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With both of them satiated for now, Gilly lay her head on his chest, and he cupped her head and pressed her closer. The fact that they were out in a public place crept into the edges of his mind, but for now he shoved the thought back. He needed to feel her this way. Needing him, satiated.
Finally, Gilly lifted her head and whispered, “We have to find her, Gavril. She’s part of me. If something happens to Viv, part of me will die, too. We have to find her.”
Aside from an ultra-explosive orgasm, there was nothing that could make a man go as flaccid as the words she’d just spoken.
Gilly rolled off Gavril, her cheeks suddenly red with embarrassment. She quickly pulled her shirt over her breasts and scurried back into her pants. “I—I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Gavril asked, although he suspected the reason.
“For...for acting like this. My sister’s missing, we have dead Originals with two sectors completely missing, and all I can think about is having sex with you.” She scrambled to her feet, her cheeks still bright pink.
Gavril zipped up his pants and closed his shirt over his chest. He couldn’t button it because Gilly had ripped every button from its hole when she’d wanted to get to his bare chest. This brought a gentle smile to his face. He got to his feet and reached for her. She took a step back from him, and the movement pierced his heart.
“Listen to me,” Gavril said. “You’re a wounded woman who needed something real and alive to keep your world in balance. Sex does that and quite well. Believe me, if I’d have thought there was any other intention, you wouldn’t have reached first base. I may be a guy, but I do have control over my senses and anything below my belt.”
“Oh, that you do,” Gilly said shyly.
“I wanted you, Gilly, from the first moment I saw you. Not just to have sex with you, but the whole of you. Your spitfire attitude, your willingness to say what’s on your mind, even if it involves an expletive or two. Your loyalty to your Originals and to your sisters. Even the way you carry yourself and the way you look. Your pixie cut, beautiful eyes, your tiny nose. It’s all of you, Gilly. All of you.”
Gilly stood staring at him silently, and for a moment, Gavril feared he had revealed too much too fast. There was no question in his mind that he’d fallen hard for this woman, but she’d yet to voice how she felt about him. Sex was one thing. Feeling another. Matters of the heart went much further, much deeper than sex. He resented the fact that the Elders had lit into the Triad about having relations with the Benders, but he understood. Every group had their rules. Even Benders. While on a mission they were to keep one head in their pants and the other on the task they’d been assigned. So far they’d blown that one out of the water big-time. The last thing he felt about that, however, was regret.
Letting out a deep breath, Gilly said, “We need to head out. It’s a decent hike back to the Elders. We’ll probably wind up back at the hotel a bit early, but if Evee shows up first, I don’t want her worrying about where I am, as well.”
Feeling a stabbing pain in his heart that Gilly hadn’t even acknowledged all he’d shared with her, Gavril simply nodded, and both of them headed back to the Monteleone.
By now the trolleys were running, and it would have been easier to hop one and take it down to Canal Street, which crossed Royal, where the hotel was located. But Gavril hoped the walk might give Gilly time to absorb all he’d said and respond in some way.
They’d just crossed Iberville and took a right on Royal, when out of the blue, Gilly reached for Gavril’s hand and held it tightly. His heart soared. Her palms were sweaty, so he knew that she was nervous. She probably had no idea how to respond. Although she might not have had the words to respond to him, her taking his hand said more to Gavril than a thousand words would have. Even better, seconds after taking hold of his hand, Gilly moved closer to him. To anyone watching, the two of them must have looked like a couple in love, enjoying each other’s company. But sometimes words weren’t necessary. Actions spoke more openly and loudly than a thousand syllables strung together.
When they finally reached the hotel and entered, Gilly let go of Gavril’s hand and headed to the bank of elevators.
Gavril silently followed, unable to take his eyes off her. He’d known many women in his life, but none so beautiful inside and out as Gilly François. He tried to harden his heart and mind to keep things in perspective, but neither would harden. If only she’d say something about how she felt, aside from holding his hand, he’d be more certain of the direction to head in with her.
Gavril knew of the Triad curse, which mandated that they not marry a human or live intimately with one. Like he needed something else to add to his ever-growing list of things to do—protect the safe zone of the Chenilles, find the missing ones before they attacked humans. And now, everything they’d been working so hard for came to a screeching halt because Viv was missing, and she was a priority. This was something Gavril completely understood.
But somewhere in the middle of fixing this, fighting that, he set it in his mind to find out a way to break the curse that bound the Triad, even if he had to visit their Elders himself. Surely there had to be a loophole; all laws had them. He assumed curses were the same. No one, not even a witch, could remember everything that might cover generations of Triads to follow. Not as far back as the 1500s.
Times and situations changed over the years. Unless the Elders who’d issued the curse were able to see far into the future, they had been only dealing with then, with the times, situations and customs that affected that time period. He seriously doubted they had seen so far into the future. Maybe they had only assumed that the curse they’d set upon the first Triad would hold forever. Or maybe not.
Gavril thought of the Elders who watched over the Triad now. They were like mother hens to those three women. Even in anger, he couldn’t see them implementing a curse that had no end, with no out clause. Anger was indeed anger, and punishment was punishment, but didn’t love trump them all? Surely the original Elders had felt some sort of compassion for the first Triad and left a door open that no one had found yet.
Yet. That was the key word.
Once that curse was broken, and if he ever got Gilly to speak her mind as far as he was concerned, his intent was to have her for the rest of her life. Having traveled the world many times over, Gavril had yet to meet anyone as unique, smart, caring and beautiful as Gilly. A man didn’t place the largest diamond found in any mine on a shelf, and then leave, hoping it might still be there once he returned. Gilly was his rough-cut diamond, and if it took his entire lifetime, he’d look for a loophole in the curse for the simple purpose of making her his own.
These were words Gavril kept to himself; if Gilly heard them, she’d take off running like a wild rabbit, thinking him mad. What business did a human, who had no concept of the magic they generated, have in messing in witches’ business?
And she’d have been right.
But the one thing he did do well was investigate. He’d developed his investigation skills over the years while hunting Cartesians. If somehow he had the chance to read the document that sealed the Triad curse, he’d pick it apart until he found a loophole that worked for them. They’d be free at last, something he knew the Triad had never experienced before.
He wanted, more than anything, to be Gilly’s hero.
Chapter 4 (#ue2b00d6d-46d9-51a3-9927-79e98a3f302b)
“I knew something like this was going to happen,” Arabella, the head of the Elders, said when Gilly told them about Viv going missing.
“Well, if you knew, why didn’t you warn us about it?” Gilly asked. The last thing she’d wanted to do was come back to the Elders, especially after they’d been royally reamed out during their last visit. The Elders lived only a couple of blocks from the Triad in the Garden District, but coming here again felt like they’d walked the green mile. They’d had no choice. Not with Viv missing. No matter what the consequences might be, they had to let the Elders know.
“Oh, she did,” Vanessa said.
“She did not,” Gilly insisted.
“Uh-huh,” Taka, the third, said. “Remember the whole thing about Viv and Evee being intimate with their Benders, how it needed to stop. Well, it obviously didn’t stop, because now we’ve got another catastrophe on our hands. They should have listened—that’s all I’ve got to say.”
“I wish,” Vanessa said.
“Wish what?” Taka asked, frowning.
“That that was all you had to say.”
Taka tsked loudly, and then looked at Gavril and said, “No offense meant, Mr. Bender, but witches have rules to live by. If we don’t live by them, then all kinds of havoc occur, like now. There are reasons we have leaders, Elders. It’s not like the Triad is out there on their own. They have us to bounce things off of.”
“So, you’re saying that you’re blaming Evee and Viv’s intimacy with Nikoli and Lucien for all this chaos?” Gavril said.
“I am,” Taka said.
“This isn’t the time to go into your rant about the Triad members having relations with the Benders,” Gilly said. “Viv is missing and that’s what matters most. Besides, I think all three of you have this relationship thing wrong or twisted sideways somehow. It doesn’t connect or make sense.”
“It makes complete sense,” Arabella said. “As it was part of the curse set on the Triads since the 1500s. Nothing has changed to refute it. The intimacy you’ve obviously taken course with regarding these young men has caused nothing but disaster.”
“No disrespect meant, ma’am,” Gavril said, “but that’s baloney. My cousins and I have tracked these Cartesians around the world. Have been to places where they’ve taken out an entire species from the netherworld in a city. Humans died, more Cartesians showed themselves. But not once did it have anything to do with me or my cousins being intimate with any female. Witch or no witch.”
“But if the Triad doesn’t listen, there isn’t much we can do about controlling what happens,” Taka said.
“Oh, there’s plenty we can do about it,” Arabella said.
“Like what?” Vanessa said.
“Leave them to their chaos. They asked for advice, we gave it, they ignored it, and now they have to live with it.”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop speaking about us as though we weren’t in the room,” Gilly said angrily.
“Hello?” Gavril said. “Did any of you hear what I said earlier?”
“Yes, of course,” Arabella said.
“How can you say that when Viv’s gone?” Taka said to Arabella. “Mr. Bender said they’ve been trying to help. Surely you won’t attempt to stop them from doing that.”
“Please call me Gavril,” Gavril said. And Taka gave him a shy smile. “And please give my words some consideration. None of what’s been happening was caused by the Triad. The blame goes to the Cartesians.”
“Where was the last place you saw her?” Arabella asked Gilly, ignoring Gavril.
“At home. Evee told me she was headed to the hotel to talk over something with Nikoli, her Bender. The problem was that she never showed up at the hotel.”
“For the love of stupidity,” Vanessa said. “Ever since you three were little girls, your heads were harder than brick and mortar. Now that you’re thirty, that doesn’t seem to have changed one bit. Arabella told you to stay away from the Benders, and what do you do? Show up at their hotel.”
“Talking to someone is no crime,” Gilly said. “Especially when we’re trying to find Viv. Going to somebody’s hotel room doesn’t mean sex is involved, Vanessa. People do meet up and talk in those rooms.”
“I disagree,” Taka said with a smirk. “There are beds in hotel rooms, and where there are beds, there’s sex.”
“Oh, get a grip,” Vanessa snapped at Taka.
Arabella gave Gilly a slow nod. She eyed Gavril, and then looked back at Gilly. “You’re right. There’s no crime in talking, that’s for sure, but let me ask you something.” This time she looked Gavril right in the eye before asking Gilly. “Have the two of you been intimate? After I warned you to stay away, did you disobey? Have you been intimate with this man despite our warning?”
“Nothing was her fault,” Gavril said. “When she heard about Viv—”
“My question wasn’t directed at you, young man,” Arabella said. “It was meant for Gilly.”
Taka huffed. “You did it, didn’t you, Gilly? Was it at the hotel?”
Vanessa shook her head. “A Triad slut brigade, that’s what we have on our hands, sisters. They’re going to do what they want to regardless of our warnings. How does an Elder combat that? We try and we try to lead them down the straight and narrow, and look, they take the first fork in the road they come to.”
“We’ll deal with it by allowing the Triad to handle the consequences of their actions,” Arabella said.
“Wait a minute,” Gilly said angrily. “You’re speculating that I’ve been intimate with Gavril, and because of that, you won’t give me any help in finding Viv? What kind of Elders are you? Ever since the beginning, every Triad had Elders who helped them with problems.”
“Not all of them,” Arabella said. “Or have you forgotten the first Triad? Their Elders didn’t change the monstrosities they’d created back to humans. Instead, they punished the Triad.”
“So is this what this is?” Gilly asked. “Punishment? You won’t help us because of some warped assumption you’re making? It begs the same question—what kind of Elders are you?”
“We have tried to help,” Arabella said. “Repeatedly. We’ve even contact the rest of our sisters and asked for help. Something or someone seems to be blocking all of our spells. My only assumption as to why that might be is, once again, your intimacy with the Benders. Part of the Triad curse in action.”
“And we’re smart Elders,” Taka said. “I think.” They’d been sitting around the kitchen table, and Taka suddenly got to her feet, seemingly flustered. “Anybody want crumpets and tea?”
“Sit down, Taka,” Vanessa said. “Now isn’t the time to extend hospitality. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this.”
“But I’m hungry,” Taka whined.
Arabella gave Taka a stern look, which sent her back into her seat with a pout. “It was just tea and crumpets.”
“You claim your intimacy with your Bender is our speculation, an assumption,” Arabella said to Gilly. “Is it an assumption? Or did it happen?” She looked first at Gavril, and then she allowed her eyes to settle on Gilly. “I want the truth.”
Gilly sighed heavily. “Yeah, we were intimate,” she finally said, and saw Gavril shift uncomfortably in his seat. She didn’t blame him. He was sitting at a table of witches, any of whom could have turned him into a frog or turtle with a kindergartner’s spell.
“Mr. Bender,” Vanessa said, “as you can see, this conversation is getting quite personal. I think it best if you leave us to deal with Abigail, who obviously decided to not heed our advice.”
“He doesn’t have to go,” Taka said.
“It’s best he does,” Arabella said.
“But he’s cute,” Taka said. “Easy on the eyes. And besides, we’re not going to be saying anything he hasn’t already heard or known about. If they were intimate, they were intimate. He already knows that. You think we’re revealing a secret?”
“I’d prefer to stay if it’s all the same to you,” Gavril said. “Gilly is not alone in this. And if I may respectfully add, we came here of our own volition. Vivienne has gone missing, and we wanted to see if you’d seen her or possibly know where she might have gone.”
“I haven’t seen her,” Taka said.
“Me either,” Vanessa said.
“Nor have I,” Arabella added. “Have you tried the compound where Viv kept her Loup-Garous?”
“Yes,” Gilly said. “Her Bender is there looking for her now.”
“You sent a human Bender into the compound?” Arabella said with shock. “Did you purposely want this man dead?”
“He’ll be mauled like ground beef,” Taka said, her brows knitting together. “Surely he’s not alone there, right?”
“Haven’t you heard?” Gilly said. “All of the Loup-Garous are missing.”
“What?” Arabella, Vanessa and Taka said in unison.
Gilly nodded. “They were there one morning, and by the afternoon, not one of them remained on the compound.”
“Oh, Mother Earth and every worm beneath her,” Taka said. “Does that mean they’re all loose in the city?”
“I have no idea,” Gilly said. “We’ve each been taking care of our own. I still have Chenilles in their safe zone, but have about fifteen missing. Evee lost all of her Nosferatu. Same thing with Viv’s. One minute they’re where they’re supposed to be, the next, they’ve vanished.”
Arabella got up from the table and began to pace. “You know what this means, don’t you?”
“That we’re in deep doodoo,” Taka said.
“You’re not kidding,” Gilly said. “With them missing, it means more humans are in danger.”
“If more humans start dying at the hands of the Originals, you know what that means, right?” Vanessa said.
“Well, duh,” Taka said. “It means those humans will be dead.”
“Stop being an idiot,” Vanessa told her. She looked over at Arabella. “It means more cops at our door.”
“Why are police coming here?” Gavril asked. “How do they know about you and the Originals?”
“I suspect a leak,” Arabella said. “And I’m almost certain it’s one of the sorcerers.”
“I don’t understand,” Gavril said.
“I’ll explain later,” Gilly said. “We’ve got to stay on task with Viv. She’s got to be our main focus right now.”
“Oh, heck, that’s right about the cops,” Taka said suddenly. “What do we tell the cops when they come back here to talk to us? Do we not answer the door like before? Ignore them?”
