Dhampirs of Sgiach

25. Kieran

Kieran spent another week in the hospital before Dr. Sorcha was satisfied that he was well enough to go home. Artificial light didn’t cause him pain anymore, but he still avoided it when he could. He had been in that room for five days. A little research and a conversation with Dr. Sorcha had told Kieran that most Shadow Walkers had died after a day in similar situations. He hadn’t asked about it until after he finally convinced Kage to go feed and Echo to go home and rest.

Adam had been there and was fascinated by the conversation. He tried to get Dr. Sorcha to explain why Kieran had the Shadow Spark and not the Flame Spark, but she refused.

The cloudy sky of early fall threatened rain as Kieran stepped off the bus in the Ebony Playground. He looked up at the elegant building of The Seven Deadly Sins.

This early in the day, the club was closed but when Kieran knocked on the door, the Furian bouncer opened it. “Lucifer was wondering when you would show up.”

Kieran raised an eyebrow at that. “He was?”

“Yep,” the Furian said as he moved to the side so Kieran could enter.

He was led through the quiet club to Lucifer’s office. The office was the same as the last time he was there, except that Lucifer himself had a shirt on this time as he leaned against his desk and watched Kieran.

Kieran moved his sunglasses a bit to test the light in the room and winced before placing them back firmly. “Did you know what would happen?” Kieran asked.

“No,” Lucifer said. “Only that dhampirs were going missing. Kage did not deserve to be abandoned the way he had, nor to befall whatever fate they had.” The ancient incubus looked sad for a moment before he went back to his pleasant blank face.

A wave of tiredness hit Kieran and he swayed slightly as he sat in one of the chairs in front of Lucifer’s desk.

“Have you not fully recovered?” Lucifer asked.

“Light wears me out.” Kieran let out a snort. “It’s like my time in that damn room made me more like a sanguinai.”

Lucifer lit a candle before he turned the lights in the office off and closed the curtains. “Why have you come here today?”

“I was hoping you would be willing to hire Kage. He has been putting off feeding,” Kieran said dryly. “If he worked here he wouldn’t have an excuse to put it off. And I know he’ll be safe.” He said the last softly as he took his sunglasses off and fidgeted with them.

“I can always use more Nephilim in my club,” Lucifer said thoughtfully. “Darva and Dulcie were looking for someone to join their act,” he mused, then nodded to himself. “Yes, I believe Kage would fit in with those two wonderfully.”

Kieran’s phone rang then, and he smiled at the name on the screen. “I’m not doing anything naughty,” he answered the call.

“Then where are you? You said you were taking a nap but you’re not in the bed or closet,” Kage demanded.

“You’ve been putting off feeding. So, I went to see Lucifer about a job for you,” Kieran said patiently.

“I like working at the Dancing Pig.”

Kieran rolled his eyes. “You like being able to keep an eye on me. My parents and brothers do a fairly good job of that.”

“You need people to keep an eye on you.”

“I’m sorry I snuck out. But I’m not a child and you need to feed on a more regular basis.”

“I can feed on you,” Kage said in a tiny voice.

“You don’t feed on my sins and lust isn’t enough. Please, Kage.”

Kage was quiet on the other end of the line for a long while before he finally spoke. “Alright. Please come straight home.”

Kieran smiled. “I will. Do we need anything from the store?”

He heard Kage and Echo talking softly before Echo came on the phone and gave him a short grocery list for dinner.

The apartment complex had been bought out by a coalition of the Sleuth, Pack, and Lucifer. Instead of charging double for dhampirs, it now offered affordable housing for them. The humans had been moving out en masse since then as more dhampirs moved in.

Ezekiel bowed his head politely and motioned for Kieran to enter the elevator first. The older dhampir had his young daughter in one arm on his hip and a grocery bag hanging from his wrist. The little girl, Sylvia, had a snack cake in her hands that she was eating even as she mimicked her father and bowed her head.

Kieran sighed as he leaned against the wall of the elevator tiredly. “You don’t have to bow to me.”

“You’re third in line for the Sleuth,” Ezekiel pointed out dryly.

“You’re the Alpha of the local dhampirs. You technically outrank me,” Kieran pointed out.

“You helped bring justice to my dhampirs and find our missing kith and kin.”

“I didn’t do much…” Kieran said softly as he avoided the other dhampir’s eyes. “And I was useless in helping Kage and Echo…”

“If you say so,” Ezekiel said, and Kieran frowned at him.

Kage was in the hallway waiting for Kieran when the elevator door opened and he rushed over. Kieran patiently let Kage sniff at him as they walked down the hall to their apartment. He was dressed nicely in tight jeans and a silver silk button-up shirt.

“You look nice,” Kieran said as he opened the door.

“You’re in trouble,” Kage said as he followed Kieran inside. “You snuck out without telling us where you were going.”

“You would have objected to working for Lucifer.” Kieran set the bag on the counter and hugged Echo as she greeted him.

“Thank you, Kieran,” Echo said as she looked through the bag.

Kieran swayed slightly as a wave of exhaustion hit him and he gripped the counter to keep from falling. “I’m going to take a nap.”

“Do you want a snack when you wake up?” Echo asked as she looked up at him worriedly.

“Only if you plan to have one.”

Once he was steady, he headed towards his bedroom. Kage followed him. “This is why we want you to stay home. It’s not even afternoon and you wore yourself out.”

Kieran smiled as he kicked his shoes off and flopped onto his bed. “Is that what you’re going to wear tonight when you go with Sasha and Koda?”

“Don’t change the subject,” Kage said as he stood over Kieran. He made an adorable yelp as Kieran pulled him into the bed.