Only Skin Deep: Paranormal MMM Romance, page 7
Luca flicked his gaze to Ash’s, but returned to his work without answering.
“I asked him to go,” Cassius said, clearly trying to mollify Ash. “I needed information. You know I would’ve protected Luca.”
Colby groaned in pain and moved, stilling Luca’s hand for a moment and drawing Ash’s attention. “While you’re paused, he mentioned the name Daniel. Do you remember anything from his videos?”
“His brother,” Luca bit out before going back to work.
Ash sighed with relief. He’d thought so, but hadn’t been sure. Why he’d instantly felt jealousy was ridiculous in that moment. His brother.
Luca glanced up. “Go find his brother, Ash. Daniel has Down syndrome, and Colby is his caretaker—their parents are deceased. Daniel needs Colby.”
We need him, too.
The words were unspoken, but they hung in the air. He didn’t want to leave Luca and Colby, but he needed to find Daniel as soon as possible for their mate’s sake. “I’ll find him and bring him here,” Ash murmured.
“I understand you don’t want to leave,” Cassius said as he inched toward the door. “But Eli, Oz, and I will be here to watch out for Luca.”
Ash nodded, grateful Cassius was there. “Thanks.”
He headed for the elevator and his car so he could track down Colby’s brother, hoping beyond hope Luca would win the battle.
Luca used every ounce of his strength and power, along with some Cassius lent him. Eli set up powerful wards along the walls, insulating them and preventing the demons from potentially zeroing in on Colby’s location via the curse—and likely protecting the rest of the coven from the dark magic. Luca worked the tattoo as quickly as his fingers would move without missing a mark. When he closed the last line of the enchantment, he sensed the power radiating through Colby. The rotting edge stopped in its tracks…
But it didn’t recede. He filled the black lines with color, watching the rot line, praying for it to move back, but it remained relatively as it was.
Though it seemed to heal over some. Tissue scarred, leaving bright pink, angry swirls where he was sure there had been unblemished skin. The wounds were less fresh, but they’d left their mark… and nothing he seemed to do helped any further.
He poured every ounce of his power into Colby, draining his reserves and all Cassius shared—yet it wasn’t enough. When he’d filled in the last section with color, there was no change. Another whispered incantation and nothing.
“We have to remove the rune,” Luca said.
“It’s a curse, Luc,” Cassius murmured. “We need to find out what it is before we can figure out how to break it.”
“It’s only skin deep,” Luca spat. “We remove that skin and then I heal the rest.”
“You know full well that’s not the way this works,” Cassius barked. “We need Atlas up here to look at that mark and do some digging. We break the curse, or he suffers longer.”
Luca nodded. He lowered his tattoo gun, his entire body shaking with exhaustion. “I’ll get him.” He rose and nearly collapsed on the spot. Eli grabbed him and dragged him to the bed.
“You’re spent,” Cassius said. “Sleep it off and recharge. He’ll likely need more of you soon.”
Luca wanted to argue, but Cassius was right. After removing his gloves, he handed his equipment to one apprentice who’d come up to watch him work. When the bed and room were cleared, he crawled in beside Colby and lay on his side.
Their mate was quiet. Hopefully that meant pain-free. While he’d added a numbing to the enchantment, the tattoo hadn’t corrected the scars, so he wasn’t sure if there was any pain remaining. Half of the human’s handsome face was covered in marks, and a sob nearly rose from his throat. He’d failed their mate. His power hadn’t been strong enough. Luca caressed the untarnished side with his fingertips.
Colby’s eyes popped open, and he glared at Luca. “You.” He scowled, but it immediately softened as he succumbed to sleep once more.
Lifting his arm, Luca watched as the nub grew into a fully formed swirl.
Every trio’s mark formed differently. Most symbols were in the shape of an element—ocean waves, curling swirls that symbolized air, flames, trees denoting the earth. Discrete events caused the marks to expand. For him and Ash, their marks appeared to require certain sensory experiences—particularly the sound waves from a voice.
While Colby had moaned and groaned, nothing had triggered it. Only when Colby had addressed him. What triggered a mark was impossible to guess.
Some required touch. Some simply needed a glance. Others needed an intimate sexual experience before their marks would appear. Long ago, he’d learned of an old tale of a trio who’d had to taste one another before their marks grew. What they’d tasted was a question that always seemed to cause an interesting and lively debate. He remained firmly in the cum camp while others believed in flesh, blood, or other bodily functions.
The first time he’d met Ash, the shifter’s voice had been enough. It had vibrated through him, and the mark had burned his inner arm. He smiled to himself, remembering the sweet way Ash had asked to sit at Luca’s table because ‘all the other tables are full.’ When Luca had lifted his nose out of his book, he’d noted none of the dozen had been full—but that one question had caused his mark to tingle and burn, so how could he have said anything but yes?
After a few minutes of getting to know one another, they’d landed in bed, fucking each other senseless—which was also a common reaction to meeting one’s mate. A lust so overwhelming there was no choice but to surrender.
Sadly, their introduction to Colby wasn’t going as pleasantly. Luca slid one of his hands into Colby’s open palm, threading their fingers together.
“You have to be okay, Colby. I need you to fight.”
The door to the bedroom whipped opened, and Atlas rushed in, several old tomes loaded in his arms. A few more volumes flew in behind him as if they were birds, not books. He dropped the ones in his arms onto the nightstand beside the bed—the flying works settled on their own—before leaning over to peer at the rune on Colby’s inner arm.
About where his mate’s mark should be. Luca frowned, wondering if the two had anything in common.
“I’m sure I’ve seen something like this before,” Atlas murmured. He sorted through the books and flipped one open. After searching through the text, he tossed it aside and chose another.
Luca struggled to keep his eyes open, yet he needed to know what Atlas came up with.
“I found it!”
Luca’s eyes whipped open at the cry. It took him a moment to realize where he was. One look at Colby beside him caught him back up. He glanced at the window and noted the late hour.
“Where’s Ash?”
“Still out, I guess,” Atlas said, gaze deep in the book.
Cassius ambled in at just the right moment. “Did I hear you’ve found the curse?”
Atlas grinned. “I did. A curse that causes necrotizing fasciitis. It was meant to eat away all his skin before killing him.”
“Is there a means to break the curse?” Cassius asked.
Atlas scanned the page, his smile fading. “No verified spell breaker listed here, but I have some other places I can search.”
Luca scowled at Cassius. “We should’ve fucked those bastards up. Look what they did to him!”
“We can only assume it was them,” Cassius said.
Luca scowled. “It was them, Cas.”
“We need to find out who this human is,” Cassius said, ignoring him. “See if that could help us determine what role he plays here.”
“He’s our mate,” Luca murmured.
Cassius’ eyes widened slightly. “I wondered—considering you knew about his brother.”
“We weren't certain. We heard his voice over social media, and both Ash’s mark and mine grew a tiny numb where the third swirl should be.” He lifted his mark. “He awoke for a second, spoke one word to me, and it grew.”
Cassius’ jaw tightened as he seemed to consider that. “So, an attack on a human mate?”
“It seems interesting that Colby’s demonic rune is exactly where our mate marks are. Where his should be.”
“If they’re targeting mates, we might be in for a world of trouble ahead,” Cassius said. “We need to close ranks and keep an eye on our loved ones. Atlas, send out an alert to the entire coven and get started digging up that spell to break the curse.”
“Atlas, send out an alert to the entire coven,” Atlas muttered.
Cassius sighed. “Please.”
Atlas cocked a brow. “Hire the receptionist—from the sounds of things, I sense I’m going to be busy researching curses and curse breaking in the coming weeks.”
Cassius sighed. “I fear you might be right.” He whipped his hand, and a parchment appeared. He handed it to Atlas. “Will this suffice?”
“What is it?” Luca asked.
Atlas grinned. “A job announcement.”
“Send it to the coven herald,” Cassius said. “As soon as we find the right person, we’ll have you out of there.”
Atlas smiled, whipping a hand, and the parchment disappeared. “Now, back to my research.”
All Luca could do was pray to the heavens that Atlas would find what they needed. He lay back on the bed and drifted away, recharging his battery for later.
Daniel hadn’t been home when Ash had been there earlier in the day, or so he’d assumed. Before meeting Colby in the studio, he’d knocked on the front door and no one answered. Had Daniel been inside the studio, he would’ve come out to see why his brother had been screaming in pain, wouldn’t he? So, Ash dug around and made some calls—checked the bakery where Daniel worked a few days a week and the center where he took part in programs. Ultimately, he found Colby’s brother at the very last place he looked.
The first place he should’ve checked.
Home.
He returned to Colby’s. After knocking on the door, a woman appeared on the sidewalk behind him.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Daniel Kennedy?”
“Daniel?” the older woman asked, clutching the cross on her necklace. “Is something wrong?”
“Colby Kennedy was in an accident earlier today. He’s been calling for Daniel. Would you know where he might be?”
The woman gasped and raced up the front steps, belying her age. She pounded on the door. “Daniel! Daniel! It’s Mrs. Martinez. You need to open the door, sweetheart.”
Ash perceived sounds coming from behind the door before it opened.
“Who’s that?” Daniel asked, eyeing Ash.
“A police officer,” she answered.
“Can I see your badge?” Daniel asked.
Ash withdrew it from his belt loop and handed it over.
“Is this real?” Daniel asked.
“Yep,” Ash inhaled, attempting to calm his voice. “Daniel, your brother was in an accident today.”
Daniel rocked his upper body slowly back and forth.
“He’s going to be okay. We were able to help him, and he’s resting now. I think having you near him would help a lot. Do you think you could do that? Come with me?”
Daniel slowed his rocking. “Was it the tattoo place? Did they do something to him?”
Ash cocked his head to the side, curious. “Why would you ask that?”
“It’s a bad place. I warned him. He didn’t listen to me. I didn’t like it there. That’s why I stayed home. I played video games.”
“Yeah, you were right. It's an awful place.”
“Did they hurt him?” Daniel asked.
“Yeah,” Ash murmured. “But we stopped the hurt, and he’s healing right now.”
Daniel handed the badge back. “Can I get a badge?”
Ash chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Can I bring my Switch?”
Ash frowned.
“His video game,” Mrs. Martinez offered.
“Sure,” Ash said, smiling at Daniel. “Bring games, books, whatever you want to bring with you.”
Mrs. Martinez advanced toward the door. “Why don’t I pack him up a bag before he goes without the things he needs?”
“I can do it,” Daniel said before spinning and disappearing.
Mrs. Martinez narrowed her eyes, wrinkles furrowing at the corners. “What happened?”
“An adverse reaction… to dirty tattoo instruments,” Ash fibbed. “It made him ill.”
Her brows tightened. “I didn’t realize that was possible. At least… that fast. An infection takes time.”
“The tools were in terrible shape. The infection entered the blood stream and went straight to his heart,” he added, compounding his lie. He didn’t like being dishonest, but in that situation, he didn’t know what else to do. A demon cursed him with a tattoo that rotted his very flesh. We magicked him to save his life, and he’s sleeping it off in our coven house.
Sure, she’d buy that. Although as much as she frittered with the cross at her neck, she just might.
“Can I get your card?” the woman asked, clearly not convinced by his story. “And your badge number?”
“Sure,” he said, digging out his wallet. Ash pulled out a card and handed it over, knowing he might have to ask Gideon to come out and handle the woman before she became a problem, using his specialized memory enchantments. Gideon could cause memory loss, which came in very, very handy.
“Which hospital is he in?”
Ash sighed inwardly. It was moments like that when he wished he had powers of his own. “Salem Hospital,” he lied.
“I assume you’re taking Daniel there? To be with Colby?” She pursed her lips. “If you’re taking him to some facility, he can stay with me until Colby is better.”
“I’m not taking him to a facility. I think Colby would rest better knowing his brother was safe and close.”
“Daniel is a creature of habit. He’s going to struggle to be in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar people.” The woman cast a glance at next door. “If my husband didn’t need constant care, I’d come with him.” Her gaze whipped to Ash’s. “You best take good care of those boys.” She waved his card. “Or else your supervisor and the local news will get a call.”
“Daniel and his brother will be safe with me.” Safest place they can be right now.
She looked down her nose at him, pursing her lips again.
Daniel reappeared, wearing a backpack, and with a portable gaming unit clutched in both hands. “I’m ready.”
“Let me check the house before we lock up,” Mrs. Martinez said before disappearing inside. She returned a minute later, leaned in, and locked the door Daniel had left open. “Take care of my boys,” she reiterated.
Ash nodded. “Of course.” He placed a gentle hand on Daniel’s shoulder and urged him forward. He followed to his car, which still had the flashers going in the grill.
“Can we ride with the sirens on?”
“Sure,” Ash said, opening the passenger side door.
“I don’t ride in the back?” Daniel asked.
“That’s where I put criminals. Are you a criminal?” Ash joked.
“No, but the police sometimes treat black people like criminals.”
Ash blinked, shocked by the comment. Was he simply repeating something he’d heard his brother say?
Daniel sized him up. “My dad was black, so I’m black. You’re not going to hurt me, are you?”
He’d assumed both Colby and Daniel were Latinx from their appearance. Once again, proving that assumptions were shit. Being a young black man, Colby or their parents had likely had the talk with Daniel, reminding him to be careful around police officers. Ash would have to prove to Daniel, and Colby, that they were safe with him.
“You’re right. There are issues in policing today, and we need to do a better job. I can only tell you I don’t assume people are criminals just because of the color of their skin, nor do I hurt them for that reason.” The main reason Ash had become a cop was to help protect the coven. Nothing more, nothing less. Magic usually cured all ills, but occasionally the police got too close to the truth and made a mess that was difficult to clean up. He was there to prevent them from crossing the line into their world. But how did he explain that to Daniel? He could only go with the truth. “I’m simply here to make sure you’re safe and near your brother. He needs you right now.”
“Okay,” Daniel said simply, shrugging. He slid into the passenger seat.
Ash had been ready for pushback, but chuckled when there was none. He shut the door and rounded the car before climbing behind the wheel. Glancing at Daniel, he asked, “All buckled in?”
“Yessir.”
“Let’s get you to your brother.”
“Turn on the siren.”
He chuckled. “Sure thing, boss.”
Ash flipped on the siren before hitting the gas and heading toward home. When they pulled into a parking spot out front of Enchanted Ink, Daniel frowned. “I thought we were going to a hospital?”
“We are, in a way,” Ash said. He turned to Daniel and wondered how much he should share. He didn’t want to scare the young man. “There are healers inside, better than any doctor in a hospital. They have special gifts—and Colby needs that right now. He’s upstairs being treated, I promise you.”
“Oh.”
Ash sought for the right thing to put the man at ease. “You asked me about the other tattoo shop. Tell me about it.”
Daniel frowned. “Coby wanted to get a tattoo of Mom and Dad. We went to the bad place, and it was scary. The whole place glowed black. I didn’t want to go inside, but Coby made me. The bad men had black eyes and horns. Coby said I make things up, but I didn’t.”
The guy can see demons. People with Down syndrome were often loving, open, and honest, some with a bit of child-like innocence. Did that innocence open their eyes to evil? “You didn’t make it up, Daniel. Those men weren’t men. They were demons. Do you know what demons are?”
“Yes. There are some in one of my games, but don’t tell Coby. He doesn’t like me playing scary games because he says they give me nightmares, but they don’t. I’m badassed.”
