Hiliad's Special Gift Ch. 24-25

"I can't tell you that."

"And why not?"

"Go home. I will be watching from outside. Someone will be there during the day, so don't get paranoid if you feel you are being watched, because you will be."

Then I was really getting anxious, considering Hiliad had disappeared suddenly. "Liza, what's going on? Is Hiliad alright?"

"He's fine. Look, um, Connee, I do want to apologize for what I did to you." Then she had more sincerity in her voice. "Honestly, I didn't like you at first. Oh, I thought you were attractive and all that, but what ... threw me off, I guess you could say, was how quickly Hiliad took to you. I am very loyal to my Maker, and I had to make sure your heart was in the right place."

I had nothing to say. But by that time, I was too exhausted to even talk with her anymore. I got in my car and drove home, trying not to worry too much or think of Liza's admission. Who was I kidding? I tossed and turned so much poor Heather jumped down in a huff and went off to sleep somewhere else. Maybe I'd have some answers the next night.

Hiliad's POV, right after Connee gave Him the reports ...

Connee looked beautiful as I watched her walk away. I couldn't help but smile every time I saw her. And after last night ... remembering her screaming my name as she came. God, she gets me every time.

My cell phone rang and disrupted my thoughts. I was perturbed to see Hugh's cell phone number on it. "What?" I answered curtly.

"Hiliad, what is Daniel's last name, Connee's ex-boyfriend?" Hugh asked. I could tell he was agitated about something.

"How did—"

"Listen to me, Hiliad," he said impatiently. I wanted to hang up on him. "Connee and Wilma had been talking, and she knew about Daniel and that he ended their relationship. A deputy came into the pub tonight and mentioned to Wilma after a couple of drinks there'd been a murder earlier in the afternoon. He said the man's name was Daniel Hanover. Do you have—"

I never did ask Connee his last name. It really didn't matter to me. "Why are you so concerned about this?"

"Because, Wilma thinks she remembers his last name is Hanover, Connee's ex-boyfriend."

"I'll be over in half an hour."

Hanging up, I went directly to Liza. "Liza, I need you."

"Oh, don't you think Connee—"

"I need to go to talk to Hugh," I huffed. "Follow Connee home tonight and stay with her! I'll have someone over to replace you at five."

"Hiliad, babysitting is not in my job description."

"You will do as I say!"

"Fine. Can I at least ..."

I knew what she was referring to. "No! And leave her feline alone, too!"

Then I ran off into the night to get to Billingham to find out what the hell was going on. What I heard greatly disturbed me. Hugh told me Daniel was shot in the back of the head, execution style in his kitchen. There was a note. 'No one can protect Connee Byers now.'

Oh, they were so wrong. I would protect my Connee, even if my life depended on it. There was nothing I could do but meet with Queen Francesca sooner than planned. With Connee working at Naluchra, I knew she would be watched over there at night. I had someone in mind to watch over her during the day, good old reliable Doug.

As soon as I got back to the club, which was well after three, I called the queen from Connee's office. Her smell was all over her chair, the desk, the air; I could even smell the fragrance of the shampoo she used. Maybe I'd make a quick stop over there before I slept for the day. But I had to make the phone call, first.

"Hello," came the sultry, rosy-sweet voice of the Queen of Virginia.

Queen Francesca had been from North Carolina but moved to Virginia immediately after she was changed at the age of twenty-five. No one really knew of her background. All that was known was that she had overcome her blood lust in only a year or so when she initially changed, which was incredibly rare. She had advanced into the position of royalty rather quickly, due to her dealings with the higher ups in the state.

It was completely unheard of; a vampire with those titles was at least three centuries old. At first, not too many vamps trusted her. But the community warmed to her soon enough. Aside from her beauty, her temperament and courage, it was her fairness that really allowed her to remain in the position for the past twenty years. I knew that she would be a valuable ally, if she chose to be.

"Good evening, Queen. This is Hiliad Fildri. How are you this evening?" God, I just hated niceties.

"I am well, thank you. But I wasn't expecting to hear from you until Sunday night."

"Something has come up that changed our plans. I hadn't planned on discussing the situation until we were face to face."

"Well, that's fine, then. I've been bored out of my mind."

I explained to her about Thomas Milton, and she was very familiar with the name. That did little to comfort me. I told her about Connee, and that Milton wanted her to repopulate the Bintaurs. It was silent on the other end of the phone for several seconds. "Ma'am, are you still there?"

"Yes, yes. My apologizes. How have you come about knowing this Ms. Byers?"

"I met her through a mutual friend. We have been ... business partners for several months now." She didn't need to know about our relationship.

"I see." Again with the damned silence. "And what do you think I can do for Ms. Byers?"

"I ... we ask that you speak with Milton, and to allow no harm to come to her."

"Oh, Sheriff," she laughed. "I don't think I can do that."

"Queen, I am very ... fond of Ms. Byers. I do not wish to ..."

"The Bintaurs have a very strong nest here and in North Carolina. We prefer to let them deal with their own kind. But can you send me a picture of this Ms. Byers?"

That was an odd request, but I had to handle this delicately. "Can you help us?"

"Can you send me a picture of her?" she repeated. "I like to know who I'm dealing with."

That seemed reasonable. I promised her I would email her a picture as soon as we got off the phone. "I have assigned a detail over Ms. Byers for the time being. We're hoping that by you speaking with him the trip to Virginia will not be necessary."

She was thoughtful for a moment. "Yes. I will do what I can."

I was relieved. "Thank you, Queen. I will forever be in your debt if ... our goal is met."

"I will get back with you."

After we ended the conversation, I emailed her the only picture of her that I had: It was on the date with Hugh and Wilma. We'd taken pictures right after we'd sat down in the restaurant. God, that was miserable, but I cherished the picture of the two of us together.

I hoped it would not be the last.

Connee's POV:

When I got up the following morning, Liza was gone, of course, and I saw Doug leaning against a tree in front of the apartment building, drinking a huge mug of coffee and smoking a cigarette. When he saw me in the window, he waved. I waved back but didn't smile.

Maybe Doug knew what was going on. It was just going on eleven a.m., and I didn't know if he'd had breakfast, or lunch, for that matter. I was hungry for waffles. I changed into jeans and a t-shirt, made sure I had the mix and enough syrup for the both of us, which I did, peeked my head out the door and invited him in. He smiled and came right in.

I made small talk, trying to get a feel for if he knew anything. All he said was that Hiliad had given him the night off so that he could watch me today. I put the golden brown waffles on two plates and brought them to the table, joining him.

After he was happily full and I refilled his coffee mug, I knew it was time to get to the nitty-gritty. Now, I'm basically a good person: I pay my taxes, give to charity, buy girl scout cookies, and the like. I don't lie because I can never remember what I lie about anyway and am an honest person. But very few people have seen the manipulative, sneaky side of Connee Byers. Doug was going to be the first to see that side of me in a long time.

I started with the basics: Where he grew up, brothers, sisters and all that crap, then dove right in there with questions surrounding Hiliad. He'd worked at Naluchra for over a year, right after he had 'helped Hiliad out,' and when he was laid off, Hiliad hired him as a bouncer for the club. I tried to hide a smirk because Doug was far from the beefy man throwing drunken people out the door type. Hiliad continually asked him to do odd jobs here and there, and Hiliad grew to trust him with more 'personal matters.' That would be me.

"Will Hiliad be in tonight?"

"He's still ..."

"Hiliad is still in the area?"

He sighed heavily. "As far as I know."

"Is he planning on going anywhere?" Of course He was, but I wanted to know if Doug knew.

"I overheard him talking to Luke about Liza being in charge Sunday night, but he didn't know how long he'd be gone."

"Does Liza know what He's up to?"

"You'll have to ask her that. Look," he started as he stood up, "The waffles were fantastic, the best. But I've already overstepped my boundaries. Remember, I'll be right outside. Oh, and I may have to use your bathroom once or twice with all this coffee. Do you mind?"

I shook my head and showed him to the door, locking it behind him. I had nothing else to do but practice, so I called Wilma, and she invited me over. I figured we'd go ahead and have our little lasagna girl night.

As I walked to my car, I saw Doug push himself off the tree and stand at attention. "Gotta go to the grocery store then to Wilma's. Hope you have enough gas in your car," I hollered to him as I got in my car. Sure enough, he followed me the entire way. Regardless of the trouble Hiliad believed I was in, I was comforted a little knowing Doug was close behind me.

When I pulled up to Wilma's house, she'd been waiting for me on the front stoop with a blonde man beside her. "Hi!" she waved as I walked towards them after I grabbed the two bags of groceries. I heard Doug's car pull up behind me a moment later.

"This is Vern, my brother." We shook hands. "He can only stay for a little bit, but he'll do."

"Hey! Give me some credit!" he cried out then chuckled.

We went inside and Wilma put the perishables in the refrigerator. "Hope you don't mind," I told her. "I have a body guard now. Don't pay him any mind."

"Oh, really?" she asked, but she didn't sound all that genuine about it.

"Gotta run to the loo," Vern said then left.

Something occurred to me. "Wilma," I whispered as I looked out the window to see where Doug was. He was leaning against his car and lit a cigarette. "Did you read anything out of Doug's head? Normally I wouldn't ask, but ..."

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"What do you mean nothing?" I asked startled.

"I don't hear anything from him, and I have tried."

"What does that mean, do you suppose?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "He's not a vampire, that's obvious. I can read everyone else, except werewolves are a little harder to read."

"Including me, right?"

"Yes. But, it bothers me somehow." "So, Doug isn't Bin. But why can't you read him?"

"I don't know. Maybe Hugh has an answer. He knows everything," she giggled. "Come on. I'm curious to see what we can do with you."

We spent the next hour or so in the back yard, while Doug hid out around the corner keeping an eye on us. It started off with the tickling that Hugh mentioned before and then progressed to pushing Vern back about fifteen feet. I had sent Hiliad ten feet, so my distance was improving, as well as my aim.

"Well," Vern started to say as he wiped the back of his jeans of grass and approached us, "I'm all bruised and battered. I'm gonna leave now while I'm still breathing."

"Vern, thank you very much for helping me with this," I said.

"Save me some of that lasagna?" he mentioned with a grin.

Wilma promised she would and we went inside. I made the lasagna, put it in the oven and we went in the living room. "How's Heather doing?"

"Oh, she's fine."

"I gotta tell ya, Connee, I think Hiliad is more than in like with you."

I felt like we were fifteen and chatting about boys. And yes, He was more than in like with me. "He's kind of ... last night He wanted to meet with me, but when I went to find Him, He wasn't there. Liza didn't know where He was, or so she says, and she escorted me home. And now Doug's trailing me."

Her reaction caught me off guard. She only nodded. Did she know more than I did? Instantly, she squirmed. "You know something, don't you?" I accused, trying to keep my voice neutral.

She smiled nervously. "No, I don't, I swear. Hugh has been doing that to me constantly since we met. Don't let that worry you. He's always got something going on that he doesn't share with me."

I wasn't sure if I believed her or not. We ate, and both had such a good time that we mentioned we'd have to do it again. I drove back home, took an hour's nap, changed, making sure to put my collar on then headed to work. I kept myself busy until I knew Hiliad would be in around ten o'clock. I was curious why He hadn't come in to say hello like He had the night before.

By eleven, I went out to Him. He was talking on the phone in Swedish so I didn't know what He was saying. I couldn't spell the language, much less be able to look up the meanings. But from the tone of His voice He sounded frustrated. When He glanced at me, He snapped, "Get back to work." And He wasn't playing. He just looked away and continued the conversation.

I walked back to my office like a dog with its tail between its legs. I had to get His attention somehow. I remembered I had the key to His office and wanted to know if He had looked at the balance sheets I'd given Him the night before. Okay, plan set.

I majorly messed up the figures in the accounts to make it painfully obvious that they weren't right, reprinted it and brought it with me to His office. If anyone asked what I was doing, like Liza, I'd show them the spreadsheet. When I went in, it was exactly where I'd left it. So, I switched the reports, threw the old one away and brought them to Him.

Hiliad was off the phone but sitting stiffly with His chin set in His fingers, deep in thought. I stood at His feet, my free hand behind my back with my head bowed. It was several minutes before He snatched the paper from my hand; I grunted as the thin, sharp edge sliced my finger. That couldn't have worked out any better! He couldn't resist my blood. I brought my finger to my mouth and sucked hard, making sure to be noisy about it to get His attention. Nothing.

From the top of my peripheral vision I could see Him looking at the papers. "They're fine. Post them," He barked and shoved the paper back in my hand.

At that point, I'd had enough. Without looking up at Him, I asked, "Master, may I speak freely?"

"No!"

My body tensed by the roughness of His voice. I wasn't having it. My red, chapped, aching ass be damned! "Master, what have I done that has you so angry with me?" I tried to sound strong, but I didn't hear it.

"You are not obeying me!"

I looked up at Him then. And wished I hadn't. Vampires don't grow red in the face; they have no blood coursing through their veins to allow that to happen. But I thought I'd piss my pants when I saw how red His cheeks were.

"Talk to me," I pleaded, my voice quivering then. "Don't shut me out."

"Liza!" He hollered, and she was by His side before I could even blink. "Take her home."

"No!" I protested as I stood up, completely disrespectful to my Master and put my hands on my hips. "You will not do this to me again!"

He glanced at Liza, His face expressionless and walked away to His office. I burst into tears.