowboy. And you can keep your information. I have my own sources. I
don’t need yours.” JJ slammed the door behind her and ran into the
twins who were standing outside in the hall blocking her way. She
paused long enough to ask, “Where’s the phone? I need to call a
cab,” before she pushed past. “Thanks,” she said when they pointed
to the kitchen door.