Page 9 of The Curse of Eternity
“Watch where you’re going next time,” Andrew muttered, without looking at me, and bypassed me into the hall. I rolled my throbbing eyes when his bedroom door slammed shut.
Sweat beaded Aunt Susan’s brow beneath her dirty blonde hair, tied back in a knot. Beside her, Ethan’s begrudging frown was second-rate compared to Andrew’s permanent sneer, but the brotherly resemblance was there. My younger cousin’s hair, almost identical in color to his mother’s, shifted across the rim of his prescription glasses.
“You know, people who wear glasses should be exempt from doing dishes. They keep fogging up,” Ethan complained, taking a dish in rubber-gloved hands before ruthlessly scrubbing it. The pinkish pallor he’d inherited from his mother flushed red with a huff. “In fact, it should be considered child abuse to force me into this.”
“You’re part of this family, and you’ve got no job otherwise, so you’re helping out,” Aunt Susan chided. Ethan’s retort died in his throat, miserably shaking his head. Attempting to get in and out for my caffeine fixwithoutalerting the media, I tip-toed around the kitchen island. Then the back door opened.
“Oh, good! You’re up. I was going to come check on you,” Olivia said, her smile brimming, which immediately garnered Aunt Susan’s attention.
“Oh, dear, how are you feeling?” she asked me, her thin eyebrows pulling together in concern over her dark blue eyes. Ethan spared me a glance, and then went back to his chore.
“I’m fine,” I assured, stifling a wince when I reached up to grab a mug. “Just a little sore.”
“Yes, I expect so.” Aunt Susan nodded, returning to her cooking but clearly discomfited. “If you ask me, you’re all too young for this ‘hunting’ business.”
“So dramatic, Sue,” Uncle Alaric called out from the backyard, a moment before he entered the kitchen behind his daughter. Olivia moved aside to make room while her father went to the sink, probably to wash varnish off of his beefy hands.
Ethan took the opportunity to vacate the space, several dishes left unwashed, since Uncle Alaric was as broad as a bodybuilder and just as muscled. My uncle wasn’t as tall as his older brother, Johann, but their similarities were obvious despite their polar opposite demeanors. Affable emotion twinkled in my uncle’s blue-gray eyes as he winked at me, and his bushy mustache twitched.
“Heard everything that happened. Sounds like you had a hell of a night.”
“Something like that,” I replied, my gut twisting. To avoid telling another lie, I brought my cup of black coffee to my lips and drank deeply. Blissful caffeine zinged through me, courtesy of Johann’s specialty beans imported from who-knew-where. Aunt Susan gave Uncle Alaric a gentle smack with the kitchen towel.
“A ‘heck of a night’ is one way to look at it.” Aunt Susan never swore, or took the Lord’s name in vain. Maybe being a lifelong Catholic had also made it easier for her to accept our family’s legacy—or she was just a tough lady to begin with. Except she melted like butter when Uncle Alaric turned to her, and planted a kiss on her rosy cheek.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Olivia whispered, momentarily distracted by Ethan silently heading out the back door, his pack of Marlboros and lighter in hand. Frowning, her stare quickly returned to boring into my skull like she could decipher my well-being through sheer willpower.
“I’m fine,” I ground out, quiet under the murmurs of Aunt Susan and Uncle Alaric’s open flirting. “I wish you’d stop asking me. You all fought vamps last night, too, and I’m not hounding y’all with a thermometer and stethoscope.”
“That’s different,” Olivia said, imploring, like I was being unreasonable. “The rest of us had each other’s backs. You werealone. It must have been awful.” Her honest concern cracked my irritation, pushing the unease and guilt back to the forefront. Had that been how she’d felt—alone—abandoned? I swallowed down the rest of my coffee, eager for a change in topic.
“Where’s my dad?” I glanced from the adjacent dining room to the alcove beside the refrigerator, which hosted our washer and dryer.
“He’s still in the shed out back, I think, working on the latest commission,” Olivia said, but by the look in her wide eyes, she wasn’t done with our conversation. “I was thinking, if you wanted to go back together to look for your keychain—” Her offer was cut short by the ringing coming from my pocket.
Grateful for the distraction, I fished out my phone and checked the Caller ID. Sweet mercy was being delivered. Forcing a smile, I sidestepped Olivia to head back into the hall.
“It’s Everly, I should take this,” I said, and Olivia nodded. On my way out, I caught her frowning down at the floor. Heart heavy and sinking, I answered the phone with a sigh. “Hi, Eve.”
“Hey, Maria. What’s going on?” Everly’s bubbly high voice brightened my mood, even if she did sound concerned.
“Well, lots, actually.” I couldn’t tell my family the truth, but Everly… She was the one person outside of my family, and the Tsosies, who was in-the-know.
Everly giggled. “I had a feeling. That’s why I called.”
“You’re an angel,” I assured. “Mind if I stop by to vent?”
“I’m at the shop right now, getting things set up for business,” Everly answered, obviously giddy about her new venture as aself-employed entrepreneur. “But I could always use the extra hand.”
“Great. Thank you,” I stammered, my heart racing at the relief of being able to come clean tosomeone. Hopefully in doing so, I’d figure out the next step in hunting down my secret vampire. I cringed at the thought—he wasn’tmyvampire—and added, “I’ll see you soon.”
− 4 −
Nice Fucking Disguise
The door to my silver ford taurus sho thunked closed, parked in the lot off of Carlisle Boulevard. Glancing past the barbershop next door, I smirked at my best friend’s business front. Cheap white print across the glass door read ‘Professional Psychic, Everly Nice’ in bold font. I knew the stenciled letters were inexpensive because I helped stick them to said door last week.
It was nice having my best friend from high school back, since she’d been staying with her parents on some Army base up in Alaska for the last few years. After saving up from doing odd jobs, she managed to find a place to live and work in Albuquerque at the start of the year. Smiling, I pushed open the door and called out, “Eve? I’m here.”
