Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment) (68 page)

He frowned. “We haven’t been open in two weeks, how are we out of anything?”

The look the other man gave him could only be construed as dry disbelief. “Your momma sent the rest home with me for the misses. She thought they might expire on the account that she wasn’t sure when you’d reopen.”

Octavian nodded. “I’ll let Magnus know when he gets back.”

Gorje glanced in the direction of the back. “He went off with that human girl.”

“Riley,” Octavian offered.

“Bad idea, boss.” He put up his hands before Octavian could respond. “I don’t judge, but humans are bad news all around. Trouble.” He turned back to the stove, shaking his head.

It was probably not what Gorje meant when he said trouble, but Octavian’s mind instantly went to his previous night with Riley and a grin that would have gotten his mouth washed out with soap when he was younger spread over his face. Yeah, she was totally trouble. The really good kind.

He was still standing there smirking idiotically to himself when the back door opened and Magnus walked in. He held the door open for Riley to pass through. One look into her face and Octavian knew something was wrong. There was a slump in her shoulders and the corners of her mouth were drawn into little lines. What more, she was covered in filth. Twigs, leaves and clumps of dirt clung to her clothes, and knotted in her hair. There were scratches on her cheek and her hands were bleeding.

“Riley?”

Her head came up and if possible her shoulders slumped even further until they were nearly at her knees. “I’m a horrible Vampire.” One stumbling step forward, she collided into his chest, face first where she stayed. “I quit.”

Magnus, who looked as clean and put together as ever, shrugged, smacked him on the back and started for the diner, saying over his shoulder, “Good luck, dude. There’s no helping her.”

Bemused, he took her lightly by the arms and nudged her back a step. “What happened?”

She looked so crushed that it wrenched his heart. “I couldn’t kill anything. I caught a rabbit and…”

“It reminded her of
Bambi
.” Magnus had returned and stood leaning against the counter biting into a red apple.

Octavian frowned. “Wasn’t
Bambi
a deer?”

“Thumper!” Magnus and Riley said simultaneously.

Who?
He figured it was safer not to ask. “It was your first day. You can’t be expected to do it in one day.”

“Oh, no, no,” Magnus said. He pointed a finger at Riley. “Tell him the rest.”

Octavian turned back to Riley, who winced.

“I caught a squirrel.” She dropped her gaze. “It reminded me of Arthur.”

He looked at Magnus. “Who?”

“
Sword in the Stone
!” Riley said. “When he turns…” At his blank stare, she sighed. “Never mind. I can’t kill things. I’m not a killer. I’ve decided to just…” She waved her arms. “I dunno, shrivel up and whatever.”

Suppressing his twitching lips, Octavian patted her on both shoulders. “Okay, here’s the plan. One, no more movies with cute, talking animals for you. Two, we’re going to keep at it until you do it. Three, no shriveling up allowed.” He looked her over. “So why are you so… dirty?”

Magnus burst out laughing, almost choking on a chunk of apple he’d been chewing.

Riley sent him a harsh glare before answering, “I may have fallen a few times.”

“A few?” Magnus pounded a fist against his chest, clearing his pipes. “You should have seen her. She was like a kid trying to catch frogs. She kept lunging after things and missing.”

“Hey, I caught the rabbit like that!” she reminded him.

“Yeah, because the stupid thing ran into a fucking tree.” He wiped a tear away. “It was the most insane thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Okay, lay off,” Octavian muttered, being a wise man and containing his own grin. “She did pretty good for her first time, I think.”

Magnus snorted, pushing off the counter. “You better say that if you ever want to get laid again.”

He was gone before Octavian could throw something at him. He turned his focus on Riley instead. He rubbed her arms.

“You’ll get it. Magnus was probably not the person you should have taken with you though.”

She pouted. “That’s what Gideon said, but… Magnus is the only one here who doesn’t treat me with kiddie gloves and… I really do want to learn.”

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I understand. But I’m here if you need me and I promise to keep the kiddie gloves at home.”

She grinned and returned the kiss but to his chin. “Thanks.” She drew back. “I’m going to take a shower.”

He watched her walk away and only when she was out of sight did he snicker, shaking his head. He walked into the dining area to find all three of his brothers around the table, but only Reggie and Gideon playing. Magnus was content sitting there taunting Reggie for every loss. Octavian took the free chair.

“Want in?” Gideon asked, dealing.

Octavian shook his head, reaching over instead to steal a chip out of the bowl in the middle of the table. “Nope. Don’t trust you.”

Gideon gasped. “I am offended.” But the smirk on his face told a whole other story.

Reggie picked up his cards, fanned them out and sulked. “I swear there are no aces in this deck.”

“’Course there isn’t,” Magnus said, flicking a chip at him. “They’re all up Gideon’s sleeves.”

Kicking his twin, Gideon held up his hands. “No sleeve, bitches.”

Magnus snorted. “Like that’d stop you.”

Gideon ignored him. “How’d training go?”

“I haven’t laughed so hard since… well, ever,” Magnus answered. “The girl can’t catch shit and when she does, she gets all,
aww, look at it, Magnus! I can’t kill it… it’s too cute.
”

“Give her a break,” Reggie murmured distractedly, brows furrowed as he adjusted his hand. “She wasn’t born a hunter.”

“She’s human. That’s exactly what they were born being.”

“This isn’t the cowboy and Indians era,” Gideon said. “No one has to hunt for their meal anymore.” He dropped a card onto the table. “Now they just walk to the store.”

“I miss those days,” Reggie said, looking up. “There was so much… world, back then. I mean, Earth seemed like an endless place.”

“I miss the sixties,” Gideon said. “That was an era full of really fun,
happy
people. It was all about the love man.”

Reggie and Octavian laughed. Magnus snorted.

“I miss the Victorian era,” Octavian said. “It was all about manners and chivalry, even for the humans.”

“And pretty little virgins behind their fans,” Gideon added. “I hear ya.”

Octavian rolled his eyes. “You were more into the defiling of every demonness within poking distance.”

“And poke.” He tossed down a card with flourish. “I did… sometimes more than once.” He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

Magnus turned to Octavian. “And what were you into, dear brother, because I recall very vividly quite a few weeping she-demons over the loss of their hearts.”

“And virginities,” Reggie added, smirking.

Octavian shot his brothers droll glowers. “Those days are over.”

“Those days were over hundred and seventy-six years ago,” Gideon said. “Now the only place you can find a virgin is on
eBay.
”

“They still sell those there?” Magnus said, wrinkling his nose.

Gideon shook his head. “She-Demon Mail Order. They post all those she-demons they swear are still virgins, but you can’t trust those.”

Magnus curled his lip. “Disgusting.”

“Hey, she-demons are
amazing
in bed.” Gideon glanced sideways at his brother. “You know you’re awfully picky for a guy without very many options. It’s either a she-demons, fey, strigoi—”

“Shifters,” Reggie chimed.

Gideon nodded in agreement. “Shifters, wares.” He shrugged. “Okay so you have a few options, but what’s with you and demons?”

“I got my reasons,” Magnus said with a shrug. “I’d rather have my member dipped in battery acid than go near one of them.”

Everyone at the table grimaced at the visual.

“Thanks for the visual,” Gideon muttered, shifting in his seat. “Totally needed that.”

Magnus said nothing.

“So where’s Riley?” Reggie asked, setting a card down over Gideon’s.

“Shower,” Octavia murmured, popping another chip into his mouth.

All three brothers stopped and turned to him.

“And you’re here because…?” Reggie ventured.

The thought had tempted him, to follow her up and help her lather up, to watch the water and soap suds roll down her body, but fears of hurting her restrained him. He’d been her first and, as his brothers had kindly pointed out, he’d been with enough virgins to know just how sore she must have been this morning. Besides, they had forever together. Missing one shower with her wouldn’t kill him. He promised to have her there soon enough.

Octavian frowned at his brothers. “None of your business.”

Gideon flicked a chip at him, but no one pressed him.

“Have you thought anymore about what you’re going to do in two days if the Summit decides to rule against you?” Reggie asked.

Octavian shook his head, all amusement leaching from the air. “None. I thought about sending a letter out to Mortlock, ask him if he’d take Riley under his coven, but even if he does, she’d have to go live with them and I can’t leave here and he certainly won’t have me there. Then I thought about taking her to some church and marrying her, hopefully that would appease the Summit, but I can’t take her out right now, not when she can’t control her thirst. I even thought about running, just taking her and—”

“Don’t you dare!” Gideon shot him a glower. “You’d break Mom’s heart, not to mention deserters get tracked down like dogs and we’d have to hunt your ass down.”

“I didn’t say I was going to,” Octavian muttered. “I said I considered it. I can’t do that to Riley anyway. The punishment for her would be even worse if we’re caught.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what else to do except sell my soul and at this point, I’m willing to even do that.”

“We could find Jackamo,” Reggie offered.

“You don’t want to go making bargains with Djinns,” Magnus said. “You can’t trust them.”

“Well, there are tons of Trader Demons prowling the Underworld, we only need one,” Reggie said.

Gideon shook his head. “Making bargains with demons is usually a really bad idea. There is always a catch and it’s never in your favor.”

Octavian slumped back in his chair, rubbing a hand over his face. He squeezed his eyes closed as emotion threatened to embarrass him.

“I can’t lose her,” he said to no one in particular.

“You’re not going to,” Magnus said with so much confidence that Octavian couldn’t help feeling a spark of hope that maybe the other man had an idea. But he was staring down at his lap with a deep look of contemplation. “We’ll find a way.”

The kitchen door opened then and Riley shuffled through, bare-foot and clad in flannel bottoms and one of his long sleeved shirts. The thing fell past her knuckles and hung nearly to her knees. Her hair fell in wet curls around her shoulders. Her skin glowed, scrubbed fresh and pink. She must have fed recently; there was a flush in her cheeks and in her lips. Octavian felt emotion swell up inside him all over again, a feeling of desperation, panic and crippling fear. It took all his willpower not to do something reckless and stupid, to force his facial muscles to relax.

“Feel better?” he asked as she made her way over to them.

She nodded, slipping into his lap rather than taking another seat.