Leviathan's Lament Page 8

Oh, Ethan. His caregiver instincts were going to make me wring his neck.

  “Thank you,” the monster said with a nod. “I would appreciate a proper bed. Although the last thing I desire to do at the moment is sleep, since I’ve been slumbering for years.” He tilted his head, studying Ethan much the same way he had Matheus. “You are the one she calls Ethan?”

  Ethan’s neutral expression was strained. “Yeah. That’s me.”

  And what the fuck? Was this guy saying he’d been reading my mind or something? For how long?

  “You may show me where you wish me to remain for the time being. My master needs rest. I can feel her fatigue through our bond.”

  Grey rolled her eyes. “I’m not your fucking master , dude. And stay out of my head, or whatever. It’s creepy.”

  Those dark eyes met hers again and he frowned. “I only know what you project to me and what I can feel in the energies connecting you to the kleidí. This disturbs you?”

  Grey sighed. “Kind of. Us human-types like our privacy.”

  He smirked. “But you are not human. You require things humans do not. Why do you remain in such a depleted state? Surely you have had opportunities to feed.” He glanced at the others in the room. “Are they defective? Are they somehow immune to your charms, siren? I do not understand.”

  Grey felt her whole body flush. “What? No. Okay, let’s not talk about me right now. You don’t have to stay here, you know. If I freed you, cool, go be free!” She waved a hand toward the door. Sure, loosing a supposed monster on the world was probably a bad idea, but Grey would do just about anything to not have to deal with this shit.

  He frowned at her. “I can’t leave. I would only be imprisoned or hunted again.” He glanced at Luca. “Is my new master always this stubborn and oblivious?”

  Luca’s mouth twitched with suppressed laughter. “Don’t you dare answer that,” Grey snapped, so tired and overwhelmed she was starting to feel dizzy. “We need to figure out what the hell we’re going to do about this, not stand here poking fun at Grey all night long!”

  “You need rest and healing, master.” Then the leviathan lifted a hand and pressed one delicate blue finger to her forehead. “Sleep.”

  Grey heard Luca gasp, felt a sensation like falling. Then, everything faded in a heartbeat, as if the strange creature had just reached out and flipped off a light switch. She didn’t even feel it when she hit the ground.

  Chapter 14

  Grey woke feeling warm and content. She yawned and stretched, glorying in the bunch and pull of waking muscles, blissfully headache-free, feeling more rested and well than she had in a long time. A soft chuckle disturbed her drowsy contentment, and she opened her eyes, glancing at Luca, where she stood painted in stipes of gold from the afternoon sun coming in through the window.

  “Sorry to wake you, Sleeping Beauty,” she said with a wry twist of her lips. “But Abbie and Joy have been blowing up your phone, and I figured you probably didn’t want them showing up here looking for you when you have a sea monster holding court in the living room.”

  Grey sat up suddenly, all the events of the previous night rushing into her brain. “Holy shit what happened?”

  Luca set a steaming cup of coffee on the nightstand and came to sit on the edge of Grey’s bed, reaching out to ruffle her sleep-rumpled red curls. “Well...you made out with the entire band. Then I took you to bed before you could engage in a drunken siren feeding frenzy. I gave you some of my energy to tide you over. The Leviathan showed up at our door in the middle of the night and refuses to leave. Oh, and he insisted you were tired and drained, and we suck at taking care of his poor, sweet master, so he put you to sleep with some sort of freaky magic, pumped you full of his energy, and you’ve been out for like twelve hours.” She grinned, as if she was enjoying Grey’s pain.

  “Why is my life so fucking weird?” Grey muttered, reaching for the coffee. Somehow, she sensed she was going to need the caffeine—even if she did currently feel more alive and energized than she ever had in her life.

  Luca chuckled and leaned in to steal a kiss, her lips tasting like something spicy. “If your life wasn’t so weird, we’d probably never have met. So I’m all for the weird staying right where it is.”

  Grey set her coffee aside and sank her hands into Luca’s silky black hair, which was loose about her shoulders today. She pulled the beautiful weirdo into another kiss, slow and lingering, before pulling away to gaze into her deep blue eyes. “I love you,” she whispered, not sure she’d said it enough since they were both turned back into women.

  Luca smiled, her hand coming up to rest on Grey’s hip as they sat facing each other in the tangle of blankets. “I love you too, Grey. No matter what.” Her cell phone started ringing from where it must be stuffed in the back pocket of her stretchy, form-hugging jeans. Luca pulled back and got her phone out, sending the call to voicemail. “So,” she said with another of those mischievous looks that said she was actually enjoying all this bullshit. “What weird thing do you want to talk about first? How you’re screaming toward sleeping with the band like a big ol’ groupie, or the sea monster on the couch?”

  Grey coughed and reached for her coffee again, dragging one hand through her hair in a vague attempt to keep it from falling forward into her eyes. Did “groupie” really fit when you were also part of the band? “Uh...neither? Who was calling you?”

  A voicemail notification pinged, and Luca ignored it. “My dad. He’s been pestering me since last night. Said he felt ‘strange magic’ and knew it had something to do with you.” She shrugged. “We should probably fill him in, eventually.”

  Grey drew in a deep breath, her hand automatically going to the warm, comforting weight of the kleidí that hung from her neck. “What do you think he’ll do?” A nagging fear was worming its way into her brain, despite all logic. “The horned guy said he was trapped under the island for thousands of years...Pontus won’t, like, put him back there, will he?”

  Luca blinked at her. “Grey, my dad is an ancient god, and even I thought the whole leviathan story was just a myth. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here. Sure he seems...earnest. But if he really is what he says he is, then he could be up to anything. He could be lying. Maybe there’s a really good reason why he was imprisoned—you know...all that ‘devouring’ stuff?”

  Grey set her coffee aside and stood, going to the closet to search for clothes, just for something to do with her hands, with the nervous energy inside her. “I get it. I do. But...I don’t think he’s lying or plotting. I think he’s just...really fucking happy to be free—or as free as he can get if he’s still tied to the kleidí.”

  Luca frowned and stood, crossing her arms over her chest. “And how are you suddenly the expert judge of character for ancient sea monsters?”

  Grey rolled her eyes and tossed a t-shirt and jeans on the bed before going to dig out a bra and panties from her dresser. “Can’t I just be all insightful and wise like you are all the time?”

  Luca snorted and Grey relented, going to stand in front of the pretty sea sprite. “I can feel it,” she said, lifting a hand to touch the kleidí. “I think I’ve been feeling his emotions and his thoughts for a while now, thanks to this thing.” Dropping her hand, she gave Luca a pleading look. “Whatever he is or whatever he’s up to, I just don’t want to be the one responsible for sentencing him to another thousand years in the cold and dark.”

  Luca let out a sigh and the tension left her. One corner of her mouth lifted in a wry smile. “Yeah, I know. Which is why I haven’t told Pontus anything yet. But he will figure it out and we’d better have a plan by then.”

  Grey huffed. “Such a pain in the ass.”

  Luca grinned. “Dude, you have no idea. Try having him for a dad growing up. Me and Cam got nothing past him. The jerk knows everything .”

  Grey grabbed up her clothes and headed for the shower. Abbie and Joy had roped her into a girls’ day and Luca was right—if Grey didn’t get her butt in gear, th
ey’d show up here to drag her out. That was the last thing she needed right now. Joy knew about the weird in Grey’s life—at least some of it. But somehow, Grey had never felt like the time was right to introduce Abbie to the weirdness. And she knew Abbie was going to be pissed that she hadn’t spilled it before now.

  Luca’s hand wrapped around Grey’s upper arm, pulling her to a halt before she could escape. “Wait a second there, speedy. Aren’t you forgetting something? There were two things we needed to talk about. The leviathan was only the first one.”

  Grey closed her eyes in a long blink and tried not to die of embarrassment. “Are you mad?”

  Luca laughed and let go of Grey’s arm to ruffle her hair in that annoying way everyone seemed to do. “ What ? Yeah, Grey, I’m totally pissed off that you did what I already told you was fine and kissed the two morons I love most besides my family. Look at my rage.” She gestured at her easy posture and serene facial expression. “Livid.”

  Grey rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well. That was then. Back when we were all guys. A few things have changed.”

  Luca sank into the rolling chair by Grey’s desk and swiveled back and forth like a kid, her intense blue eyes never leaving Grey’s face. “Nothing has changed, Grey. You’re still you. I’m still me. They’re still them.” She shrugged. “If anything, you might feel the need for them more since your powers are stronger in your girl form. Oh, and hey—they have dicks. Bonus for you, since you like that kind of thing.”

  At Grey’s glare, she sighed and stopped moving, draping her arms over the back of the chair. “Look, what I’m trying to say, really badly and with awful attempts at humor, is that it’s still okay, Grey. I’m okay with you loving me and them. I don’t really buy into that whole ‘the one’ thing anyway. It seems really short-sighted to expect one person to fulfill all of your mental, emotional, physical—and in your case energetic—needs all by themselves. I won’t say I’ll never be jealous or something stupid like that. But I trust you. And I trust Mat and Ethan.” She gave Grey a slow, wicked leer. “And besides, I might not want them the way you do, but I admit, the thought of watching or helping is hot as hell—if you’re ever open to that.”

  Grey put her hands over her face, feeling like she might spontaneously combust. “Oh, Gods. Can I go shower now?”

  Luca barked a laugh and stood, coming to ruffle her hair again. “What? Is poor, sweet, gentle Grey embarrassed?”

  Grey lifted her head to glare. “Oh, fuck you.”

  Luca waved her away. “Go shower before you pass out from all that blood rushing to your head. Want me to text Abbie and Joy for you? Tell them you’re coming and send them off somewhere to meet you?”

  Grey let out a relieved sigh, glad to be moving on to more comfortable conversations. “Yeah, please.” Luca really was amazing, even if she made Grey want to duct tape her mouth shut sometimes.

  THE WEATHER WAS BEAUTIFUL , the warm sun and soft breeze hinting that the island was ready to slide over into summer. Thank all the Gods. Grey could still remember a time not too long ago when she feared winter was going to be a permanent thing.

  Abbie let out a bark of laughter over something Joy had said as they all walked along side-by side away from the little café where they’d managed to have lunch without being interrupted. It was pricey there, but the staff knew Grey, and they went out of their way to head off trouble when she came there with her friends. On an island this small, it was hard to go unnoticed, but in the right places, Grey could still occasionally manage to just be one of the crowd—especially when Luca and the rest of Lucifer wasn’t with her drawing even more attention.

  “Oh, God, I ate so much,” Abbie moaned dramatically, patting her non-existent belly. “If I can’t squeeze into my dress for the event you’re doing this weekend, Grey, I’m blaming you.”

  Grey rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t the one who ate all that chocolate cake.” Well...she had eaten a shit-ton of cake, too, but she didn’t force Abbie to. Personally, getting fatter was dead last on the list of shit Grey had to worry about. She turned her mind away from where it wanted to go—right back to worrying about the weird creature who was waiting back at the townhouse—and back toward the conversation at hand. “You’re just worried a certain jock-turned roadie won’t make sex eyes at you all night if you’re bloated,” Grey snarked.

  Joy snorted. “Oh relax, Abbie,” she launched into a detailed explanation of how it was impossible to actually put on any fat in that short of a time, and how most of it would be water retention, and blah, blah, blah.

  Grey shook her head. Abbie and Joy might seem similar at a glance—both pretty, blond, feminine sorts of women who liked the usual girly stuff like shopping and pretty things—but their personalities were night and day in all the ways that mattered. Abbie was all about looks and impressions and feeling things, but while Joy was perfectly able to be laid back and let her hair down, she was more about logic, and facts, and reasoning. They’d usually both arrive at the same conclusion about something if Grey asked their advice, but the paths they’d take to get there would be completely different.

  “That reminds me,” Abbie said, neatly sidestepping all discussion of why she wanted to look so good at the event they were doing for a local charity. “I should come home with you and make sure you’ve got the right outfit picked out. I know I can’t trust you to dress yourself for camera time.”

  Shit. “Uh. I’ve got it. Don’t worry about it.”

  Abbie narrowed her eyes at Grey, stopping to put her hands on her hips. “No. No way. Remember the opera hall concert? I’m coming home with you so I can see what you’re planning to wear.” She sighed. “I should probably check over the rest of them too, just in case. Matheus has a good head on his shoulders, and Luca can usually pull off anything she wants, but Ethan will just wear some t-shirt and jeans he’s had for ten years if I don’t check on him.”

  Joy laughed. “You make me glad I just work in the medical field. Dressing rock stars sounds like a nightmare.”

  Grey narrowed her eyes at the traitor. “It’s not that bad. Abbie’s just a fussy drama queen.”

  Abbie continued walking, heading toward the car they’d parked in a private parking lot just behind the café. “I’m going to the townhouse.” She tossed a look over her shoulder. “It’s not like you have something to hide up in there. I’ve seen the place. It’s nice, but it’s full of stinky rock stars.” She wrinkled her nose like they all smelled or something.

  Grey drew in a slow breath and glanced at Joy, who was sending her suspicious looks of her own. “You should tell her,” she said softly. “Whatever it is.”

  Abbie slid into her old car and waited until Grey and Joy had buckled in before she turned in her seat, casting a hard look at them both. “Well? What the hell is going on with you, Grey. You’ve been keeping something from me for months now. And apparently even Joy knows and I don’t.”

  Grey grimaced. “Heard that, did you?”

  That got her a narrow-eyed gray glare that cut like knives. “Fuck you, Grey. I’m not stupid. I just figured whatever the hell was bothering you, you’d tell me when you were good and ready. I know how you are. But this is getting ridiculous. Why can’t I come to your house? Are you cooking drugs? Pimping out hoes on the side?”

  Grey huffed a laugh and leaned back, letting her head thump back against the head rest. “I wish it was something that normal.”

  Joy reached up from the back seat and patted her shoulder. Abbie turned her narrow-eyed glare on the doctor. “Don’t even get me started on you. How do you know all my best friend’s secrets before I do?”

  Joy shrugged and sat back. “Doctor-patient confidentiality.”

  Abbie rolled her eyes. “Bullshit.”

  Grey swallowed and took a deep breath. “No, really. Look, Abbie, I’m still figuring this shit out myself. I wouldn’t have told anyone , except I thought I might be dying or going crazy. At first, I thought it was something to do with being a morph, so I ta
lked to Joy because she was my doctor—she’d been studying me and researching morph physiology for years. Who else was I going to ask about all the freaky shit going on with my body?”

  Abbie’s glare eased up, melting into mild concern. “Something’s wrong? Like medically? What are you talking about, Grey? You’re scaring me, bitch!”

  Great. If Abbie was reverting back to her drag persona days, she was really worried. “I’m fine. Mostly. But I didn’t know that at first. So I had to tell Joy.”

  Abbie curled her perfectly manicured claws into fists. “Tell her what , Grey?”

  “Well...I’m not completely human , Abbie.”

  Abbie’s gray eyes went round and her face just...blanked. “You’re...not...human?”

  Grey laughed. “Yeah, see why I don’t tell people shit? In case you’re wondering, I’ve talked to a doctor about it, and the consensus seems to be that I’m not actually crazy or developing a brain tumor or something.”

  Abbie blinked. “Okay. So...what are you, then?”

  Grey sighed. “Can we just start from the beginning? It’s a long story, but it’s easier to understand that way.”’

  At Abbie’s nod, Grey explained everything, starting with how her mother was a siren who had cursed the entire island in a fit of jealous rage and ending with how Grey now had possession of something all the other weirdos seemed to want, for some unknown reason.

  “Well...unknown until last night,” she amended.

  Abbie’s face was still neutral, a blank expression that said she was still processing and would eventually either walk away or start shrieking, but for now they were in the eye of the storm, where all was quiet.

  “A guy showed up at my house claiming to be the leviathan—you know, sea monster from bible stories and legends? Anyway, we couldn’t convince him to leave, and the rest of the band all had stuff to do. So there’s been an ancient sea monster alone at my house all afternoon and I really didn’t want you to just go ambling in there.”

  “Huh,” Abbie said, still blank.