Page 59 of Killer of the Bells
“I thought I heard the words collateral damage. Do you think Vale is going to destroy the tower?”
“Just blow the horn, dammit,” Mavolyn ordered. “We can try again tomorrow night. I’m not sticking around for the aftermath if Vale ruins the tower over their bullshit.”
“Fine. I’m calling it,” Fawn said.
The sound of an airhorn split the air, signaling another end to another disastrous bell hunt.
I heard Pastor Jonathan shouting, “One more night! Just one more night of this tomfuckery and I swear I’ll bringthe wrath of God down on you all. So help me if I don’t, you motherless fucking piles of shit!”
Our time was up, so I said, “The bells are going to ring soon, Echo. Can I take you out of here?” I finally released my hold on Echo’s throat, but my heart kicked in protest. I hadn’t been ready to lose contact with proof of Echo’s life yet.
“Where do you want to go?” Echo asked warily.
“Somewhere the bells won’t distract me.” I could have fucked Echo in my lab. That would very likely have distracted me or caused his energy to render the effect null for me, but we weren’t there yet. “The forest. The Cody won’t let the magic bother us there.”
Trixie’s master didn’t care about the bells, and neither did his children, so he didn’t do anything to negate their effect on the fae in his territory. Likely because they’d flock to him to keep them safe, and since he was a notorious loner, he wouldn’t want that.
“I’d like to see The Cody again,” Echo said tentatively.
I snorted. If Echo wasn’t careful, The Cody would adopt him, and then she’d make me jump through hoops to win him for her own amusement.
I took Echo’s words as consent and carried him away from the tower, not stopping until we crossed over into The Cody’s territory.
I took a deep breath and released it slowly. Gods, this was going to be horrible. “I come seeking asylum from the bells so I can have a private conversation with someone.”
The woods cackled in response.
Great. The Cody wasn’t going to make it easy on me. I’d brought it on myself, really. I didn’t have to be mean to her every time we spoke. I just did it because it felt good.
Now I was going to pay.
“You didn’t ask my permission before, Vale. Why the change? Could it be you’ve grown fond of your food and want to impress him?” The Cody didn’t show herself, instead projecting her voice all around us—likely to be extra creepy.
“I’ve grown very fond of him,” I said through gritted teeth. Nothing less than complete honesty would get me what I wanted—enough time to talk properly with Echo without being harassed by The Cody. She was whimsical and a touch romantic. If I told her what I needed, there was a good chance she would give it to me, so I forced myself to continue. “I think I’m falling in love with him, and I need to talk to him about it somewhere safe. Somewhereprivate.”
Echo gasped. “L-love?”
“Do you have a problem with that?” I asked testily. “I’m allowed to have feelings, whether you want me to or not.”
“No, of course not. It’s just?—”
“Will you grant my request?” I interrupted Echo because I really needed to talk to him privately, and The Cody was listening to everything.
“I will grant your request, but you have to fuck in my woods at least one more time, and I get to watch.”
I choked, and it took a long time to be able to say, “That’s the opposite of private.”
It took so long, in fact, that it gave Echo plenty of time to say, “Deal.” Thus sealing the pact with The Cody before I had a chance to stop him.
“Echo, this means we have to have sex here at least once, even if this conversation doesn’t go well,” I informed him, suddenly feeling every single year of my nearly two centuries of life. Why was life so exhausting?
“Even if this conversation doesn’t go well, I will never turn down a chance to get my hands on you again,” Echo said with a grin.
My ears went hot, and I cleared my throat multiple times.
Echo’s grin took over his face, and he teased, “Mid-eighteen hundreds. That’s definitely when you were born. You’ve got some delightful Victorian-era social conditioning. I really hope this conversation goes well so I can learn all your triggers.”
“I would like nothing more,” I agreed, fighting the urge to hide my blushing ears. “Are you still there, bog witch?” I asked The Cody.
