“So, it’s the perfect place for Mr. Murder Fucker. An absolute creep for a creepy fucking place,” Cody said. I couldn’t disagree with him.
Always my right-hand man, Cole took one end of the magic-sealed body of his brother, and I took the other. One of us could have easily lifted him on our own, but the crystals in him would have made it a pain in the ass. So, we carried the body together through the lawn to the far side entrance, through the cellar door, and down the stairs into the basement area with its walls surrounded by shelves of wine. We laid Cooper on a heavy wooden table in the center that smelled of lemon wood polish, bleach disinfectant, and old spilled wine.
When we emerged upstairs in the house, Nat and Cody were already in the kitchen, moving through the cabinets with practiced familiarity. Nat had four Old Fashioned glasses out and in a row. Cody grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the top-shelf bar.
“I’m thinking neat today, Natty. We all earned it,” Cody passed Nat the bottle.
Taking and unscrewing the cap with a flourish, she asked, “Double or triple?” she asked.
“Make it blackout, Nat,” I said. She generously filled the glasses with the amber liquid. I took one of them without a word and downed half of it. It burned like a penance immediately.
Shit, I wish I could smoke, but Mom hates it. I already have enough of the deck stacked against me with her as-is.I thought.So, alcohol is the vice of the day.
The four of us sat in silence for a long moment. The kitchen still smelled like garlic, onion, and paprika from some dinner passed, joined with the scent of whiskey, but the air was suffocatingly thick with our trepidation for what was ahead.
Nat broke first, her voice too casual to be anything but forced, as she pulled her purple hair into a messy bun on top of her head. “So, how are we going to tell them? ‘Hey, surprise! Your nephew went full Dark Mode, we took him down, and now he’s a corpse in the spooky cellar. Happy Belated Holidays, everyone!’”
“We’renot telling them shit.I’mtelling them everything,” I said, finishing my second full drink in one long, stinging swallow.
Cody groaned. “Q, don’t start with that First Blade martyr bullshit! You don’t have to bleed alone. Youknowthat.”
I scowled. “Hey, I fucking mean it,primos. This is all my shit?—”
“If you say something melodramatic like ‘this is my duty as a First Blade,’ I’m going to cut you with the fancy cheese knife.”
“You know it’s serious when Nat threatens your life with the artisanal dairy shiv,” Cody snorted.
As I rolled my eyes, Cole leaned forward, planting his elbows on the counter, voice calm but firm. “Quinn, you have been doing this shit for us since we were kids. It’s what proved to us that you were going to be the best Huntscommander, even when you were young. You always stood up for us, always stood in front of blows meant for us, always stood by our side. Let us stand with you and for you for once, cuz. You are not alone in this. You never have been.”
“Yeah, we don’t say that nearly enough, dude,” Cody agreed with his brother, his navy-blue eyes lacking any mischief that they usually had. It was one of the most serious I had ever seen him. “We see it, even if you don’t think we do. We know that there is fuckshit that we don’t get to see that you have saved us from. And, that’s just with Uncle Diego, who is a crazy motherfucker to say the least. We see it, though, and it doesn’t go unappreciated. I know I can speak for all of us when I say that.”
“You take so much on those giant shoulders of yours, Quinny,” Nat said, her eyes pure glistening blues. “You are the strongest, baddest bitch I know, and I have always looked up to you because of that. You are my sister in every way. But, you can’t carry everything like this. Especially when you have your own demons that you are facing with your father. You can’t take on everyone’s bad for them, hold it in, and let it go for them. You aren’t the keeper of trauma, you can’t save everyone, and it’s okay to share the power.”
Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked to stop them from clouding my vision. Their words all cut so much deeper than I was expecting. These three had always been like my siblings. There were only three years between me and the triplets, andfour between me and Nat. I still remembered when they were born. I held them as babies and was the babysitter for the family when everyone was out on missions. So they could be one step ahead in school, I taught them the moves I was learning. I was the one who fought their bullies because only I could roast my cousins. I never considered myself their mom or anything like that, but there was a part of me that saw them as my kids to keep safe and guide through life. It was only natural that I would want to protect them and make sure they didn’t experience any of the bullshit I did. Unlike me, who knew about the family drama since I was a toddler, I tried to keep them away from it until after they made their first kill, at least. Even then, they only heard what they needed for missions. They didn’t need to know why Mama was the acting Huntscommander and why we didn’t dragon-hunt anymore. They didn’t find that out until they were in their teens, when I told them because I thought they were old enough. I never expected gratitude for anything I did for them. Now, they had changed from something for me to shield to my hatchets. They were my ride-or-dies, standing beside me no matter how bad things got. They were my war council, following my orders but also never letting me make an unforgivable mistake.
When I could finally speak without my voice cracking, I said, “I know. You guys are right, but it still has to be me who tells them. It isn’t just because of the hunter hierarchy or anything. It’s also that your mom can’t handle hearing it from you guys. Besides, I have to tell my mom about Byrd, and that is better coming from me, too. I just… I need you guys to back me up when this inevitably all goes to hell.”
“You know we are going to be in the backseat with you,” Nat gave me a genuine smile. “I do have to say. I think you are very brave for doing this. Or, very stupid. Maybe both?”
“Hey, isn’t that our family motto?” Cody smirked.
I shook my head with a smile, teasing my own lips. “When this is all over, I am going to have to find a way to thank you guys for this and for helping to find Byrd. I am so fucking grateful for y’all and?—”
“You don’t have to do that, Q,” Cole interrupted. “This is what cousins do?—”
“Speak for yourself, bro! The Maldives are gorgeous as fuck this year. I’m thinking that and maybe some new shoes?” Cody suggested.
“Oh, now, wait, you might be onto something,” Nat tilted her glass at him.
Cody and Nat launched into a very animated discussion of the possible ways I could show my gratitude. Cole rolled his eyes at first, but soon he couldn’t resist jumping in. It was refreshing, listening to them plan something that didn’t involve weaponry or accounting for the actions of an evil Blood Bitch. When it naturally devolved into an argument with Nat flaming Cody for thinking with his dick for afamilyvacation, Cody calling Nat a bigger whore than him who was just in the closet about it, and Cole shaking his head, it felt so normal that it hurt.
I had lost count of how many rounds we had taken when we heard the sound of tires and slamming car doors cut through the afternoon haze. It was enough to almost finish the bottle, and more than enough for the comforting tingle of liquid courage to take hold. My heart clenched at the sounds.
“Last chance to run,” Cody said to me before downing the last of his glass.
I stood up, back straight. “It’s too late now.”
My mom was the first to burst through the front door like a fashion model storming a runway. Her tight-fitting long-sleeve top was tucked effortlessly into her cuffed designer jeans, her heeled ankle boots clicking against the hardwood. As if a fan was blowing in front of her, her long duster cardigan billowed behindher like a cape, and her long dark auburn-brown waves blew back from her shoulders. Every element of her outfit belonged in a magazine spread. She looked like a timeless celebrity stepping off a red carpet, not a huntress in her fifties with healing powers who’d just rushed out of her car to see her daughter for the first time in weeks. But none of that registered for more than a second for me.
