Xaephan crossed his arms. “No.”
“I could demand fifteen for the insult of your escaped prisoner coming after me and mine personally.”
“Do you have a counter offer?” Xaephan said it as if he knew his brother did, and he was just going through the motions.
“I do. We’ll go with fifteen instead of twelve but will distribute them. You’ll owe me nine favors, which will put the balance at six — one away from owning your soul. Kirsten will receive four, and Nathan will receive two. However, you will not get Killian back for one hundred years. He’ll remain under heavy guard in a prison on Olympus. You may be present for his orientation, when he’ll be given a list of rules, and he’ll understand the infractions that will mean an immediate and painful death. You will have an opportunity to be sure he understands the rules, as well as the consequences for breaking them.”
Xaephan nodded. “This is acceptable.”
“Orientation will be at midnight on Olympus.”
“If we’re done,” I told them, “I need to return to a meeting. We can pick this back up in a few hours.” I considered whether I needed to be there for Killian’s orientation, and decided I didn’t.
“I’ll try to have dinner with you this evening,” Mordecai told me. “Safe passages.”
Nathan disconnected and opened his office door. “I’ll walk you out,” he told Xaephan.
“I’m going back to Alfheim,” I told him. Any danger to me should’ve been over, since Mordecai had Killian in custody. I wondered how the Olympian prison would manage to supply a human to be killed once a month, but I tried not to think too much about it.
Nathan shook his head. “I’m coming with you. Either walk out with us or wait here.”
“I’ll walk out with you and flash us from there. I need to get back.” I started walking and assumed they’d follow. One of Nathan’s biggest fears was of seeing me dead. If he needed to hang out with me for the day, so be it. However, I needed to make sure he remembered not to treat me like I was defenseless.
Xaephan got into a car parked on the side of the road and drove away. I assumed it belonged to the body he was inhabiting. I turned to Nathan. “No one on Alfheim can know you’re with me because you’re worried about me. It undermines my power. I won’t offer an explanation of why I returned with you. I doubt they’ll ask. If they do, let me answer.”
Nathan nodded, I squeezed his hand to warn him I was about to take us, and stepped out of reality while there were no cars on the road to see us. We were well under a little grove of trees, so the satellites wouldn’t be able to pick it up, either. If they were watching, they’d see us go under and not come out, but whatever. This kept us legal. For now, anyway. Word was coming down that the Concilio might be coming out with new rules since the latest generation of satellites had better lenses and better software. Supposedly, their side view was a lot better, so you didn’t just have to worry about the ones overhead. Any expanse of sky you could see meant a satellite might be able to see you.
Chapter 16
Kirsten
Lauren’s first trip to Alfheim was over Christmas break. She wasn’t dating anyone, which simplified things.
I’d spent several long weekends with her in Cambridge and told her the entire story — the battles, the demon bite, what I’d had to do to stay alive. She’d been terrified that she’d come so close to losing me, and wasn’t sure what to think of my new power. As with the shapeshifters, my energy felt like that of Mother Nature to her, too.
Instead of flying her to Homewood, I stepped into her dorm room when she assured me she was alone, stepped us to Homewood to get Smokey, and then stepped us to the gate of my castle in Alfheim, so she’d get the view of it as I first had.
“This mirrors the hill behind the main house at Homewood?”
“Yes.”
“Can we go through the labyrinth?”
“No. If you want to be Princess, you’ll have to, but if you can’t make it, you die.”
“Would that be the case if I was your biological daughter?”
And this was the main reason I hadn’t told her about the labyrinth test before this. “I’m sorry. I didn’t make the rules, and I can’t change them. Royalty in this realm is hereditary. I have a teensy amount of the blood of the original ruling family. One of the gates within the labyrinth won’t let you pass if you don’t.”
“It’s okay. I don’t want to rule in some other realm. I mean, the idea of being princess is awesome, but I don’t want to be queen.”
“You’ll be called Princess Lauren, but you won’t be able to wear a tiara. I guess that’s the main difference between a princess in line for the throne and one not. There are some other little nitpicky things that mostly have to do with how you interact with the Stewards, but I don’t expect you to be around them much.”
“I just want to meet Zeta and see everything.” She looked at the castle again and turned to me, beaming. “It’s like something out of a fairy tale, but better. This place feels magical.”
“It does, and I’m pleased you can feel it. I’m told most humans from Midgard can’t. C’mon, I’ll show you around.”
We walked up the path from the gate to the castle, and I could sense her wonder and perhaps a little awe as more details came into view. The locals were used to Smokey by now, so they no longer stared. It isn’t appropriate to approach the Queen if you aren’t friends with her, so we made our way without having to stop every few feet while someone said hello to the dog.
A few guards from the gate followed us at a distance, and my personal guard met us before we reached the final footbridge and moat — this one would be a fire moat during times of attack, but it was just an empty stone trough under a narrow stone bridge during times of peace.
“The narrow bridge is part of the defense, right? But the gap isn’t terribly wide. They could bring twelve or fourteen foot long planks to put down over it to get an invading army in fast.”
I explained the part about it being a fire moat, and she stopped and looked around with a new understanding. “It doesn’t just feel magical. It really is?”
“Yes. Everyone here knows about wizards and werewolves. Most recognize Nathan as Midgard’s Amakhosi just by his energy signature. Without my own magic, I’d have never made it to the center of the labyrinth.”
“Nor could she have awakened me,” Zeta said as she neared us. “I can feel your connection, so I know you have to be Lauren.” Zeta hugged my daughter, and Lauren didn’t expect it, but she hugged her back.
“Your mother thinks you’re special, but all mothers are supposed to feel this way about their children.” Zeta pulled back without losing contact. “In this case, your mom is right. You have your own magic. Perhaps not enough so you can easily access it on Midgard, but with some training, you’ll be able to access it on Alfheim, should you wish to do so.”
Lauren was overwhelmed, so I answered for her. “All things she can mull over later. For now, I’m giving her the grand tour. Can you walk with us?”
“Of course.”
Zeta stayed with us for the two hours it took to show my daughter the highlights of the grounds, but left us once I seated us on a balcony and asked a nearby maid to have hot tea and snacks brought out.
“This view is amazing,” Lauren said. “I mean, Homewood is nice, but this is incredible.”
“Mordecai and Nathan will join us for dinner, and that helps, but when I’m here on my own, it’s kind of like going to work. It isn’t home.”
“Okay, I get that. I mean, you have a bedroom here, and technically it’s your castle, but there are a lot of people here.”
“Yes. Guards, cooks, maids, gardeners, stable hands — hundreds of people work here on a daily basis, and more come in for special occasions. Anyone who wants an audience with the Stewards can come and be heard two days a month, no matter their status. I hold court once a quarter, but only the village leaders can present issues to me. The idea is that they bring me the
issues they need help with — the things they can’t resolve on their own. For those villages with poor leadership, anyone can be heard by a steward if they’re willing to make the trip here.”
“I have questions that might not be any of my business.”
I put a bubble around us to make sure no one could eavesdrop. “Ask.”
“You’ve told me usually either Mordecai or Nathan spends the night.”
“Right.”
“But sometimes they both do.”
I gave her what was probably a naughty grin. “Whatever your imagination has supplied is probably not wild enough for what happens when they’re both in my bed.”
Her eyes bugged out. “Really?!”
“I’m pretty sure you don’t want nitty-gritty details, but yeah. Really.”
“Part of me is scandalized, but a tiny part of me might be a little jealous. I mean, I’d love to find one man who loves and adores me, and you found two.”
“At your age, I was still figuring out what I wanted. You aren’t supposed to have found your true love yet. You still have too much growing and changing to do. Your perfect fit now may be a horribly awkward fit ten years from now.”
“Yes. Maybe. What kind of magic do you think I could do here?”
“Your gifts at home lie in your ability to touch someone and see their true nature. Also, your fighting ability is damned good. You’re accessing your own magic when you practice martial arts. Would you like me to arrange a sparring session for you? You might accidentally figure out the magic here easier that way. Your flips and jumps and leaps involve some level of levitation. I imagine the effect will be even bigger here.”
“Nathan will be here. Maybe I can spar with him?”
“I’ll ask him, but I can’t imagine he’ll say no.”
“Is there someone else in the center of the labyrinth, guarding it?”
I shook my head. “No. Supposedly, if I die without leaving a successor, someone will have to be put there again. There’s a contest, and people compete to be the guardian. While there’s a ruling monarch, no one has to protect it.” Lauren would only need to make it to the center and step out of the temple into the courtyard to be crowned Princess. She wouldn’t have to fight anyone, but she didn’t have the bloodline to allow her to make it to the center.
“So what, serial killers volunteer, since their job will be to kill anyone who makes it to them?”
“I suppose. It’s kind of sick, but I don’t get to change those kinds of rules.”
“Cora’s changing some of the wolf rules.”
“She’s using loopholes more than she’s changing them, or in some cases, she’s righting wrongs by changing things, and no one has the nerve to call her on it since they know she’s right. But, she knows the laws inside and out. I’m slowly making my way through the laws, rules, and customs of this realm. Eventually, I may be able to change things, but for now, I’m ruling within the existing structure.”
“What would you change, if you could?”
“Not much, actually. The part about heredity being through biological family, of course, and a few small things here and there, but overall, the realm has its shit together. The Stewards have done an excellent job of ruling. I don’t mind stepping in and helping with the energy, which apparently is a lot better now, but I see no reason to change anything big. Some stuff I’ve changed without meaning to. The royal family had quite the dress code, but that was so many millennia ago, no one expects me to follow it. The Stewards have followed their dress code, and they seem happy I’ve made that part of things easier for them. They’re following my lead, so I’m dressed as a queen for big events, but I follow my own style the rest of the time. Since Midgard’s fashion conventions are different, it isn’t like I’m dressing as one of them, even when I’m casual, so it works.”
“Yeah. I’ve noticed they seem to think black jeans are dress clothes here.”
I chuckled. “Totally my fault. Tomorrow’s celebration is one of the biggest of the year, and there’s something they want to show me.”
“Mordecai and Nathan are both coming?”
“Yes. Mordecai is bringing Nathan this evening.”
“Do you think maybe I can sleep at Homewood? I’m not sure I want to sleep alone in this strange realm. I thought I’d be with you.”
I stopped and looked at her. She’d been off on her own so long, I hadn’t considered the fact she might not be comfortable sleeping down the hallway from me in the castle, but I totally understood, once she brought it up.
“There’s a sofa in my bedroom. You’re welcome to it. Mordecai and Nathan can wear shorts to bed, and we’ll behave.”
She looked a little scandalized again, and I asked, “What?”
“They’d usually both be naked? Like, they’d see each other?”
I grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. If ya’ll are all having sex together, I guess they see each other then, it just seems…” She crossed her arms. “Again, none of my business, but I have to ask. Do they, you know, do each other?”
“No. Both are too dominant. They’ve had sex with men, but they’re always the Top. I can’t imagine either of them ever bottoming to anyone.”
She nodded, uncrossed her arms, and tried to look more comfortable. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop asking those kinds of questions.”
“You can ask any question you want, but make sure you want to hear the answer before you ask it. I only allow that for a few people — Cora, Kendra, Zeta, and you.” I reconsidered and added, “Okay, Aaron and Sophia too, but they don’t really ask that kind of thing. Also, Adonis, on the rare occasion he spends an evening with me and we get caught up on each other’s lives.”
“Not Gabby?”
“Gabby’s a good friend, but no, we don’t talk about that kind of thing. I talked to Bethany about it once, and she gave me some advice about letting them work things out on their own as much as possible, but otherwise, I wouldn’t want Nathan talking to people about us, or Mordecai, so I try to keep it to a minimum.”
“I thought the Harlequin or the Goblin Queen or whatever was supposed to be having sex with lots of people. Like, a constant orgy type thing?”
“Historically, yes. I haven’t, and so far it seems fine. Zeta says there’s speculation that since I’m regularly screwing two such powerful beings, I don’t need sexual energy from so many people, as my predecessors did. Also, I guess since Mordecai is technically a god, his energy is a wider spectrum.” I shrugged. “I suppose that’s another change I’ve brought to the office.”
“And you haven’t been with Dawg since you gained your new powers?”
“No. His friends were worried I’d give him power he doesn’t want.”
“Nathan and Mordecai are still doing other people?”
“Nathan only does his lionesses. Mordecai tells me he isn’t with as many people as he used to be, but I have no way of knowing. Honestly though, I’m okay with it. I haven’t been with anyone besides the two of them since I became the Harlequin, but I have the option of doing so if I want.” I gave her another naughty grin. “They keep me pretty much constantly tender. I don’t really want anyone else.”
“I’m really, really happy for you. My time living with the pride, while the power was out and I was in hiding, taught me a lot about poly groups. I get it, now. I don’t think I want to be in that kind of relationship, where the guy makes all the rules and the women have to follow, but I could see how they all love and support each other.”
“I’m glad your time with them seems to have been a good thing. I was worried about you, but it was the safest place I could put you.”
Her face sobered. “So many people died, Mom. More than half of Boston, and with no refrigeration, they were cremating bodies as fast as they could, to try to keep disease at bay. I was kind of insulated by the pride. They had solar panels and well water and wood stoves. We had plenty of food, and we could cook. We didn’t use electric lights aboveground at
night to keep from drawing attention, but we could listen to the radio, and pick up television shows with an antenna. Most everyone else was thrust back into the dark ages, but they were crammed into apartments so it was like being in some kind of concrete prison of filth and…” She shuddered. “It was bad.”
Most of the country had been without electricity for six to eight weeks. The big cities hadn’t dealt with it well at all — neither had most of the mid-sized cities. Power had been restored to the majority of them, but they were still reeling from the loss of so many people. Many who depend on prescription meds had died because of the disruption in the supply chain. Countless people had died of starvation because they only had a few days’ worth of food in their pantry, and the stores were empty for weeks. And so many had been killed by rioters or looters.
Now that most of the large cities had power, law enforcement was beginning to make inroads towards restoring civilization. Stores were rationing food, but shelves were stocked on most days. Mid-sized cities were slowly being restored, but people in rural areas might be another four to six months without. Some said it could be a year, because so many parts needed to be manufactured, and there were only a few factories — all of which were working round-the-clock to get them made as quickly as possible.
Chattanooga had been restored quickly because we’re the home of TVA. Homewood’s power hadn’t been restored, but we were fine with our generators.
“I’m not surprised Harvard was one of the first schools to get classes going again. I’m glad you feel safe there.”
“Marco has gone out of his way to make sure I’m safe. It makes me sad that he and Cora can’t be together.”
“I find it interesting that Marco doesn’t creep you out the same way Abbott does. They’re both Strigorii.”
“Maybe because Abbott was my introduction to vampires, so I was used to it by the time I met Marco?” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Abbott still creeps me out, but Marco doesn’t. He makes me feel safe. Do you think it’s because I know how close he is to Cora?”
Unhuman Acts Page 25