Page 12 of From the Shadows
One thing Shay took note of was the fact that Jeremy kept looking around, bereft. It was obvious he loved Diego, despite how prickly the man was. That said a lot to Shay, because it meant that Diego treated Jeremy well. So he wasn’t a total asshole, and maybe Shay could find a way to get him to warm up.
At least he hoped so. He loved the house, and his room—more a suite—was immense, at least compared to his shitty apartment. As for the people? They’d been warm and welcoming, especially when they found out that he’d be taking over the cooking and cleaning. He wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of their paranormal abilities, even though he was dying to know, but Jeremy piped up, proud and loud, saying he was a snake shifter. When Shay asked what kind of snake, Jeremy’s face scrunched up.
“We… don’t shift into one kind of snake. We can become any snake we know about. It’s why Diego bought me all these books on snakes, and why he practices with me. He wants me to understand who I am, where I came from, and what I can become.”
So yeah, Diego was definitely not a total asshole.
As soon as they discovered his interest, the others started chiming in, and Shay’s eyes were opened to worlds he never knew existed. Martin was an elemental, who could command fire and, to a lesser extent, earth, water, and air and get them to do his bidding, though being on this plane for so long, he wasn’t as strong as he’d once been. He’d been trapped on Earth, bound to a crystal by a spell cast at the behest of his former master. When the man found out that Martin wasn’t a mindless beast, he apologized and set to finding a way to release Martin. The two became best friends, and the thought that Martin would have to serve someone else repelled his master, so near the end of his life, he told Martin the truth. A sacrifice was the only way to free him, and his master, already nearing his end, was prepared to pay the price. Martin protested, but it wasn’t enough to stop his master from spilling his blood on the crystal that bound Martin, thus releasing him. Still, this plane of reality had become his home, and he didn’t wish to leave.
Then there was Ranna. She intrigued Shay. Her sea green eyes and long red hair, cheekbones that could cut glass, coupled with a cherubic face seemed to belong to someone who should be living the high life, like a model or something. Instead, she got down and dirty with a group of bounty hunters, and according to everyone, she was the one who usually rushed into a fight. She eventually told Shay she was a wendigo. Shay had remembered reading about them in comics, but she assured him it wasn’t a curse from eating flesh. Actually, it was a familial trait, passed down from generation to generation. She was, in fact, an ovo-lacto vegetarian, despite having teeth that could rip flesh and rend bone.
And Borne. He was an enigma. Dark eyes, dark hair, and dark skin that seemed to absorb light. He almost seemed to be a living shadow. When the others encouraged him to tell Shay what he was, Borne ducked his head and whispered that he was a demon.
“C’mon, you’re pulling my leg!”
He gave a rueful laugh. “I wish. I was cast out of hell because I wouldn’t collect on the soul of a young woman who offered to trade it for her unborn baby’s life. Tests showed the child would be born with a degenerative disease and wouldn’t live out the year. She pleaded for his life, made the proper agreements, signed the papers, and the deal was struck. The contract said the baby would be born happy and healthy. The problem? She didn’t know Asmodeus, the big cheese of demon-kind, had intended on taking her soul and that of her baby after the child came into the world all bright and pink and happy and the contract was fulfilled.
“I never reneged on a contract. Not once. Then again, all the contracts I was given were for men and women who had no regard for others and were merely out to make themselves more powerful. But I looked into this woman’s eyes as she held her baby, and I saw so much love there. Demons don’t get the chance to experience tenderness like that.
“When I told her why’d I come, she put the baby down and informed me she was ready. This was where I was supposed to do it. Asmodeus wanted me to take the baby first, to fill the woman with guilt and regret, then take her and bring them both to him.”
He sighed, and leaned into Ranna’s hand when she gripped his shoulder.
“I couldn’t let that happen. I reached into her mind and put her into a deep sleep. Once that was done, I snuck into Asmodeus’s office and stole the contract. He caught me and said that if I gave it back and fulfilled the deal, he’d forgive me. Instead, I destroyed it. Doing that saved the life and soul of mother and child, but got me beaten savagely, then expelled from the only home I knew. I wandered earth for decades before I met Diego, who brought me to the group.”
And there were others, including a ghost that everyone said only materialized from time to time. He wasn’t exactly a member of the team, but it had been his house, so they didn’t bother him, and he generally left them alone, except for when he was feeling rambunctious.
Shay was beside himself with excitement. A world he’d always wanted to be a part of was now opening the curtains and letting him step inside. It was beyond amazing.
Then there was Diego….
“Does anyone know why Diego hates me?” he’d asked, really wanting to fit in at this job.
They exchanged awkward or uncomfortable looks, then turned to Shay. Ranna was the first one to speak. “He doesn’t hateyou, per se. He doesn’t seem to care for humans, though none of us know why. If a mission involves a human, he assigns it to us. He won’t leave the house until we get home, preferring instead to stay with Jeremy.”
So it wasn’t Shay he hated—it was all humans. Well, that made things ever so much better.
“He’d never actively harm you, Shay. He just… doesn’t care about people. I think he tolerates us at best, because we’re part of the team.”
Jeremy hung his head. “He never told me why, but he’s never said anything against humans to me.”
Which meant he kept his dislikes to himself. Though that didn’t make Shay feel better about the situation, it did tell him that he wasn’t foisting those beliefs on others. Again, it helped make Shay not as worried about Diego. He was sure, given time, he could win the man over.
When Shay took a tour of the house, he was stunned when he entered the huge kitchen that held high-end appliances from Shay’s list. Stuff he couldn’t even use, seeing as how he lived alone, but now that he was cooking for a group? Hell, yes! A thirty-six-inch Subzero Designer Over-and-Under Refrigerator and Freezer with internal water dispenser and an ice maker with the same glossy red finish as the kitchen walls, and an ILVE sixty-inch stove in midnight blue. He figured he could practically live in this kitchen.
Then he saw his new place. Easily three times the size of that, what was the word Ms. Connelly used? Oh, hovel.
The group helped Shay move his stuff in, and even ordered pizza to allow him time to get settled. He wasn’t sure what he wasexpecting, but it certainly wasn’t this place. It wasn’t a room—it was a grand suite, like those he’d see at hotels in high-end magazines. Fifteen hundred square feet, with every amenity Shay could think of, including a huge bathtub, a jacuzzi, a king sized bed, floor to ceiling windows, a bar—not that Shay was a drinker, especially considering he was going to be responsible for Jeremy. When Ms. Donnelly told him he only needed to bring clothes because everything else was provided for him, Shay assumed it meant he’d have some hand-me-down furniture. Nothing was further from the truth. He knew that she’d taken the images from his mind, but that was okay. Shay actually had the stuff he’d dreamed of.
When he’d laid eyes on the couch he’d always fantasized about—the Seatcraft Omega Sofa with the faux-leather gel, powered headrest, and power recline in jet black—he pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. This hadn’t even been on his list, due to it being insanely expensive, but he’d kept it tucked into the back of his head since he’d seen it at a store when he was younger. Probably the part that had hooked him was the lighted cup holder. He wasn’t sure why; he was simply fascinated with shiny things.
The bed was way bigger than Shay needed. His old one had been a single, and that was fine with him. This one? He guessed it was a king of some sort, and he might have squeaked when he laid down on it. The mattress wasn’t soft and squishy, nor was it hard as a rock. Instead, it was firm, but giving. Like being on a cloud.
He glanced over at the alarm clock, and groaned. It was already nearing midnight, and he had to get up in a few hours to make breakfast for everyone. His stomach flipped. He had people to take care of! It was his dream job.
He took a quick shower in the combo bath, then after he dried off, went and crawled into bed. He was exhausted, and sleep took him almost immediately, despite his excitement.
This would work out. It had to. Now that he’d cut ties with his old life, Shay had nowhere else to go.
