Aaron's Kiss Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 7) (29 page)

~CHAPTER NINE~

“No! Absolutely not! I forbid you to participate in this. Do you hear me, Sara?”

Aaron was pacing and gesturing wildly with his arms. Duncan, with his ever present tray, just stood back and watched.

“The entire state can hear you, Aaron. Now, be quiet. I want to make sure I have the plan down before we leave in the morning,” Sara said as she patted Aaron on the cheek.

Melody watched Aaron pace. Then saw Sara turn to Dominic and ask him again how they were to get to Shade and then what they needed to do to bring Shade home for Colin.

“Did you hear me? You are not helping with this? It’s one thing to involve the queen, but you’re pregnant, pregnant with our child, my child. I forbid it! Tell her, Melody. Tell her she is too delicate for this. What if something happens? How will I protect her? I can’t move about during the day that well yet. I need to know you are safe.”

Mel had not wanted to like Aaron. But damn it, she thought, when he got all protective like this, she couldn’t help it. He really did love her cousin. But that didn’t mean he had to know she liked him. This was way too much fun, watching him squirm.

So Mel snorted at Aaron when he suggested that Sara could be anything even close to “delicate.” Good heavens! The woman was a fighting machine. Practically able to leap tall buildings with single bound, stop bullets...where had she heard that one? Oh yeah, that show on the television she and Duncan started watching. “Super dude,” or something like that. No, man! That was it.
Superman.
That show cracked her up. Reruns, Penny had called them.

Penny made fun of the two of them every time they got together and watched those old black and white shows. Just this morning she and Duncan had started to watch this show called
Mr. Ed.
Mel still didn’t understand what the big deal was. Horses talked to her all the time, yet these humans seemed to think it was funny. Go figure.

“I’ll be with her, and if it makes you feel any better, we’ll take a troop of guards with us. How many do you suggest, twenty, thirty? I’m sure no one will notice them tramping down the hall in full armor and armed to the teeth. Maybe they could leave the swords at the castle. Think that would make us less conspicuous?” She was having fun, and having fun at the big vamp’s expense made it all the more delicious. “I know,” she said excitedly. “I’ll have them go ahead of us and set up the Royal Cannon for you.”

Plus, when he growled, like he was doing now, she couldn’t help but laugh. Men! Did he honestly think she would let anything happen to her friend and her baby? Mel was going to be the baby’s godmother for heaven’s sake!

Sara was not any better, Mel noticed. She simply leaned over and whispered something no doubt sexual in Aaron’s ear and shut him up. Melody wasn’t sure what it meant, but something about if he behaved himself Sara would eat a cheeseburger and fries with him later. That did the trick. He wasn’t happy, but he did shut up about her not going. Hummm, Mel would need to ask Sara about that—and soon.

“So, Mel and I will just hang out at the hospital all day and wait for Shade? That seems easy enough. Then what? We convince Shade we are her friends, that we come in peace—nanu, nanu, what?” Sara, always the practical one, wanted all the Ts crossed and the Is dotted.

Mel remembered once when Sara and a troop had gone to China to bring back a rogue pixie. While a rogue pixie would not sound dangerous, this one had killed eighteen humans in a two hour killing spree. She had poisoned them. Sara made each man learn the phrases,
“Where’s the door?”
and
“Where’s the hospital?
” And also, how to call the police. As it turned out, it was a good thing Sara had or Mel might have lost all the guards and Sara as well. As it was, all of them had returned alive and unharmed with the rogue. Who knew a pixie knew how to use dynamite?

“If you need to, just bring Shade and Brent here, Sara, please?” Colin begged her with a tremor in his voice.

Poor Colin
, Mel thought. The man really needed his mate. Mel hoped that they would be able to convince Shade to come back with them.

All kidding aside, Colin was hurting. Mel knew firsthand what it was like to be without your mate. And Mel had been with Sara when she and Aaron had had a shaky start, and almost lost each other several times over the course of their relationship beginnings. Mel would not wish that on anyone. Plus, she really wanted to meet Shade Doe, and figure out how she fit in the magical realm.

“I will do my best, my friend I will do my very best.”  Sara hugged Colin tightly to her.

~~~

The next morning, Mel and Sara went to the hospital to meet the little human boy, Brent. He really was a little guy, even for a kid. He was instantly wary of them. Sara could tell that he thought they were there to make him go back to his mother. Sara felt his horror at that thought immediately, and felt sorry for him. To think that a child would be so terrified at the thought of going with his own mother had saddened Sara on so many levels.

Mel and Sara had worked out their own plan about what they would do once inside the hospital. Of course, it would depend on Brent. But they would win him over with charm and wit first. And if that didn’t work, the backup plan was due to arrive about an hour later. A great big trunk of toys, enough to melt any kid’s heart. Or so they hoped. Neither of them had a great deal of experience with children, so they were guessing.

But soon after they began talking to him, Melody stepped out of the room to cancel the toys. This little boy wouldn’t know what to do with that sort of kindness. He needed love, and lots of it, and toys were not a way to his heart.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Defensive little thing put his guard up immediately after they had walked in.  Sara liked the little scrapper immediately.

“We’ve heard about your sister, Brent. We’re so very sorry about your loss. No one that little should be lost.”

Sara had made sure he was aware of what had happened, not wanting to upset him if it was not necessary to.

Brent had figured out long before anyone had sat him down and told him that Becca had died. Sara saw in the touch of his mind. He had sensed her death. Much like a vampire would their mate, Sara thought. Brent’s heart was broken, and he blamed himself for not being able to save his little sister. Which was sad, really, considering his mother probably had no such thoughts of guilt or remorse.

“My name is Sara Temple MacManus, and this is my que...my friend, Melody Keeper. We would like to talk to you about your friend Shade.”

Sara didn’t think it would do to tell him Mel was a queen. Sara had thought Brent had had enough to deal with right now without throwing a magical being into the mix.

As soon as she said her name, she could feel Brent lock down and become more defensive. “I don’t know no Shade Doe, so you can just leave me alone. I...I don’t gots no friends—none. I want you to go away from me.”

Sara had to admire the young boy. He was furiously protective of Shade, but they needed to contact her for all of their sakes. Sara didn’t want to lie to Brent, so she told him the truth, something she was sure he didn’t get a lot of, except from Shade, she was sure.

“Brent, I didn’t say her last name,” she told him softly. “We aren’t here to hurt her; we just want to talk with her, I promise you. We’d really like to help you both, but we need your help. Shade could be in big trouble. You know that, don’t you? You wouldn’t want her to be put into jail or hurt by anyone, would you?”

“She didn’t do nothin’ to Becca. She was helping me and her. I want you to leave, or I’ll...or I’ll call the police; that’s what I’ll do. The police are her friends and mine, she told me so, and she don’t lie to me, not never,” Brent shouted at them.

Melody was nervous. And a nervous Mel was an unpredictable being. Sara watched Mel as she stalked over to Brent’s bedside. She had to hand it to the little guy. He hadn’t flinched or backed down in the face a confrontation. And for the most part, Sara thought that Mel was a little intimidating.

“Okay, kid, here it is. I’m the queen of all that you see, and unless you want me to zap your ass, you’ll help us. My friend Colin wants to talk to her, and I like to keep my promises.  Got it?” Sara looked at the woman as if she had never seen her before.

“What the hell are you doing? Trying to scare him to death? He just lost his sister and you’re threatening him with death! I think you should let me do the talking from now on. You don’t seem to be very good with kids,”
Sara whispered through Mel’s mind.

“Nah, he’s a tough little kid and he likes straight talk. I bet you this Shade person talks to him like he’s an adult and that’s what he understands, what he needs, not to be coddled.”

Brent looked at Mel and glared, and it was a very impressive glare too. At least he wasn’t shouting anymore.

“I ain’t stupid, you know. You ain’t no queen. Queens gots crowns. You don’t even have a stick or nothin’. And I can’t see that far, so you must not be a very important one if it’s all I can see. You’re pretty enough, I guess, but you ain’t no queen.”

Sara nearly burst out laughing when Brent crossed his arms over his chest and stuck his tongue out at Mel. Mel, however, did not look the least bit intimidated by either the glare nor the tongue, but she was fighting a smile.

“Why you little...smart little bugger, aren’t you? All right, you want a crown? How’s this one?” And suddenly, there was a very ornate crown on Mel’s head, and a stick—or scepter—in her hand.

The crown was the most elaborate one Mel owned, with diamonds, pearls and rubies adorning the front. Sara knew because she had seen all the others.

The motif was nature with birds, butterflies and flowers made from different jewels blended together in intricate detail. Within the setting was The Tree of Seasons, a tree most magical creatures were familiar with. It was set in emeralds and rubies. Quite impressive, if Sara did say so herself, but Mel had not impressed the little boy one bit. And the thing was heavy if the tilting of Mel’s head was any indication. Sara had forgotten that, as Mel had not worn it since taking over her mother’s position as queen some six thousand years ago, so Sara had been told.

“Are those real? I bet they ain’t. Can’t you do no magic or something? That hat is silly lookin’ and it looks like it’s a hurtin’ your head too.”

Yeah, he was not impressed with her at all, Sara thought with a snort. How Mel had thought she could do this was beyond her. For that matter, how did she think she could ever do this?

“What would you like? A bunny, a dog? Maybe I could just make you help us, how would that be? I could just wave my magic over you and you’d have to tell us what we want to know.” Sara knew she had said the wrong thing as soon as it left Mel’s mouth. He was tense again, and clamming up.

“Look, kid, I’m sorry.” Mel reached over and gave him an awkward hug and a pat on the head. “I’m not any good with humans like you; I much prefer my own kind, immortals—you know, people who live forever? What can I get you so that you’ll believe us that we only want to help this Shade person?”

Apparently, her not being human got his attention. “Humans? You mean like people? What do you mean? You’re not human? Gosh, what are you, an alien then? I saw this show once were the aliens had great big teeth and ate the head off a guy.
SNAP!
And he was bleeding all over the place; it was gross. Becca was ascared, but not me. Are you that kind of alien? Can I see your teeth? Shade bought me and Becca a toothbrush one time; she said we needed to brush everyday or our teeth would just fall out one day and then there’d be no more Snickers to eat. She said that you gotta have teeth to eat a Snickers.”

He stiffened suddenly. Sara was sure that he had remembered the good time with his sister. She watched as his lower lip began to quiver slightly and his eyes began to fill. Her heart ached for him in ways she never imaged. Her own tears gathered in her eyes.

Mel must have noticed it as well because she lied to him. She told him she was indeed a giant-toothed monster, but she had to keep a low profile in case she scared the other humans in the place.

“Can’t have that, now can we? I have to stay in this form because I don’t want to start the humans on any mayhem and panic. You humans freak out at the stupidest things. Someone could get hurt, you know? And hospitals, they’re all about helping sick people.”

Brent seemed okay with her story and settled back down. He did watch Mel very closely every time a “human” nurse came in to see if they could see she was not the real deal. Sara had to hide her grin every time the door shut behind one of the hospital staff. The look on Brent’s face was priceless in his disappointment.

When Brent was taken down to have x-rays, Mel left for a while to go back to the magical realm to try and catch up on things she had neglected while helping her. Mel did have a great deal of responsibilities as queen. Sara was actually sort of glad to see her go for a while.

Sara loved the woman like a sister, but she could be hard on the nerves at times. Sara thought that she could take a dozen kids over spending another hour with Mel cooped up in a small room with a seven-year-old.

Brent had been gone about ten minutes when Sara felt the movement of powerful magic enter the hospital. She had never encountered Shade, but had a good idea that this was her signature coming toward the room. When the being stepped off the elevator onto the floor, Sara pulled a shadow around herself, hoping to hide herself from Shade until Sara could make sure Shade was indeed who she thought.