Perpetual Prey Read online

  “I will be here.” He gave her a light squeeze. “I will not leave you until you banish me.”

  “Stay with me. Hold me. It is a stupid request but one that I am really feeling right now.”

  He let out a low rumble. “I would be happy to watch over you. I will just update the group, and then, I will return to stay with you.”

  “Good.” She paused as he settled her on the covers. “Thank you.”

  She lay back and carefully removed her sunglasses. Apparently, she was home now. Her eyes were nearly recovered. In the dim light, she could see the room, portraits on the walls, and the low light coming from under what had to be the bathroom.

  Al left, and she could see the outline of wings.

  When the door closed, she pushed herself upright on shaking arms and dangled her legs over the edge of the bed. It took a lot of effort to get herself onto her feet, and the slow steps were painful. It took fifteen seconds to reach the bathroom, and when she was inside the space, she whispered, “Half-level lighting.”

  The light went from pale grey to a soft white. She ignored the levels, she was focusing on her own reflection.

  Elsinor shuffled to the counter and hung on, staring at herself in the mirror, trying to figure out if she recognized the face looking back at her.

  The hair was a riot of black locks. She looked like she had been dragged through a field, feet first and face down.

  Her eyes were dark pools surrounded by bruising. Her skin was chalky, and her lips were grey. Bleah. She looked like hell had stepped on her.

  Her skin itched, and she looked over at the shower with the safety bars in place. A shower would be good.

  Elsinor pulled up the bottom of the dress and sat on the closed toilet seat. The cool press of the seat helped keep her alert as she fought the dress up and over her head while her feet kicked each other until the shoes fell off.

  The shower came on and warmed to a comfortable temperature when she stepped into it. She gripped the handholds and closed her eyes as she aimed her face at the shower head.

  She heard someone enter the bathroom, and the low rumble made her smile. She ducked her head and spoke. “If you are going to be disapproving, come here and help me wash my hair so I can get back to bed. I hate being dirty.”

  Al’s voice murmured. “I know. It is usually your greatest pet peeve. I just wasn’t sure it would carry over.”

  He didn’t hesitate. She heard him apply shampoo to his hands, and then, he gently massaged her scalp.

  When he had loosened all her locks, he helped her ease under the spray again. The process was repeated for the conditioner, and when her hair was sorted, he gently washed the rest of her while she supported herself. It felt so blissfully normal as if it had happened many times before.

  When she was clean and shaking, Al wrapped her in towels and eased her out of the shower enclosure. “You should have slept first.”

  “My hair was gross, and I wanted to see my face.”

  He paused. “Right. I always forget about that part of it.”

  Then he added, “You can see?”

  “I can see. It is fairly clear.”

  He chuckled. “What do you think of yourself?”

  “I wish I knew where I got the nose.”

  He laughed and patted her dry with efficiency. When he was done with her body, he towelled her hair dry. His combing was calm and deliberate while she sat swathed in the fluffy fabric on the lid of the toilet once again.

  “So, do you do this a lot?”

  He paused while separating her hair into chunks that yielded to the brush. “Yes, but not in these circumstances.”

  She blinked as her vision focused on his very wet trousers a few inches from her face. “What circumstances?”

  “After we join, you like to shower together, and occasionally, you enjoy a joining under the water.”

  Elsinor glanced at the handholds in the shower, and a blush stained her cheeks. “Ah. That explains... nevermind.”

  He chuckled. “We have just met, but you did ask.”

  Al continued her grooming until she slumped against him. “And that is enough of that. Back to bed for you.”

  He picked her up and carried her to the bed, pulling the bedding back before tucking her in. He straightened her hair out on the pillow behind her. “There. That should help it dry.”

  “Thank you.”

  He nodded and moved around to the other side of the bed. Elsinor heard the rustle of clothing and the wet smack of the trousers against the floor.

  She had told him that he could resume his normal sleeping arrangements, but the reality of the hot body sliding up against her and wrapping its arms around her was a new experience. She mentally slapped herself. Everything was a new experience. Tonight was just the first of many nights in Al’s arms, she was sure of it.

  Chapter Three

  A hand shook her awake. “El, El, it is time to wake up. We made bacon.”

  Elsinor was laughing as she opened her eyes. Jeri was crouching in front of her and smiling.

  Blinking rapidly, Elsinor focused on her friend. “You are... I know this.”

  Jeri laughed. “Do you want to guess, or shall I tell you?”

  “I... the word unseen keeps ringing in my mind. The markings around your eyes are unmistakable.”

  “Very good. I will give you a few days to figure out the other half.” Jeri winked. “Now, in light of your delicate constitution, I have a maxi dress waiting. You should be back in your regular wardrobe by the end of the week.”

  Elsinor sat up, holding the sheets against her chest. “Where is Al?”

  “He’s gathering the crew to start your re-education.” Jeri got up and wandered to a chair where a limp length of fabric was dangling.

  “The crew? Is this a group event?”

  “Hell yes. You said it was time to get ready two weeks ago before you disappeared, and we are carrying it through now. Hands up.”

  Elsinor extended her arms, and the dress dropped over her head. It wasn’t until she got to her feet to pull the dress into place that she realized how tall Jeri was. “Dryad?”

  “Wow, you are quick this time around. Do you remember anything?”

  Elsinor reached to the back of her neck and felt the small knot in her hair. It seemed that even Al’s attention hadn’t managed to get it out.

  “I think I may have had help this time around.” She smiled slightly and looked down at the long tube of fabric. “Why do I get the feeling that I am used to running around without underwear?”

  Jeri brought a set of leather slippers to her. “You have excellent instincts. You considered underwear to be a special-event torture that no one needed to bother with day to day.”

  Elsinor smiled. “That is what it feels like. I feel remarkably comfortable.”

  Jeri knelt and got Elsinor’s bare feet into the slippers. “That was always your goal. Even the most wrapped and tucked outfit that you wore was completely comfortable.”

  Elsinor blinked. “That description feels right. So, where are we going?”

  “The common room.” Jeri walked ahead of her and opened the door.

  “Do I have a lock?”

  “You don’t need them. You might not have seen it, but eight guards were watching you from the moment that you entered the building.”

  “Oh. Lovely. Do I smell bacon?”

  Jeri chucked as they entered the outer hall. “Yes, but you are on modified food until things normalize for you.”

  “Ah. Yes. That.” Elsinor wrinkled her nose. “I am guessing that one has bitten me in the ass before.”

  “Literally. The last time, you screamed for two days.”

  The halls were well lit and wide. There was no place to hide in the space.

  “This place was designed for defense.”

  Jeri chuckled. “It definitely was. You bought the building thirty years ago, and Al has been filling
the lower levels in ever since. He brought in a few trusted contractors and told them that it was for the secret headquarters of a fortune-five hundred company.”

  “A secret bunker?”

  “It got the contractors in, and then, I made sure that they forgot all about it.”

  They entered the large space that was the source of the wonderful smells. “Communal breakfasts?”

  “For all of us, no matter our requirements.”

  “So, your vampirism is an issue?”

  Jeri turned and glanced at her. “Not as much as it used to be. Your blood is a bit of a miracle cure as long as the person you are giving it to is someone you care about.”

  “Wow, nice to know.” She smiled.

  “I am a dhampir, by the way. I am a mix of the Unseen, a mage, and a vampire bite that spurred an early delivery. I came into the world too soon, and you caught me.”

  “That was nice of me.” Elsinor chuckled.

  Al was sitting with a cup of coffee in his hand on a specially made chair. “El, you have a knack for being in the right place at the right time.”

  Elsinor smiled at him. “Do I?”

  Another woman was working at the buffet, and she set a bowl full of oatmeal and fruit down next to Al.

  Jeri waved her in. “Take your seat, and the show is going to commence.”

  Elsinor took the boardroom seat next to Al, and she took the bowl of oatmeal and pulled it toward her. The others were watching her, but she focused on the dimming lights and the screen emerging from the long boardroom table.

  “This is going to be me?”

  “This is the public declaration from you.” Al sipped at his coffee.

  The screen lit up, and a startlingly familiar face appeared on the display. The face stared at her, and she looked into a dark brown version of her own gaze.

  “Well, Elsinor, I am happy to say that if you are seeing this, you are in good hands.” The woman smiled and then sobered. “I apologize for the pain you went through, but that is what this gathering is all about. They are here for you. If they can help you, they will be free of any obligation to me, magical or otherwise.”

  “If you haven’t seen yourself in the mirror, this is what you look like. The eyes are probably different, but they always are.” She smiled slightly. “If you are seeing this, I am gone or mostly gone. I have tried something new, and only you can tell how much you remember.”

  Elsinor looked at herself and snorted.

  “I know, strange and confusing, but I left this message for you and for those that are surrounding you. My friends. My family.”

  She straightened and flipped her hair over one shoulder, “I am going to start with my daughter in the grand scheme of things. Jeri, I was there when your mother breathed her last and you breathed your first. The years of seeking a cure for you were tiring, and the cure itself was so simple that we smacked ourselves when we figured it out, but you grew into as normal a woman as you could be and a wonderful daughter. Thank you for being you.”

  Jeri smiled and brushed a tear from her eye. “Thanks, Aunty.”

  “I will need your help, but you have your own life to live. Neither the current me, nor the me sitting next to you will blame you for leaving if that is your choice. What is about to happen is more dangerous than anything I have asked of you before. That goes for all of you. You don’t owe me anything. You can go now if you like. No one will think less of you, and if you can’t give one hundred percent to this, it will fail.”

  Jeri smiled even though the Aunty she was talking to was gone. “I am with you.”

  Elsinor in the image nodded. “Right. The others who are here with you have not only volunteered, they are being paid to train you for what happens next. It will not be a pleasant training, but it will help make you a better survivor. I have been caught out century after century, even buried a dozen times. Clawing my way out of my own grave was never a desirable event. Several times I went mad.”

  She cleared her throat. “Right. Now, in no particular order, we have Corwin, your personal trainer; Keelad, your weapons instructor; Dalfurth, your track and evasion instructor; Levin, your magical consultant; Brenwyn, your extranatural liaison; Richard, your bodyguard; and last but not least, Amber, your magical defense specialist. I know you have met Algethan by now.” There was a blush on her cheeks.

  “Right, well, I have a few more notes for you, but you will have to reach milestones as decided by your instructors and guards. Consider the bits of information you will win as encouragement to find our attacker quickly. Only you can finish this.”

  Elsinor smiled at her reflected self and said along with her, “And only you can prevent forest fires.”

  The screen went dark, and the lights came up.

  Al looked at her sharply. “How did you know she would say that?”

  El gave him a bland look. “It is me, after all, just a different version. I have all of my social references but no personal information.”

  Amber, the mage, turned to her. “Do you think it’s a spell?”

  El thought about it. “I am pretty sure. The information taken is specific to making me disoriented. If I have to start from scratch as an adult in every area I am dropped in, it is easy enough to find me in another fifty years. I would be the subject of discussion and family myth over time.”

  Amber nodded, and the others looked surprised. Even Brenwyn smiled slightly, her porcelain skin and pale blue hair marked her as a high-born elf. What she was doing here was anyone’s guess. The pixie, Richard, had dark green hair and sleepy pine-green eyes. He looked bright, alert, and fascinated.

  El had to know. “Who was here on my last day of waking?”

  Al and Jeri put their hands up, and Corwin moved his grey arm upward. If El had to guess, Corwin was the product of a troll and an elf. It was a surprisingly handsome union, but he did look a bit like a wingless gargoyle.

  “Oh, okay. Well, I wake up as me but without knowing who I am. I still have all my knowledge of computers, spinning, painting, sculpting, and cooking as well as a thousand other skills I have picked up in my life.” El smiled. “Now, I am going to finish my mush and hope I don’t cramp up.”

  The chuckle that ran through the room was a relief. The tension had been getting so intense that El was worried about how her old self’s friends and associates would receive her. She rubbed at the back of her neck and found that small knot. She was going to have to ask Jeri to cut it out or something.

  The fruit and oatmeal were gone in minutes, and then, Corwin walked up to her, intimidating at seven feet tall. “We will begin your physical conditioning tomorrow or after your digestion is on track. I am glad to see you again, Elsinor.”

  She nodded and smiled, wishing for a cup of coffee. Jeri brought her some juice instead. Her face must have spoken volumes.

  “Tomorrow, after your workout is soon enough for coffee. Now, would you like to see your own notes to yourself?”

  Al stood and held her chair out for her. “I will take her.”

  Jeri blinked. “You will?”

  “I promised her then, I will do it now.”

  Elsinor got to her feet and walked with him back to her room. “So, none of the doors have locks?”

  “No. It was discouraged. You don’t like feeling trapped. If anyone wanted to kill you, they could simply walk in, and we would notice that.”

  She rubbed her nose. “Why do I think that it isn’t likely? I mean that someone random could kill me. I have lost my eyes, my memories, and all my internal organs, and I grew everything back except for the memories.”

  Al blinked. “I always think of you as needing protection because of the cycle. I never thought of how you got by before I came into your life.”

  “I am sure that you made my life immeasurably better. How did I meet you, anyway?”

  He grinned. “It is a story for another day. It is full of ancient traditions and a generous soul.”
/>   She nodded. “It sounds like a good story.”

  “It was. I am happy to say, we are still living it.”

  He opened the door to her apartment and ushered her inside. It was time to have a heart-to-heart with herself.

  Chapter Four

  Al set her up with her computer and left the room. She looked at the first of three files and clicked.

  “Hello, Elsinor. This might be very strange to you, but if my experiment worked, it might not. At the back of your neck is a small charm with a locating signal, but next to it is a small soul stone. It is the kind that mages use, so it might not catch everything, but you should be able to get a death keeper in to examine the stone. None of the mages with us specialize in spectres, so it isn’t any good.”

  Computer El took a deep breath. “Now, once you have the stone out, don’t tell anyone but the death keeper. He or she will be able to help you activate the spectre when you need it, and if they are more advanced, they might be able to get the information out of the stone and into your brain. I couldn’t trust anyone before the cycle restarted, so I hope that you pick a good consultant.”

  There was another sigh. “I tried to learn everything I could about where I go and what happens when I appear. The cycle of fifty years implies to me that whatever is taking my organs is using them for something that wears out after five decades. I have found every mention of me in history, no matter how fleeting, and included it in one of the files on this computer. There is also a file of the basic magic spells that you need to know. Levin can help you, but our magic isn’t like his magic, so things tend to go a little off.

  “Now, as to the magic, we aren’t strictly magical, though we appear to be immortal. By we, I mean you and me, because this part is always odd, but this is the first time I have been able to talk to myself properly.”

  Elsinor chuckled at the wry expression of herself in the computer.

  “I wish I knew what colour your eyes were this time around. It is the only part of us that really changes. No matter the time, we always look the same. Fortunately, we look like we are adults, so that has never been a problem. Your identification has been provided identifying you as a fey descendant. It helps obfuscate the lack of aging.”