MisStaked (9 page)

The trio left the college too excited to head home. Instead, they decided to celebrate the coming adventure with a late-night dinner on the town. So, they headed toward Ivar's for a steaming bowl of chowder—Luna's treat due to the fact Breathred had blown his last ten dollars on comics, and Stud made it a point to never leave the basement with money on comic book day. Breathred would bum you to death, if you let him, when it came to comics.

The wind blowing in from the docks was cool without the bite of the cold the later months would bring. Breathred, after a lifetime living in Seattle, was use to the permeating smell of fish around the docks. Luna, on the other hand, found herself overwhelmed by it. She had been to Ivar's a couple of times before with Breathred, and the effect was always the same. But they did have the best damn clams she had ever tasted.

Luna had made it a point to stay as far from the docks as she could, but tonight was special. Breathred was in such a good mood. How could she say no, after offering to take him wherever he wanted to go to celebrate?

She did make an effort to make them rush past Pike Place Market. The row after row of fresh fish was more than she could take. Her nose filled with the smell of brine and decaying flesh. Those around her might not have smelled it, but she could. Luna fought back the sickness swelling in the back of her throat and pushed on.

Regaining her composure, she looked over to Breathred. He was so caught up in his own world he failed to notice her discomfort. Stud gave her a worried look. Luna offered a weak smile that seemed to satisfy him. Thankfully, neither one questioned her about it.

The restaurant was packed, as usual. That was the bad thing about the good places to eat. The tourists always seemed to know about them, making it hard for the locals to enjoy them anytime they wanted. Damn Rachel Ray and her forty dollars a day.

Luna spotted a table near the ferry side and pushed the money for their supper into Breathred's hand. She and Stud made a beeline for the seats, leaving him standing in a very long line.

The fresh breeze blowing off the water erased most of Luna's queasiness. The urge to projectile vomit was still lurking on the fringe of her mind, but she could deal with it. Watching the seagulls play helped to take her mind off of the feeling. A boy of about six was throwing fries into the air. The birds deftly dived to catch the food before it fell to the ground.

She never got tired of watching the gulls’ antics. Sometimes she felt like those birds. They were trapped by their nature. They were wild, but learned to adapt to the humans surrounding them. Luna wished it were so easy for her. This place was so far removed from the world she knew. Sometimes she wondered why she had ever left her home in the first place.

She missed the rolling hills and forest-covered mountains. Luna wasn't the first member of the tribe to leave her reservation, nor would she be the last, the girl thought happily. Luna would, one day, return—of that she was certain. The only thing making her time away worthwhile was the fact her studies would strengthen her tribe. When she graduated, Luna could protect their heritage. The government tried, but you had to be of the tribe to understand its history. It took being of the blood to see what the outside world couldn't.

After meeting Breathred she wondered how he would fit into her world. She knew what he was. Hell, she couldn't even think of how to describe what he was. That was what made Breathred, Breathred. The unknown quality defined him, if nothing else.

Luna knew for certain Breathred had feelings for her. What exactly those feelings were she didn't know. Her only consolation, she wasn't even sure he did. In fact, she knew he was clueless. Her mother once told her the wolf knows its mate on sight and once recognition is made nothing can separate them. She felt that way about Breathred, sometimes. She knew one thing for certain: the only one who really knew what was going on was the chimp, and he was enjoying the show too much to tell.

Breathred showed up with their three steaming bowls of soup a short while later. He nearly tripped over the boy running to get more fries for his new pets and narrowly missed tipping their drinks all over a pair of purple-haired old ladies in the process. He mumbled a meek apology before turning back to their table.

Without a word they dug in. The creamy white chowder was enough to end any thoughts of conversation. A ship's bell chimed in the distance. Soon, it was joined by another. Tourists streamed by as they ate. By mutual consent they took no notice of these things.

When the last drop was scraped from the bowls, they leaned back with satisfied grunts. Breathred slurped the remainder of his soda before speaking.

Breathred spoke up breaking the silence. “Look, Luna, I'm sorry about the pay thing."

"It's all right. I can use the credit anyway.” She swirled a piece of bread around the rim of her bowl, hoping he'd drop the matter, but knowing he wouldn't.

"No, it isn't! You got us this job, you deserve something.” Breathred paused. “So, when the job's over and we get paid, I'm going to give you a twenty-five percent finder's fee."

"No, you're not. You need this money more than I do. I'm really okay with this. Okay?” she said. “You don't have to do that and I mean it."

"If you won't take the percentage, then I'm making you a full partner of
Petrifunck Paranormal
, and that's final.” Breathred turned to Stud for his agreement.

"He's right, Sweetheart. Without you we're an idiot and a chimp,” Stud piped in.

"Hey!” Breathred yelled.

"Okay.” Luna threw back her head and laughed. “You guys make a girl feel all fuzzy. Do you know that?"

Before they could object she reached over and gave them both a big hug. Luna gave Breathred a kiss on the cheek to seal the deal. He turned five shades of red by the time she pulled away.

"I can't pay much, but I, uh.” Breathred stuttered. “What I mean is we, uh, we just want you to know how we feel."

"So, now that that's out of the way—what do you think about what the doc had to say?” Stud gave Luna a nudge at Breathred's embarrassment.

"If the tablet is real, it could be trouble. The vamps would kill to get their hands on a relic from their past,” Luna mused.

"I'm more worried about the prophecy the tablet spoke about. If this queen was to come back, the whole world could be overrun by blood-suckers,” Breathred was quick to add.

Stud put in his two cents worth. “Get real. This queen or whatsit is ten thousand years old. She could have already taken over the world by now if she wanted to. It's a myth. I say we wait until we see this temple before we start worrying about something like vampire myths."

"I think Stud's right. More than likely the village was dominated by a vampire who set herself up as a goddess. Wouldn't be the first time something along those lines happened,” Luna said as she watched the young boy launch a plateful of fries into the air.

"Still, I'm sure whatever the case, we need to be on guard. Who knows what could happen?” Breathred worried.

Stud threw up his hands. “You're paranoid. The occasional vamp, I can believe. But this story is out there even for you."

"Okay boys,” Luna said, “settle down before you scare the norms. We need to get our stuff together for this trip. From the looks of you two, you haven't been camping in your entire lives. We need to get you some supplies."

"With what? I'm tapped. I suppose I could hit Dad up for a loan till I get paid,” Breathred speculated. He could just hear the old man, now. He shook his head, knowing he wouldn't be asking his dad for anything.

"Hell, when you tell him you're getting your ass out of his basement he'll probably give you the keys to his car.” Stud laughed.

"Shut up,” Breathred gave the monkey a nudge with his elbow.

"What say we meet at the mall after my last class tomorrow? We'll pick up what we can. Is that all right with you?” Luna asked, clearly not taking no for an answer.

"Sounds good to me. If nothing else I have some back issues I can sell to get some money together,” Breathred said. Luna could tell he hated the idea.

"You'll come up with something. Now, let's get out of here. All this salty air is killing my skin.” Luna jumped to her feet. “Give me your arm, Hot Stuff, and walk me home."

Breathred glowed red, but did as she asked. He was a gentleman after all. Arm in arm they waded through the tourists.

Lewis waited until they were out of sight before detaching himself from the shadow of the building and following them. The vamp knew he would run across the pure soul, sooner or later. He just hadn't figured it would happen this quickly. He could try and take him now, but the girl still had him worried.

The fear was enough to give him pause. They planned to meet at the mall tomorrow night. Tomorrow was soon enough for him to throw something together, one sure to put him as far from harm's way as possible. He had already decided not to tell Leopold anything until after it was all over. The older vampire would just screw up the whole thing, anyway. No, Lewis would handle this himself.

He knew a couple of newbies who were aching to get in his good graces. Let them run interference with the girl while he swooped in to take the pure one. If they couldn't handle her, he didn't need them around, not that he did in the first place. Either way it went, he would be in the clear.

Smiling Lewis sauntered down the boardwalk. This was gonna be sweet. A little taste might be in order before turning the guy over to Leopold. Why should his master get all the good stuff?

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Make your plans by the light of day, for the night belongs to them.

Oversleeping was becoming Breathred's new hobby. He woke up just in time to get to the college fashionably late. He would have got there sooner, but having to wait for Stud to finish his morning constitutional, only gave him about thirty minutes to get ready after the chimp extricated himself from his labors.

Dr. Grayson's eleven o'clock class was filling the hallway, as he made it to the fifth floor. He was washed back against the wall and forced to wait until the tidal wave of students passed by.

The time allowed him to ponder just what he had gotten them into. This would not be easy. The idea of Stud being in the Canadian wilderness was so frightening he considered calling the whole thing off.

Luna was the sole reason he didn't just march in there and quit. She really went out on a limb to get him this job. In spite of all his fears, Breathred wasn't about to let her down. He could deal with Stud. Sooner or later the chimp had to learn who the boss was in this relationship. Yeah, right. Then again, it would help if Breathred knew who the boss was. Sometimes the line blurred and he wasn't all too sure himself.

When the hallway cleared he peeled himself from the wall. Breathred ran his sweaty hands down the seams of his pants. A pair of tardy students rushed past. He was barely able to dodge out of their way. By the time he finished his spin, the slayer was standing in front of Dr. Grayson's door.

Entering the room, he found her sitting at her desk, going over a stack of papers. Breathred felt like an intruder. His college days were far behind him. Just being back on a college campus unloosed a wave of emotions. Fear, guilt, and the ecstasy that came from learning—all these and some just plain peculiar to any situation whirled through his mind. Choking them back to a manageable dose, Breathred walked into the room.

The sound of his footsteps brought the professor's head up from her work. She offered him a smile in greeting and waved him forward. The gesture wasn't menacing, but for some reason he felt a second or two of fear. Memories of nuns and fifty-foot rulers sprang to mind. Suppressing an involuntary shudder, he reluctantly walked over to her.

"Mr. Petrifunck, I'm glad to see you. My assistant just brought over your paperwork.” Dr. Grayson rose to shake his hand. “You'll be glad to know I was able to make an addendum to our agreement."

"How so?” Breathred asked, foregoing a greeting of his own, the addendum throwing him momentarily from his normally good manners.

"It seems you forgot to tell me you have a doctorate in ancient civilizations from Oxford. Don't be shocked. I make it a point to check out those who I'm about to bet my entire career on,” she said without an ounce of regret or apology. She motioned for him to take the seat next to her desk. “You don't mind I checked up on you, I hope."

"Not at all,” he answered. He silently wondered just how thorough her search had been.

"A doctorate from Oxford. Color me impressed. Why aren't you teaching, or at the very least, on a dig of your own?"

The answer caught in Breathred's throat. The question was so leading he didn't know where to begin, or if he even wanted to. Brushing a hand through his ruffled hair, Breathred peered at the woman with a strange look on his face. Above his left temple his pinky caressed the scar lying hidden just under the hairline. Some things are best forgotten.

"Personal reasons,” he said finally, hoping she'd accept the answer.

Her mouth snapped shut before Grayson could say anything. He could tell the woman didn't seem to be satisfied with his answer. Breathred held his breath waiting for her to fold and question him further on it. Finally, her eyes cut away, telling him the moment had passed. The knot in his stomach relaxed.

"Well in light of your degree I was able to give you a pay raise. You'll be getting the same salary a visiting professor would get. I know it isn't a lot for your qualifications, but it's more than you'd have gotten otherwise.” Her smile did little to ease the uneasiness he felt.

"Professor Grayson, I would appreciate it if you would keep the tidbit to yourself.” Breathred captured her gaze with a cold stare. “My past is not something I wish to have bandied about, especially in front of my partners."

"You have my word, D ... uh, Mr. Petrifunck. Now, if you can sign these for me, we'll get the ball rolling, so to speak. I hope you can sign for your, uh, chimpanzee. He isn't with you by any chance?” she asked, her cheek ticking nervously.