A Shade of Vampire 43: A House of Mysteries(6)

“Can you actually explain this?” Phoenix asked me, gesturing to the food and the coffee.

“I can sort of explain it,” I replied. “The Druid hinted it was some beings called the ‘Daughters of Eritopia’ who put the house on a sort of magical loop.” I furrowed my brow, trying to recall if he’d said anything else—the concept of the ‘loop’ didn’t really make much sense to me. If the food was fresh every time we ate, why wasn’t the house in better condition? Why was it so aged and crumbling?

“So we’re going to be eating this every morning?” Jovi asked. “The same thing—every day?”

I nodded slowly, knowing how much food meant to Jovi. His werewolf genes meant that he needed to eat a lot, and frequently. It was the same with Aida. This diet was going to be difficult to maintain for them both…I was just glad for once that they weren’t full werewolf. There would be no way they’d have enough energy for the change on this amount of food.

“Wow,” he breathed. “Just for the record—really not liking this place.”

“Did he say anything more about the Daughters?” Field asked, turning to me.

“Nothing more than we’ve already heard,” I replied.

Field nodded, but my brother looked at me with a strange expression.

“You haven’t been spending time with him, have you?” he asked, brow furrowing.

“No!” My reply was a little louder than intended. I put my cup down, and replied in a calmer manner, “No, I haven’t. It was just during the time when you were out of it, and I was trying to find out as much information as I could. It’s not like I’ve been deliberately seeking out his company.”

Though my answer was perfectly honest, I could feel heat rising in my cheeks. Especially as Jovi had turned to stare at me, sharing the same quizzical expression as my brother. This was getting awkward.

“We should speak to him more about the Daughters though,” I continued, turning back to Field, who was the only one who didn’t seem suspicious of the information I’d managed to gather so far—which, in truth, wasn’t a lot. I couldn’t understand why Phoenix was making a big deal of it—surely it was better to know this stuff, by whatever means necessary? Plus, Jovi and Field had encouraged me to find out information from the Druid—I was only doing what had been asked of me, for the benefit of us all.

“I agree. They obviously have a lot of power—they must, to accomplish something like this. As the guardians of Eritopia, they might have a way that we can get home, and perhaps reverse the effect of the mists…” Field trailed off, deep in thought.

“Do you think there will be a way we can contact them?” I asked eagerly.

“I have no idea. Which is why we will need to speak to the Druid.”

“Or Bijarki,” added Jovi. “He seems a bit more willing to talk to us than the Druid does.”

It was true. The incubus, whatever reservations I had about him, did seem more open than the Druid had been so far. We would probably need to get him alone though—from the conversation we’d overheard the two of them having yesterday, it was clear that the Druid was the one in charge, the one masterminding whatever plan they were trying to set in motion. It would also help to know more about his kind—and, more importantly, why they had defected to Azazel’s rule.

I reminded myself that I needed to have a word with Vita about the incubus. After the Druid’s warning to him to stay away from the ‘females’, I had promised myself that I would warn her. It wasn’t that I felt she was easy prey for him—I had just noticed that his charm tended to be directed toward her, and his gaze, whenever it lighted on her, intensified just enough to be noticeable. The conversation would need to be held in private though—she’d get embarrassed if I brought it up in front of the others.

“Morning.” Aida greeted us with a sleepy smile as she and Vita entered the room. I made myself busy pouring them coffee, wondering when the Druid would also make an appearance.

Both Aida and Vita were still wearing their pajamas, and I made a mental note that clothing was another subject to discuss with the Druid. The boys were all still in their formal wear from the night of Sherus and Nuriya’s party, their shirts now looking a lot worse for wear, and their pants filthy and ripped. We certainly looked like an odd bunch.

“How are you feeling?” I asked Vita after she’d taken a sip of coffee, and began nibbling at the oat pancakes.

“Better. Needed the sleep,” she replied with a smile. Privately I felt she needed a lot more of it—there were purple shadows under her eyes, and she looked just as pale as she had been last night.