I nodded and Bruiser disconnected.
Bruiser started to open the door to walk me to the house, but I held up a hand. “I’ll go greet Aya and invite him in. Maybe this time he won’t shoot me.”
“And you won’t coldcock him. I approve of this plan.” Bruiser kissed me on the tip of my nose. “I’ll go back to HQ for a bit.”
I grabbed my gear and clothes and handed it all to Quint, who had followed us back in the security detail, and stood by waiting. When the limo’s rear lights were far down the road, I met Aya at his vehicle. He showed no surprise when I walked up, so I knew he had beencompletely aware of his surroundings. My brother by blood had been in law enforcement and military for over 150 years, so situational awareness was part of his soul.
He rolled down his window and spoke in English. “My sister.”
“My brother.”
“You have a shadow.” He tilted his head to Quint.
“Yeah. For good reason. HQ was attacked.”
“I read the reports. Your team of international lawyers is excellent.”
That told me he had been keeping up with the attacks both here and in Asheville. “Granny’s involved with the attackers up to her neck. If I’m right, and our Grandmother isu’tlun’ta, then she’s a danger to theTsalagiin general and to us in particular. I have information that suggests she’s not onlyu’tlun’tabut is also aligned with vampires, a Firestarter-witch-Onorio named Aurelia Flamma Scintilla, and Ka N’vsita who is Onorio and who was born a skinwalker.” I took a breath. That might have been a lot to hit him with suddenly, so I paused to let it sink in to his cop brain, hisTsalagibrain, and his hind brain. More gently I added, “I’m afraid that Grandmother is your grandmother no more. She’s a danger to the world.”
“Succinct,” he said.
“I got more. And if Grandmother gains three specific magical items that have arcenciel blood and scales woven into their magic, then not only are she and her allies a danger to this world but all the others past and present.”
“The Rule of Three applies to powerful objects too,” he said.
We were on the same page. Good. Remembering the Cherokee part of my protocol, I said, “You are welcome to my home. There’s food on the table, beer in the fridge, and probably football on the TV. Just so you know, Alex reserved a hotel room for you.” As I spoke, Aya stepped from his rental car, and I added, “Really? You’re driving a Fit? How do you even get your legs into it?”
“It has not been a pleasant experience.” He smiled a real smile, showing his beautiful teeth. “And thank you for the room.”
A brilliant light flashed in the night. We ducked. Mybody went tense as Beast shoved adrenaline into my bloodstream. Quint dropped my gear and pulled weapons, slapping a nine-mil into my palm. Through the windows, I saw Eli giving fast hand signals to the armed guards as he raced through the house. Quint duckwalked, looking at the street both ways. She had a headset and was talking to someone.
“That seems to have come from your rear courtyard,” Aya said, too calmly, his head near mine below the vehicle’s windows. “The Firestarter?” he asked.
“Don’t think so.” But I wasn’t certain. I shoved off and raced away, calling over my shoulder, “Come.”
Pulling on Beast’s strength, I sped across the front of the house to the far side and leaped. Grabbed the tall gate just to the side of its central decorative fleur-de-lis, avoiding the decorative points on the top; pulled, pushed, lifted my body up and over in a combo track-runner / high-jump move. Landed on the narrow drive and sprinted to the back. Tall gates were built to keep out humans, not skinwalkers and fangheads, and Aya and Kojo, who appeared out of the darkness, followed by the same means. Thema raced in, popping with vamp speed through the new opening in the brick fence. Eli and heavily armed guards appeared from inside. Quint dumped my gear on the sofa in the main room, turned off all the lights inside, and joined us. From Katie’s house, Koun and Tex materialized, Tex with his two guard dogs, both geared up as if the dogs were about to fight bears. Everyone was snarling.
Our guests were not who I expected, not Soul, the big wahoo of the arcenciels. Instead it was the three arcenciels from the wedding: Storm, Opal, and Pearl. In human guise, they were sitting on the shattered rubble left from the boulders I used to change mass.
Overhead, lightning flashed cloud to cloud. Even in the cool of fall, heat lightning was common here, but I had a feeling this particular light show was more, like maybe a gathering of arcenciels. Which meant we were either deeply honored or in deep doo-doo. I swallowed down my adrenaline and controlled my shaking.
Storm was sitting on the topmost stone, posed to show off her legs, which were only marginally swathed by the usual charcoal, lavender, and purple dress. Her hair waslong, various shades of purples, all twisted into multicolored waves and thin braids and swoops. The other two rainbow dragons were sitting lower down on the broken pile in some kind of position of power. Opal was trailing her fingers through the fountain water, while Pearl was running her fingers over the stones where I used to hide magical objects and some of the more esoteric bones I had used for shapeshifting. I’d had occasional visits from Storm and from Soul, but this three-arcenciel visit was new.
“Storm, Opal, Pearl,” I said, handing my weapon to Tex. “The Dark Queen welcomes you.”
Storm said, “You have been named the Warrior who Brings Peace, yet you approach us with weapons.”
I lifted a hand, and all the weapons dropped. Everyone, almost in unison, stepped back. As if they had choreographed it.Coolio.
Storm said, “I have been assigned by She Who Seeks Peace, who is also She Who Claims the Rift, as emissary to your court.”
I knew that, so repeating it meant it was important. “My court is honored.”
Storm scowled like the thunderheads she was named for and said, “Indeed you are. She Who Seeks Peace is revered. We have been sent to learn human ways. The human ways of mating and human ceremony. She Who Seeks Peace arranged for us to attend the ceremony of mating. We wish to attend this thing called the honeymoon.”
“No.” When Storm looked perplexed, I said, “Such an invitation is not mine to offer, and the honeymoon is private to the two participants.”
“You are the Dark Queen. All bow to you.”
