Chapter 7.25

Written after extensive revision to the main story, Kristoff gets a phone call asking for his help with a revealing portrait.

Kristoff walked down the streets of the old downtown, wondering aimlessly in the city. He normally liked it quite well. The people were mostly friendly, it was close to hundreds of forms of entertainment, and it held one face that he could stare at for hours. He had been quite content here ever since Bane had relocated him away from Devlyn.

They had grown too close, and Bane had felt threatened by that kinship, fearing that he would turn Devlyn’s head. He had been pissed at the time, but a hundred years’ reflection let him appreciate that Bane had given him warning, rather than let the worst happen, and then behead him for it.

He had visited with his old friend recently, with that whole clan that had once roamed the world together, and all it had done was made him reminiscent. It reminded him of his life before, before he had been all but exiled, before two crazy goddesses had shown him how extraordinary and charmed life could be, before he had been turned into something wickedly evil. He wouldn’t trade his girls, or any of the experiences he had shared with them, but he longed for a life less lonely, one in which he wasn’t just some anonymous donor to museums or a shadow to be walked passed on the sidewalk.

The cell phone vibrated in the pocket of his leather jacket. He quickly pulled it out, pressed the green button, and put it to his ear before even looking at the caller ID. If someone knew his number, then it was an important enough call, or at least individual, for him to take it. “This is Kris.”

“Oh thank the gods. Kris, it’s Devlyn.”

He smiled to himself. Devlynaria, Cynthonian earth goddess was one of his favorite people, and not just because her father was leader of the demons, a category he loosely fell into as a vampire. Vampires were demons, their souls so dark they no longer resembled humanity. However, he knew he was different from his vampire brethren. He had never admitted the knowledge to Devlyn or anyone else, but he was well aware that his soul was no longer intact. He was not technically a vampire. Another kind of demon he definitely was, which was why he adored Devlyn. Her father was ruler of the Unsouled demons.

The vampire queen had always been after his devoted allegiance, and he had never given it willingly.  Oh the hell that would come the day Lilith figured out he wasn’t a part of her class. Which at least partially explained why he had been avoiding her ever since the day he discovered why he was so very different from the other vampires he knew. With a corrupt soul, those demons grew darker, more evil every day, while he had never truly adapted.

“Devlyn, how is it going, sweet?”

“Well, honestly, it’s been in quite the upheaval lately. And I need your help with a part of it.”

The dark man smiled into his phone. When a god told you they needed your help, it was always guaranteed to be an interesting favor, and considering how monotonous his life had grown as of late, Kris welcomed the distraction. “Anything you wish, Devlyn. You need only to ask.”

He turned the corner and strolled down to the subway station. He liked this old town; it was full of so much history, and he quite enjoyed being reminded about a world that was hundreds of years in the past.

“Katerina and I are in New Orleans, and at a party recently, we came across some of your work, Famiglia di Tre, to be precise.”

“Oh bloody hell,” Kris swore as he boarded the train. He had painted that quite a number of years ago, shortly after he had been turned demon against his will by a horny and bloodthirsty vampire. “Have you taken it back?”

“Not yet. Too many people know about it for me to just steal it, erase a few memories, and be done with it. The paper trail on this is too difficult for that. Do you have another painting of yours that we could replace it with?”

It showed Devlyn’s strong heart that it didn’t occur to her to just steal it, kill those involved, and be done with it. He knew plenty of immortals who would have no such qualms about being done with whomever and whatever stood in their way. Her relatives were counted in that, including her betrothed. “I have some things in storage that should work just fine, some stuff that I had authenticated years ago but are now quite forgotten. I have some things to wrap up here, though. I can see you tonight.”

“You are an angel, Kris.”

He let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Not quite, Dev.” Kris put the cell phone back in his pocket. Well hell, it looked like he was going to get to make another mad trip to New Orleans. He had been there earlier in the month, when he heard his friend Nykosas had come into town. Bane and Merrick had been the best friends anyone could ask for, so when they visited, Kris tried to make it a point to be there. It also didn’t hurt that such times were guaranteed to be amazingly entertaining and highly likely to end in trouble of the best kind.

 

“That was a fantabulous visit with Kris, I think,” Devlyn said lightly as the ladies strolled down the sidewalk, the Mississippi River on one side of them, the pleasant view of the St. Louis Cathedral on the other. They could sit out here for hours, parked on a bench, and just people-watch, sitting fascinated as people young and old strolled by with various looks upon their ever-changing faces.

Katerina gave Devlyn a pointed look. “I don’t call having to covertly sneak into an old woman’s house to steal one painting and replace it with another, one that has nothing to do with the two of us, a great night.”

Devlyn shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of the exceedingly strong coffee she had just purchased from the Café du Monde a couple of hundred feet to their right, and then she took a massive bite of beignet. It was fortunate she was a charmed girl, otherwise the fluffy white powder would have been all over her dress. “Maybe not, but it was good to see him again, since he moved all the way out to Boston.”

Katerina shook her head. It had been nice to see the demon again, she couldn’t argue with Devlyn on that, and it had all been very reminiscent of their former times together. Instead she leaned in to whisper in her friend’s ear. “I think we’re overdressed for this little excursion, my dear.”

Devlyn looked down at her short, black Chanel halter dress and matching wool-hemp cape, all the way down to her black Moschino satin shoes. “Nah,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “There is nothing wrong with everyday couture. “Besides, you look ideal for when we will have to meet with that nonprofit later today.”

Katerina smiled. Devlyn was having the best time helping all the charities she liked figure out how best to organize and solicit to get the money they needed, and how best to run those programs as well. Well, she supposed, if she was going to have to meet with people who expected her to act like a business woman, there was no better outfit. Her Jimmy Choo red patent leather Kindle heels complimented her navy Ohne Titel light-weight wool single-breasted jacket with the side button and her skinny dress pantsuit.

“You know, hon, we might want to keep out of Saks for awhile.”

Devlyn’s eyes rounded. “Why would we want to do that?”

Katerina chuckled at the appalled look on the younger woman’s face. “Because if you keep looking that delectable, your Bane will never go away.”

The look immediately turned sour. “He doesn’t want me for my body, Katerina. That I could handle. He just wants me for my title. That’s unacceptable.”

Suddenly Devlyn turned to Katerina with a brilliant smile. “Did I forget to tell you that Mariad’s grandchild was born?”

“That’s right, Inara was pregnant last time we saw her.”

 “Yes, a boy, quite magical too. He’s half demigod. Apparently, one night while we were too busy to do an accurate inventory on the mythologicals in the club, one of my mother’s creatures�"”

“Oh, cut the bullshit. Call him by what he is�"an angel,” Katerina cut in.

Devlyn rolled her eyes. “Anyway, he had come by and met Mariad’s daughter, Inara. This baby happens to be the result of their union. Inara is a witch also, like her mother, so this son should be quite powerful. So you can imagine all of our excitement for this child.”

A flicker of a thought went through Katerina’s head, almost like the sensation of déjà vou. It was fleeting, but chilling. Nothing she could see clearly, but the feelings left by it were there, giving her gooseflesh. She shook her head in effort to clear her mind of the strange thoughts.

“I take it this is the reason Mariad’s presence has been so sporadic lately?”

Devlyn nodded. They hadn’t need of Mariad lately, so Devlyn saw no problems in releasing her for the duration so she could enjoy her new grandchild. “Yeah, and this isn’t the old days,” she said before taking another bite of tasty fried pastry. “It’s not like I’m that young with my powers anymore, you aren’t nearly as volatile, I don’t think you’re going to literally bite my head off if I don’t feed you,” she teased. “We don’t need someone with that kind of magic, at least not constantly. And this is New Orleans. If need be, I’m sure I can scrounge up an entire coven.”

“Was it just me or did Kris seem different last night?”

Devlyn nodded and chewed. “Yeah, lonely, I’d say. He never made a great loner.”

“I think he needs a heart to love,” the muse said wonderingly.

Devlyn gave her a sideways glare. “You can’t even begin to mess with that, Katia.”

It was Katerina’s turn to wave a dismissive hand. “Please. I wouldn’t subject a mortal to vampire politics, and I don’t even know where I would have to begin with the immortal world. Finding love for a vampire is too big a task, even for a muse as fantastic as me.”

“Good. The last thing we need is to open that can of worms.”

Author's Note

Let me know how the progression is piecing together. Are the chapter transitions too abrupt?