Witch's Hunger. Deborah LeBlanc

4

      Any silence was short lived because Hoot, Elvis and Socrates started a cacophony of squawks, hisses, chirps and shrieks.

      Amid the noise, the sisters heard someone pounding on the front door downstairs. Pounding hard, as though they meant to break the door down if it wasn’t answered right away. The sisters glanced at each other, then ran downstairs as quickly as possible.

      Viv made it to the door first. Already angry and half expecting to see a wayward missionary standing on the front porch ready to show them the error of their ways, she yanked it open. “What in the hell do you—”

      The words died in her throat when she saw four men standing side by side on the porch. For more than a few seconds, she stood mesmerized. As a clairvoyant, she didn’t sense danger. As a woman, she saw trouble times four.

      All four men appeared to be in their early thirties, stood over six feet tall and were dressed in black. Black jeans, black T-shirts pulled taut over huge, muscular chests and biceps that rippled when they moved. Their shirts were neatly tucked into their pants and held in place by wide black belta with ornate silver buckles.

      Although there were four, Viv seemed incapable of taking her eyes off one in particular. He had gray eyes the color of storm clouds and smoke. Walnut-colored hair fell to his shoulders. A cleft accented his chin, and his beard and mustache were trimmed into a perfect Van Dyke. Had he been ice cream on the lawn, Viv would’ve gladly licked him away from every blade of grass.

      “May we help you?” Gilly asked, stepping up alongside Viv.

      Viv blinked quickly, surprised and a bit unnerved by her sudden and blatant hunger for the man. Remembering she was still covered in blood, she darted away from the door and ran for the stairs, leaving her sisters to deal with the strangers.

      “Is she all right?” Viv heard one of the men ask as she took the stairs two at a time. She wanted to hide in a closet for the rest of the day from embarrassment.

      After showering and washing her hair in record time, she dried off. Although her long black hair was still damp, she whipped it into a braid, then headed to the closet, where she pulled out a pair of white linen pants and a light blue pullover to wear. She slid her feet into sneakers then bounded out of the room and down the stairs.

      Viv found her sisters and the four strangers in the sitting room. It was a spacious area that Evee had tastefully decorated in mahogany and leather antiques. Two Chippendale couches covered in delicate beige fabric needled with gold-and-maroon filigree faced each other in front of a stone fireplace.

      Three of the men sat on the couch to her left. The fourth, the one with the storm-gray eyes, sat in a maroon wingback chair beside it. Her sisters sat on either end of the couch on the right.

      Six pairs of eyes locked onto her the moment she entered. Everyone looked cordial but grim.

      “If you don’t mind,” Evee said as Viv walked toward her sisters, “would you please start again so our sister can be brought up to speed? This is Vivienne, by the way. You can call me Evee, her Viv, and Abigail goes by Gilly.”

      On her way to the couch to join her sisters, Socrates suddenly darted into the room and ran between Viv’s legs, causing her to stumble. He jumped onto the couch between Gilly and Evee, while Viv flailed to find purchase.

      A strong arm caught her mid-stumble, and she held back a hiss. In that second she felt ready to combust. The heat that abruptly shot through her body from his touch made her feel like she’d spontaneously combust. Viv didn’t have to see his face to know the arm belonged to Storm Eyes. She glanced up to confirm. Oh, it was him all right.

      Regaining her composure quickly, Viv gave him a brisk nod, then hurried over to her sisters. Socrates scurried off the couch to make room for her, then darted out of the room as quickly as he’d entered.

      When she sat, her heart thudding in her chest, Viv tried to appear nonchalant.

      “Are you all right?” Storm Eyes asked Viv.

      “Quite all right,” she said. “I apologize for disappearing so suddenly when you arrived. An incident at work... Well, I’m sure you noticed my appearance. I wasn’t injured. And as for the stumble just now...” Viv shrugged. “Cats will be cats. They have minds of their own.”

      “They certainly do,” Evee said, tossing Viv an odd, questioning look. She turned back to the men. “Gentlemen, if you would continue...”

      Storm Eyes smiled and nodded. “Once again, I do apologize for intruding without prior notice. We came as quickly as possible, directly from the airport. My name is Nikoli Hyland, and these are my cousins.” He motioned to the men sitting on the couch and named them from left to right. “Lucien, Gavril and Ronan Hyland.”

      Each man looked like he deserved a front cover on GQ Magazine.

      Lucien’s hair was the color of gingerbread, shoulder-length, and his emerald green eyes seemed to hold a perpetual sparkle. He had full lips and sported a well-trimmed beard and mustache.

      Gavril had collar-length, tousled, soot-black hair. His eyes were violet and set deep into a well chiseled, lightly bearded face.

      Ronan sat and moved with the precision of a drill sergeant. His serious black eyes were hooded by long-thick lashes, and his collar-length black hair was neatly groomed. His square-jawed face held the hint of a five o’clock shadow.

      “Why are you here?” Viv asked Nikoli bluntly.

      “According to them, they’re here to help us,” Gilly said, not giving him a chance to answer.

      Viv felt her blood run cold. “What do you mean?”

      “Allow me to explain,” Nikoli said. “As we were telling your sisters—”

      “It’s complicated,” Evee said to Viv. “I’m still not sure I understand everything.”

      Lucien nodded. “It certainly is complex, but we’re more than happy to go over everything again with you.”

      “We’re Benders,” Gavril said to Viv. “And we’ve been commissioned to you.”

      Viv frowned. “What’s a Bender, and who do we know that would commission you to us? How do you know us?”

      “We’re the tenth generation of Benders assigned to keep watch over Triads,” Ronan said.

      “Ten generations?” Gilly said. “Why haven’t we heard of you before? Our Elders would’ve told us about someone like you.”

      “Not necessarily,” Nikoli said, then looked at Viv. “There are many generations of Triads who never knew we existed.”

      “That doesn’t make sense,” Evee said. “If you’re supposed to help us, how does anyone get that help if they don’t know you exist?”

      “They didn’t know because they didn’t need us,” Nikoli said. “Unless there’s an emergency, we tend to be more of a blend-into-the-background sort of group.” He smiled, and his dazzling white teeth and full lips made Viv shift uncomfortably in her seat.

      Gilly shook her head. “You’re going to have to start from the beginning because I’m totally lost.”

      “If we were here to con you,” Ronan said, “wouldn’t we be asking for something?”

      “Yeah, so?” Viv said, in Gilly’s defense. “We haven’t gotten the whole picture yet, so the bullshit might easily be hiding in the back story, and you just haven’t gotten to it yet.”

      “Good point, Viv,” Nikoli said, his smile broadening. “But I know you’re a clairvoyant, so you already know we mean you no harm. Isn’t that true?”

      Viv looked at Gilly then Evee. “Did either of you tell him that?”

      Both shook their head.

      “We know of the Triads,” Nikoli