Page 20 of Queens Will Play

Delilah stood up. “Your old house is still empty. The last renters lasted about two months, but I kicked them out because they were having some questionable parties there. It’s clean, though it probably needs dusting, but you and Bruce can move right in.”

“We can go shopping for everything you need,” I added. “Morio made a fortune off the flavored blood for vamps. And I have the Barrow at my disposal. We can get you anything you need.” After a moment, I added, “If you want, I can ask one of the therapists at the Barrow to talk to Bruce, and to you and the children, if you need.”

Iris didn’t say anything for a moment. A single tear trickled down her cheek. She hung her head. “I didn’t know where to go. After the temple in Finland changed its mind, Bruce and I decided we’d stay in Ireland. I have no one to go to, and Bruce’s family welcomed us. Now, neither one of us has family.”

“You do have family,” Hanna said. “Just like I do.” She gave Delilah and me a soft nod.

“Always,” I said. “You always have us.” I pulled out my phone. “What hotel are you staying at? I’ll have Trillian go pick Bruce and the girls up now.”

“The Straton,” Iris said.

I headed away from the table and called Trillian. When he came on the line, I told him what had happened.

“Oh great gods,” he said. “What can we do? Tell me.”

“Why don’t you and Morio go to the Straton, pay the bill, and bring Bruce and the girls back here. Meanwhile, ask Shade to drive to the nearest store. Buy…oh crap, I guess…I don’t know if the twins are out of diapers yet. I think so, but tell him to text Delilah to ask what Iris’s kids will need. Also, food for their house, and whatever else he can think of to make the first night a little easier.”

I thought about texting Marion to ask if she could wait a day. But I thought that if something nasty was on her land, it might be something worse than a goblin. With thoughts of redcaps and blood filling my thoughts, I returned to the kitchen, suddenly feeling needed in a way I hadn’t felt for a very long time.

CHAPTER SIX

Hanna summoned Vanzir to watch the girls while she headed down to Iris’s house to get it ready. Iris insisted on going with her.

“If I sit still, I think about the attack. I need to keep busy,” she said.

“Of course,” Hanna said. “Come. We’ll make sure your house is ready to go.”

As they headed out the door, I felt heartsick. Bruce was a good guy, and his parents were mildly problematic, but they didn’t deserve to be beheaded. I turned to Delilah. “Things are changing too fast. I feel like we’re in the path of a whirlwind coming our way.”

She nodded. “The winds of fortune have shifted. We’re lucky we’ve had two relatively peaceful years. Things are about to go to hell again.”

I walked out onto the back porch, watching over the back yard. Delilah was right. Things were on a downward spiral, and we’d better be ready to face what was barreling toward us. After a moment, I turned back to Delilah, who was leaning against the door jamb, watching me.

“Come on, let’s go visit Marion. With traffic, it will be close to seven by the time we get there. For the moment, we can’t do much here.”

She nodded, grabbing her keys. Vanzir was entertaining the girls with a makeshift puppet show as we headed for the Jeep. As I glanced up at the sky, a sudden crash of thunder rolled through. I held my breath, counting. Five seconds later, a massive lightning bolt lit up the sky. Yeah, we were in the path of the oncoming storm, all right.

Marion Vespa was a coyote shifter. We’d had a number of interactions with her over the years. As we headed toward the Supe-Urban Café, the afternoon traffic was thick. Rush hour around Seattle started around 3:00 and lasted until 7:00, on most days, and if you had an appointment, you did your best to get there on time, but there were never any guarantees.

As we maneuvered through the streets, the rain began to crash down, fat drops pelting the windshield. The thunder and lightning were still playing tag overhead, but luckily our lightning storms were nothing like those in the Midwest.

“What do you think about what happened to Bruce and Iris?” I asked, staring out at the storm.

“I think the Supe Community in Ireland better get a handle on the redcaps. They’re everywhere, true, but I don’t think that could happen here without the Supe Community Action Council sending out a posse to wipe them out,” she said.

Delilah had been instrumental in helping create the Supe Community Action Council in Seattle, and even though she wasn’t an active part anymore, she still sat on the board of directors.

“We should do something for them—they’ve lost everything,” I said. “Bruce was rich, but it sounds like they had to flee with nothing but their lives.”

“I’ll ask Iris tonight,” Delilah said. “Banking’s different now, my guess is that they’ll be able to get a lawyer to recover the money that wasn’t on the premises.”

“True,” I said. In as little as a couple of years, so much had changed thanks to big tech breakthroughs. “You’ll have plenty of company out there again,” I added. “Vanzir and Roz—once he’s back. Iris and Bruce. Your kids can play together with theirs,” I said.

“That’s one thing I’ll admit I’ve been worried about. Finding playmates for Chamiya isn’t easy. She’s still not fully versed in social niceties. She’s two and a half, and that means temper tantrums, and that’s a problem, given her powers.” Delilah paused for a moment, adding, “I’m terrified she’s going to hurt Astrid—or some other child. I keep a tight watch on her.”

I caught something in her voice. Delilah hadn’t told me much about the powers Chamiya was exhibiting. “Are you afraid of her?”

Delilah sighed as we turned onto East Pike Street. “Not quite afraid. She’s so quiet, and so reserved, and she reminds me of a tightly wound spring. I don’t know what to expect and the Autumn Lord won’t tell me anything.” She pointed to the other side of the street. “There’s the café. And a parking spot right across from it.