“No idea. Opal and Pearl were not happy.” I checked my cell and no one had replied to my texts. I re-texted Gee and Soul, then called both and left new voicemails. No one was paying attention to me. Being the DQ wasn’t giving me the control I wanted, and the position meant only more headaches. I felt my belly again. Now it was a round little ball just below my ribs, so that was good. Being DQ might suck, but the food was excellent.
My cell tinkled; Molly’s number and name appeared on the screen. I tapped and said, “Hey, BFF.”
“Lachish called and told me what happened at the prison. The NOLA witch council has requested the Everhart Clan to come help restore the wards and help protect the heart, since our clan has the newesthedge of thornsward.”
All sorts of possibilities flashed through my mind. The Everharts had devised the originalhedge of thornsand had been upgrading it constantly since, as enemies found ways to magically break them. It was a lot like high-tech hacking into well-secured institutions, an attack and the defensive measures taken by the owners to protect sensitive info from others. But in this case, it was magical energies and protections that were being created and then attacked by outsiders, not electronic. With the exception of the Seattle coven, the Everharts were the most powerful witch clan and coven in the U.S. because of thehedge of thornsand its diverse applications.
But, having that many Everharts in my city spelled trouble, danger, and more trouble. It also meant I had to know if they came as friends or as a diplomatic mission. I decided I had to bite the bullet and ask.
Casually, I said, “If you’re coming asmyguests I can offer some of you rooms in my house.” I dropped my voice and tone into formality. “Molly Megan Everhart Trueblood, earth witch of the Everhart clan, if you come as theDark Queen’sguests,wecan offer you rooms in the Yellowrock Clan home, with the understanding that Edmund and Grégoire will be here soon, and Edmund will be staying in the clan home. Grégoire might be staying there also. Or we can offer you rooms in the Council Chambers, though you would of necessity be in contact with many Mithrans.”
“It’s pretty cool how you do that. Switch the role on and off.” She exhaled quietly. “Proximity to that”—she hesitated—“thatman... is not what... some of us need on our plates just now.”
I grinned. Despite her understanding that a marriage between a centuries-old vamp and a little witch wasn’t going to happen, Angie had a major crush on Edmund and still secretly fancied herself his fiancée. “It’s not the way things aresupposed to be done,” I said, accenting the four words the way my older vamps might, “and I hate to divide and conquer, but you and your family could stay here, in my personal residence, and the others could stay at the clan home. Or HQ. Accommodations would be both official and not.”
“Yes,” she said quickly. “That would work. I think the clan home would be best.”
That put the twins, Cia and Liz, and Carmen if she came, in the Yellowrock Clan Home or HQ, whichever they decided, which would work nicely, though when Eli came home Liz would likely spend a lot of time here with him. “Okay. I’ll also have a suite made available at HQ in case anyone has to crash there for some reason.” Knowing vamps and trouble, there would always be a reason someone might have to stay over. “I’ll have three rooms at the clan home prepared and your rooms here too. AndI’ll arrange security and drivers for everyone, or you can use the armored SUVs. The DQ’s SUVs. I’ll protect everyone as best I can.” Softer, I said, “I’m glad you’re coming, Mol.”
“Me too. I’ve missed you, Big Cat.”
The call ended. And I realized that Alex had been on the phone too. And his call was maybe more important than mine.
CHAPTER 10
He Thought I Was Going to Die
Alex said, “Whatever Quint and Quesnel did, it worked fast.”
We both glanced at Quint, who was washing dishes, and who glanced over her shoulder at Alex and me, her face faintly amused.
“The Lear will be in Asheville and ready to depart for NOLA in four hours,” Alex said. “Shaddock took my call himself. He was still awake and fully coherent and is working with his primo making arrangements.”
Which said a lot: That Quint was handier than I expected. That Shaddock, the MOC of Asheville, had more strength and power than I expected, to be awake in full daylight. Something I often neglected to remember. It also said something about the value of Quint and her uncle’s contacts in the vamp world. The annoying man hated me, but I had to be nice to him because he knew wine—which vamps loved—and because I might need him someday. Like today.
I hated that about the job. The false appearances and relationships built on power, bartering, and negotiating.
Alex pursed his lips and looked at his screen as if there were things he didn’t want to say aloud. He settled on, “Florence will be shipped to the plane inside an airtight, light-safe box. The Shaddock Clan is also handling security at the airport.”
I studied the Kid. He was so unlike the doughy, moody, unwashed, garlic-stinky teenager I had first met. He was still super smart, but now he was strong, dedicated, clean, and had made himself fit. He didn’t look up from the tablet at his side, but his lips twitched. “If you cry over how wonderful I am I might get spoiled.”
“True. I’ll be sure to take my weepy self off then.” I socked his shoulder gently as I left the room. Back in my bedroom, where someone had made the bed and straightened my things (which was just so freaking weird), I settled into the new comfy chair and ottoman with my laptop open. I had some business to attend to, all the minutiae of Yellowrock Securities, my personal emails and messages, and the DQ’s stuff that had been approved by my secretary, lady-in-waiting, and handler, Quint, and had reached me personally. Handlers. I had handlers in every part of my life.
Jane is in cage but not metal cage,Beast thought. Beast was in metal cage once. Remembers smell of hunter and captors. Stink of cage-place. Will never forget. Will run and die before cage again.
I wondered if I’d ever be free of the DQ cage. And if I did put my personal freedom in front of all the responsibilities, would the world I knew disappear? If I stepped on a butterfly on my way out, would the past be changed by a group of timewalkers? Would the arcenciels vanish? Would vamps vanish?
It was dark when I finished my computer work and Bruiser came in. We crawled into bed and were asleep in seconds.
***
Two hours or so later, my cell rang again. A sense of fear lashed through me like an electric whip.
Beside me, Bruiser came awake, from asleep to total awareness, as I picked up my cell. He was also aiming a weapon at the door. Fast reflexes, my Onorio/Consort.
I held the cell up to him.
Angie’s photo and name were on the screen. “Angie?” I answered as Bruiser put the gun away.
