Welsh Road (The Depravity Chronicles) (14 page)

“Well that’s good news, I guess. So, then, if you’re not a
vampire, what the flip are you?” Nicholas wasn’t sure if he believed her. But
somehow he doubted that Nina had any reason to lie to him now. He had to admit
that he felt a little relieved that she wouldn’t be draining him of all his
blood.

Nina threw her head back and roared with laughter. “Good
news? My dear boy, if I were indeed a vampire then your odds of survival would
be much higher.”

“Lucky me. So don’t keep me in suspense. What are you?”

“And spoil all the fun? I think not. You will find out soon
enough what – and who – I am.”

Nicholas decided at that moment that maybe he didn’t want to
know.
Ignorance is bliss
, he thought to himself. Truer words were never
spoken.

BOOM!

The explosion came out of nowhere. Nicholas’ heart was
pounding in his chest, adrenaline pumping through his blood. He looked at Nina,
who didn’t seem even remotely startled by the sound.

“What the hell was that?” Nicholas cried.

“My doorbell,” Nina said. “It seems we have company. I’ve
become so popular!”

Nicholas knew that if he was going to get out of this
nightmare, his chance was now. But before he could even muster a single thought
about how he might accomplish this, Nina punched him in the face.

Yet again, everything went black. This was getting old.

* * * * * *

2

As Matthew
pulled onto Misabe Mukwa Trail, a shiver crept down Anna’s spine. The day was
dragging by at a painful pace, and it was only early afternoon.

“I love this area,”
Matthew said, breaking the absolute silence that had filled the car during the brief
drive from the crime scene to Anish’s house.

Anna sighed. “I
do, too.” When they climbed out of Matthew’s Silverado and walked toward the
porch, Anna eyed the tree line that completely surrounded the cabin. “You’d
think that after last year we would have some sort of aversion to the woods.”

“Indeed,”
Matthew agreed with a laugh. “But Anish, he has a way of making you feel…”

“Safe,” Anna and
Matthew said simultaneously. They shared a much needed chuckle. Anna smiled as
the wind chimes announced their arrival.

“I pray you
bring good tidings,” Anish said to them as he appeared in the doorway. “It
would be a welcome change of pace.”

“Well, we bring
news all right,” Anna said, almost apologetically. “But none of it’s good, and
only a small part of it is even comprehensible.”

“That doesn’t
sound good,” Trevor said as he joined Anish on the porch. He walked up to Anna and
gave her one of his signature millisecond hugs.

As Trevor turned
to greet Matthew, Anna noticed Simon as he came through the door onto the
porch. Beside him was a stunningly beautiful teenage girl.  

“You must be
Jena,” Anna warmly said as she extended her hand.

“I am,” Jena
said, returning Anna’s smile and gesture. “It’s nice to meet you, Sheriff
Blackwood.” Jena was stunned by Anna’s good looks. The sheriff’s shoulder-length
black hair had a single grey streak running along the side, making her look
pretty awesome. It was pulled back in a tight ponytail, her eyes an intense
blue, just like Trevor’s.

Anna laughed at Jena’s
formality, but also respected it. “Please, call me Anna.”

“This is Father
Matthew McMillan,” Simon said.

“Matthew is
fine,” Matthew added. Again, Jena was stunned, but not by his good looks,
though the priest was sorta hot in a weird religious way. Matthew seemed like
he was seven feet tall, and his feet looked like canoes. But it seemed to fit
his large personality.

Jena took a step
back from the group and spent a moment studying each person. “We’re quite a
herd,” she said with a dry laugh. “Like, maybe the weirdest ever.”

“Oh, we’re weird
are we?” Simon asked, joining her laugh. “You should have seen us last year.”

“True that,”
Trevor chuckled. “There was this guy named Jake. He was a real douche.”

“Oh?” Jena said.
“Why isn’t he here?”

“He didn’t make
it,” Simon said softly.

“What do you
mean? He didn’t make it as in he’ll be here tomorrow? Or he didn’t make it as in
he’s dead?”

“He’s dead,”
Anna said. Jena nodded solemnly.

Anna found
herself instantly liking Jena. She was warm, witty, and humbly confident. That
is a difficult combination for a teenage girl to master. And by the looks of
it, Anna wasn’t the only person smitten with Jena. Simon was following her
around like a puppy.

“Anyway,” Jena
continued. “We are most
definitely
weird,” she insisted as she smacked
Simon on the back. She pointed at each member of the group as she broke it
down. “Think about it. We’ve got the brainiac, the rebel, the psychic, the
sheriff, the priest, and the freaking shaman.”

The weird herd
laughed.

“I’m a rebel?”
Trevor asked, looking disappointed with his role in the herd.

“Now that we’ve
established the bizarre nature of our union, let’s get to work,” Anish said as
he pushed Trevor toward the door. “Shall we?”

Once the herd
was indoors, Anish disappeared into the kitchen without a word. Anna figured he
was making lunch because he was mumbling about energy and sustenance as he walked
down the hall. Then again, he could have been talking about some ancient spell that
acts as a supernatural Red Bull. Anna wasn’t going to try to read Anish’s mind.
That was Anish’s territory. It still unnerved her to think that he had probably
already read hers.

As Anish
prepared the fuel they would need later, Jena briefed Anna and Matthew about the
nightmare that was her Homecoming. “If the experience had been set to music, it
would have begun with Teenage Dream and ended with Thriller,” Jena explained
with a laugh.

“Clever girl,”
Anna replied, smiling wryly.  

“Come and get
it!” Anish called from the kitchen a few minutes later. Anna led the troupe
toward their sustenance, taking time to appreciate the artwork that decorated
the narrow hallway. Just before they reached the kitchen, its entrance was
marked by an elaborate archway, Anna paused to appreciate his walk-in pantry.
Although sparse in food selection, she daydreamed about having a pantry of her
own. It seemed there was never enough counter or cabinet space. No matter how
much storage furniture she added to her relatively large kitchen, it never
quite fit everything.

“Let’s move
forward, Mom,” Trevor pushed, bringing Anna out of her culinary dream state.

“Right, sorry,”
she said.

If Anna loved the
cozy pantry, the kitchen was straight out of a magazine. The décor represented an
“Ancient Meets Postmodern” ambiance, where modern conveniences were brilliantly
woven into a colonial feel. On the modern side, there were three wall ovens and
a massive gas stovetop that spanned the length of the kitchen. There was also a
sizeable firebrick oven. As for the colonial aspects, a fabulous fireplace
stood opposite the ovens, sink, and refrigerator. An impressive fire roared
proudly as it heated an immense black cauldron. The aroma made Anna’s mouth
salivate and her stomach rumble.

“Check this
out,” Jena said to Anna, pointing across the kitchen to a cozy nook surrounded
by windows. “This table here could easily seat ten people.”

“Amazing,” Anna
said. “Anish, I love the crimson wall color. I never thought red kitchens
worked, but it works here.”

“Thank you,
ma’am,” Anish said with a smile.

Anna’s attention
quickly turned to the sound of someone rummaging through drawers and cabinets.

“What the hell
do you do in this kitchen?” Trevor whistled as he shuffled his way everything
he could find. “You could run a catering business from this shit!”     

“Language!” Anna
quipped. “And do you mind not going through his stuff? I raised you better than
that.”

“No you didn’t,”
Trevor answered matter-of-factly. “I’m curious. That’s why I’m so smart.”

“Curiosity
killed the cat, dude,” Jena said.

“You could
concoct some kickass potions in here,” Simon said as he admired the fireplace
and cauldron, unable to contain his excitement and ignoring the other
conversations.

“Seriously,”
Trevor added, sharing Simon’s inspiration. “Like, once our business is up and
running, do you mind if we use your kitchen as our base of operations?”

Anish just
grinned. He seemed to enjoy the commotion. Anna could tell he took great pride
in his kitchen, and most likely the rest of the house as well. She would, too,
had it been hers.

Anish cleared
his throat and retrieved dishes and silverware. “At the moment it’s a great
place to eat some soup and salad. All homegrown.”

“I wouldn’t
expect anything less,” Matthew joked.

“How exactly
does one grow soup in their home?” Trevor asked. “Like, what is a homegrown
soup?”

“Smartass,” Anna
said.

“Language,
Mother,” Trevor chortled. “So come on, Mom. Tell us what you know. We’re dying
here.”

“It’s not the
best conversation to have while we’re eating,” Anna said as they all sat down
at the table.

“After all we’ve
been through, I think we can handle it,” Matthew pointed out.

“True enough,”
Anna conceded.

Anna spent the
next several minutes briefing the group about the day’s discoveries. Several
minutes thereafter she and Matthew were being debriefed about the Nina and
Nicholas conundrum. As Anna expected, Trevor and Simon had once again forced themselves
into the center of supernatural drama. Although still impressed by their
knowledge and warrior-like capabilities, Anna still worried that her boys were
getting in over their heads.

She shared her
concerns with the rest of the group, knowing full well that Trevor would be
pissed.

“God, Mom,”
Trevor moaned. “Listening to you, you’d think that I’m battling demons and
ghosts every other day.”

“If that were
true then you’d be in a much better position to anticipate what happens next. Not
to mention the fact that I would only be about half as nervous as I am right
now.”

“Please,” Trevor
huffed. “You’d still be nervous. That’s what moms do.”

“Since when did
you become an expert in motherhood?” Anna asked.

Anish raised his
hand. “It is now as it was before.”

“That’s helpful,”
Anna said flatly. “What does that even mean?”

“Trevor and
Simon were critical players in the struggle…” Anish began, but Anna cut him
off.

“I get that, I
really do. But for all we know, surviving last year’s battles may have been
dumb luck. As in, we’re all lucky to be alive today.
Furthermore,
I am
their mother. As their mother, I reserve the right to be at least a
little
concerned
about my children’s safety.”

“Of course you
do,” Matthew said.

Everyone agreed.
Anna wasn’t sure if it was because they actually agreed with her, or they just
wanted her to shut up and get over it. Either way, she knew she wasn’t going to
be able to stop anyone from diving directly into danger. After all, she would
be diving with them!

Anish stood up
from the table, pretty much bringing the conversation to a close. “Matthew, why
don’t you and I get to work on the translation.”

Matthew nodded.
“Right behind you.” Together they walked into the living room.

Nothing would
have pleased Anna more than to send Trevor and Simon home and protect them from
the upcoming danger. But Trevor is, always has been, and always will be his own
man who makes his own decisions. The same was true for Simon. Just as she is
entitled to worry, children are entitled to live their own lives. It is a fine
line that every mother has to walk.

So instead of
driving home, Anna led her children into the living room to begin a strategy
session for the approaching war.

* * * * * *

3

The falling
leaves fiasco didn’t lead to anything relevant to the case. They chalked it up
to a few manic squirrels. Sam had serious doubts about that assessment, but he
kept that to himself. He continued to trail Commissioner Jackson as he slowly
circled the crime scene for what seemed like the hundredth time. The
commissioner was a no-nonsense kind of cop: of the book, by the book, and for
the book. Sam knew the type. Their loyalty to rules rather than realities often
jeopardized lives. But there was something different about Jackson…

“So where did
your sheriff and priest go that was so damn urgent?” Jackson asked Sam as they
watched Matthew and Anna fade into the woods toward the car.

“She told you
where they were going, sir,” Sam answered.