Trees in the Desert (Afterlife Book 8) Read online

  "I'm sorry for your loss," Sarah said.

  She studied the picture for a moment before handing it back. Joseph replaced it on the mantle and took down a second picture. He handed it to her.

  "This is Sophia. She was my second wife. She was in town collecting supplies and a robber shot her. The only thing I can be grateful for is that her death was instantaneous. She suffered no pain."

  Sarah stared at him. She could imagine losing one wife, but two? Joseph wasn't done yet, though. He took down a third picture.

  "My third wife, Alison. Someone brought a disease back to the forest. None of us had any immunity to it. We lost a third of our people to it -- she was one of them. Her death was the worst of these three. It took her weeks to die, and I had to watch her waste away."

  Sarah frowned. She traced the face of the woman in the picture. "You lost three wives?"

  "Yes," Joseph said. He took down a fourth picture. "And this is my current wife. Marissa."

  "Your wife is Marissa?"

  "Yes," he said. "You look surprised."

  "I just thought she'd be with someone more her age," Sarah said slowly. She thought of the elderly wood nymph and of the younger man before her.

  Joseph laughed as he replaced all the pictures on the mantle. "The fey do not base their relationships on age. We live a long time, and we have no need to find someone within years of ourselves. Marissa and I will have a long life together despite our age difference."

  "I see," Sarah said. She wondered why Chloe had never mentioned that the fey lived longer than usual. She supposed she could have researched it herself, but she'd never bothered. She felt her face heat. "Well, she's beautiful too. They all are."

  "So you see, you live and you lose, but it doesn't mean you give up, Sarah," Joseph said. "You'll find love. I promise you that. In fact, I can see it."

  "You can see it?"

  "I specialize in love," Joseph said. "I'm a love fairy. I sense that you will find someone that will make your heart sing. Someone that you least expect."

  "I don't know," Sarah said.

  "I do," he told her. "Now, I want you to go out and find your friends. I don't want you to run. I want you to walk."

  "Why?"

  "Because you exercise to escape," he said. "There's nothing to escape from, Sarah. You'll find what you need someday, but until then you need to be patient. Go on now, finish your tea, then go find your friends. You have work to do."

  SIX

  Brittney and Harper walked around, trying to find anything that seemed out of the ordinary. They were both new to the world of the fey though, and neither were quite sure how they were supposed to spot something that didn't belong.

  "This is ridiculous," Brittney said.

  She was growing hungry and frustrated. She was also annoyed at Sarah for ditching them. Yes, the other woman was hurting, but it would have been nice for her to set her grief aside until they left. She was also aggravated with Chloe. They were supposed to be a couple, but Chloe had ditched her almost immediately upon entering.

  If anyone could have noticed something that was amiss, it would have been Chloe. Her help would have been invaluable. She knew it was hard for Chloe to be back, but she would have liked to share that with her.

  "I know, this is nuts," Harper said. "But since there's nothing we can really do, we might as well enjoy the view of the fey city. Not many humans get to come here."

  "That's true," Brittney said, livening up a little. "Let the others look for abnormalities. Let's just enjoy our time here. It's really beautiful, isn't it? Makes you wonder why Chloe never came back."

  Of course, she knew why Chloe had never come back. After the death of her parents and her mission to kill vampires, she'd never felt accepted among the fey. She'd stolen, lied, and killed. Those went against the basic premise of the fey way of life. They only killed demons when they absolutely had to; like when they threatened to expose their sacred forests.

  So for the next few hours, Brittney and Harper went around, exploring the forested home. They visited small shops where the owners were polite and friendly. They loaded them down with trinkets to take back to Las Vegas with them.

  They also stopped and ate at a small cafe. The thing about the fey was, they didn't charge for anything. The meal was free, and it was delicious. The owner served them himself, and Brittney wasn't sure she'd ever tasted anything as good as the vegetable lasagna she ate. Apparently, most of the fey were vegetarians. Chloe was an exception to the rule.

  The more they learned about the fey, the more Brittney realized how little her girlfriend shared with them. She wondered if it would have been different if her parents had lived. Would she have stayed then? Would she have grown up here, learning to cook and sing, and carve trinkets out of wood?

  After they'd eaten and began walking around again, sniffing the flowers on occasion, Brittney pointed out a tall man with red hair. "Look, another one. Let's go introduce ourselves. Maybe he's seen something we can use."

  Harper looked at the man and then grabbed Brittney's arm and pulled her to a stop. Brittney shot her a curious glance. "What?"

  "He's not fey," Harper whispered. "He's a harpy."

  "What?"

  Harper nodded. "He's a demon. He must be one of the ones that made it through. We've got to stop him from leaving. He could lead the others here."

  "How?" Brittney said.

  "Do you have your gun?"

  Brittney nodded. "Never go anywhere without it. Do you have yours?"

  "No."

  Brittney sighed. She was disappointed in Harper. Neither of them were exactly strong. Harper might have the Sight, but it wouldn't help her against a demon other than seeing what he was. She looked around for the others, but she saw none of them. She cursed Sarah for running off.

  "Come on," Harper said.

  "Are you sure about this?"

  "Yes," Harper said. She quickly approached the red-headed man. He turned to her, and started to smile, but the smile faltered at the expression on her face. "Excuse me, what are you doing here?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "You heard me," Harper said. "What are you doing here? This is the land of the fey. You aren't fey. How did you get here?"

  The harpy tilted his head. "You aren't fey either," he pointed out. "I could be asking you the very same question."

  Brittney didn't feel like getting into a debate with a demon. She pulled out her gun, and aimed it at his head. "It's none of your business what we're doing here. What matters is how you found this place. I'm going to give you one chance to answer."

  The harpy held up his hands. "I don't know how I found the place," he said. "I was out for a walk, and I saw trees. I thought it was funny. Trees in the desert, you know? So I decided to explore. And I stumbled across this city. Plenty of fey here. Would make a nice feeding ground. Is that why you're here? What are you guys? Are you vampires?"

  Brittney realized he didn't have the power of Sight. He had no idea what they were. This could give them an advantage. "It's none of your business what we are," she said. "But I want you to come with us. No arguments, or I blow your brains out. Understood?"

  "Yes."

  She nodded to Harper. "Take us back to the entrance. Hopefully the others will be there."

  "There are more of you?"

  "Oh, yes," Brittney said. "We came here to hunt, and we don't want competition. Maybe if you're a good boy, we'll let you join us."

  The harpy nodded. "You can lower your gun, then. I'll come willingly."

  Brittney pretended to consider this for a moment but she had no intention of lowering her weapon. It was the only thing she had to protect herself.

  "No."

  "So my theory is right," he said. "You are vampires. Can't transform during the day. Can I ask why you wouldn't just wait until night to come?"

  "Because we couldn't find it at night," Harper said. "We're waiting until dark."

  Brittney nodded. "Move."

  The harpy walk
ed in front of Brittney and behind Harper. They moved to the area they'd first come in at. Just as they'd hoped, Conner and Alec were waiting there.

  "Who's he?" Alec asked immediately. "Why are you holding a gun on him? Is he a fey?"

  "He's a demon," Harper said. "He's a harpy, to be exact. I thought you and Conner might want to talk to him."

  "Are you two vampires too?" the harpy asked. "These two said you were waiting until night to feast."

  Alec glanced at the pair. Brittney shrugged at him. "We told him what he needed to hear," she said. She turned back to the harpy. "See him?" she nodded at Conner. "He's an incubus. He doesn't need the night to transform. Go ahead, Conner."

  Conner transformed into his demon form. The first few times that Brittney had seen him in this form, she'd been scared, but she wasn't any longer. His tattoos were pulsating and his horns protruded from his head. His teeth were wickedly sharp, but despite this, she could still see Conner in him.

  "You're going to tell us how you managed to find this place," Conner said.

  "I already told her, I stumbled on it," the harpy said.

  "Not good enough. Brittney, shoot him in the foot."

  Brittney took aim, and fired. The harpy let out an ear-piercing scream and crumpled to the ground. His blood ran green. There was a time when she might have felt sympathy for him, but he'd been planning on feeding on the fey, and Chloe was fey.

  Conner knelt down beside him. "I'm going to tear your throat out with my teeth," he said. "Unless you start talking, and until you start telling the truth."

  "The magic is fading!" the harpy said. "I don't know why. The magic is fading, and nobody knows why. But it's allowing people to find it. People who are supernatural, I mean. Humans haven't managed yet, but they will when the magic fades completely."

  "And that's all? The magic is fading."

  "Yes."

  Conner reached out and snapped his neck.

  "We could have asked for more information," Brittney said. "I could have shot him in the kneecap! We could have--"

  "--We're not torturers," Alec said sharply. "There's a fine line between getting information and becoming what we're hunting, Brittney. You want to keep that in mind. That's how Sarah became a fury."

  Brittney looked around for Sarah. She remembered all too well when Sarah had become a fury and killed two drug dealing loan sharks. It had been bad. She definitely didn't want that to happen to her, so she put her gun away.

  "Sorry. I got carried away."

  "We know more now," Alec said. "We know the magic is fading. We just need to figure out why."

  Everyone shook their heads.

  "Where is Sarah? We should go find her," Harper said.

  "I'm right here," Sarah said, surprising them all. She was standing with Chloe. The two of them had just approached from behind. "We ran into each other. What's going on? Who is that?"

  "It's a harpy," Harper said. "Brittney shot him, and then Conner broke his neck. He said the magic around the place is fading and soon anyone will be able to find it. We've got to figure out why that's happening."

  "Well not tonight," Brittney said.

  Everyone looked over at her.

  "Well, tonight is dinner at my parent's house, Chloe. Harper. Did you two forget?"

  She could tell by their faces that they had.

  "I'm sorry," Brittney said to the others. "But this has been in the works since we returned from Phoenix. The rest of you can keep working the case. We have dinner to get to."

  SEVEN

  Chloe looked at herself in Brittney's full length mirror, studying the outfit she'd chosen to wear. "Are you sure I look alright? Your parents are conservatives, right? I don't want to seem too flashy."

  She was wearing a knee-length dress with tapered sleeves and a high neckline. She had paired it with beaded, flat sandals, and a pair of earrings. Her short hair was styled in curls around her face, and she wore a minimum amount of makeup.

  "You look gorgeous," Brittney said.

  "I don't know," Chloe said. "Maybe the dress is too short."

  "They've known me for twenty-five years," Brittney said. "I've worn much shorter. You look fine, Chloe. Stop worrying. They're going to love you. And if they don't, we'll have Harper and Peter there."

  "What if Peter hates me too?"

  "Peter isn't going to hate you," Brittney said.

  Chloe caught the gesture and sighed. She knew she was overreacting, but she'd never met someone's parents before. She'd never dated before. Sometimes it was hard to believe she was twenty-nine years old and had never had a real significant other.

  It also didn't help that both Wren and Mikael's words kept coming back to haunt her. She was supposed to end up with one of the fey. Brittney was human. Was it even worth continuing the relationship if she knew that someday it would end? Why put herself through all the trouble?

  Harper entered the room. "Wow, Chloe, you look good."

  "Thanks Harper."

  "Well come on then, let's get going," Brittney said. "We don't want to be late."

  "What happens if we're late?" Chloe asked.

  "Then dinner will be cold," Harper said. "Look, I've known Mr. And Mrs. Conley for most of my life. They're nice people, Chloe, and they're going to treat you well. As for Peter, he owes us. Remember, we got him out of trouble. He's going to be nice to you if just for that."

  Chloe nodded. She climbed into Brittney's SUV, and the three of them headed across town.

  "It's beautiful," Chloe said when they arrived. It wasn't beautiful like the fey homes, but in it's own way. She could tell the Conley family were the sort who had money. A lot about Brittney made sense as she stared at the two-story Victorian home with a beautiful garden out front, and a white picket fence.

  Brittney rang the door bell.

  It was her mother, Alice, who answered. She was dressed in a beautiful blue dress that matched her eyes and wore a string of pearls around her neck that matched her earrings. She hugged Brittney first, then Harper, and then took a look at Chloe. Then she enveloped her in a hug as well.

  "You must be Chloe. Brittney's told us all about you, of course," Alice said.

  "She's told me a lot about you too, Mrs. Conley," Chloe said. "You have a beautiful home."

  "Thank you, dear," Alice said. "Please, come in. We're just about to start dinner. Why don't you have a seat? Brittney can help me in the kitchen and Harper can introduce you to Peter."

  Chloe wanted to stay as close to Brittney as possible but she allowed Harper to lead her into the dining room. The table was solid oak and beautifully crafted. It was set with chinaware, napkins, and wine glasses.

  "Here," Harper said. "You can sit here." She pointed at a seat.

  "Alright," Chloe said, taking the offered seat. A moment later, a young man came in that Chloe could only assume was Peter. He looked a lot like Brittney.

  "Hello," she said.

  "You must be Chloe," Peter said.

  "Yes."

  "I'm Peter," he said, extending a hand. They shook, and then he sat next to her. "So tell me, Chloe, what could have possessed you to actually come to dinner with my parents? Did you get hit on the head?"

  "He's kidding," Harper said. "Peter, stop scaring her. She's nervous enough already."

  "Sorry," Peter said. He put an arm around her shoulders. "The Conley family isn't all bad, Chloe. You'll fit right in."

  "Thanks," Chloe said softly.

  Peter started to say something else, but before he could, a giant bear of a man entered the room. Chloe quickly stood. He looked her over and then gave a wide smile. "You must be Chloe."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Sir, yet," Craig said with a laugh. "Well at least you have manners. You can call me Craig. I've been trying to get Harper to do it for years but she still insists on Mr. Conley. As if she didn't spend as much time here at our house as she did at her own growing up."

  He walked up and ruffled Harper's hair.

  "My mother taught
me well, Mr. Conley," Harper said. She hugged Craig, and then took a seat next to Peter, leaving the one on the other side of Chloe open for Brittney. After a few minutes, the two Conley women reappeared, carrying food. They sat the roast on the table, added the scalloped potatoes, and a green bean casserole.

  "I do hope you're not a vegetarian," Alice said. "Brittney didn't say."

  "No," Chloe said.

  They all sat down, and Alice began serving out plates. "So tell us about your parents, Chloe."

  Chloe looked over at Brittney. She cleared her throat. For the longest time, she'd told people that her parents had died in a car crash, but she was a fey, and she was trying to embrace that again, and the fey didn't lie. It didn't mean she had to go into details though.

  "They died when I was young."

  "I'm so sorry to hear that," Craig said. "That must have been hard. Do you have siblings?"

  "No," Chloe said. "It's just me."

  "It's just us," Brittney said, reaching out and putting a hand on top of Chloe's. "You're not alone anymore, Chloe."

  "So, Brittney once told us that you work together," Alice said. "Does that mean that you're part of the FBI as well? Did you train with them? Is that how you met?"

  "No," Chloe said. "I actually own a nightclub. Maybe you've heard of it: Afterlife."

  Craig looked over at Harper and Brittney. "Isn't that where you were supposedly bartending for awhile? Before you told us about your real job, of course."

  "Yes, well..." Brittney said.

  Chloe could tell she was struggling to come with some kind of an excuse, so she cleared her throat and leaned forward.

  "They were undercover there," she explained. "That's how we met. Your daughter is lovely, Mr. And Mrs. Conley. I'm really grateful to have met her. She's opened my eyes to what love truly is."

  For a moment, there was silence while everyone ate. Then Alice cleared her throat. "I guess I just don't understand."

  "Alice..." Craig warned.

  "No, I mean, you're both very pretty girls. They are, aren't they, Craig?"

  "Don't go there."