“Zeus’ daughters,” Megan said.
He shrugged eloquently. “How much more powerless can you get?”
Twenty-two
Megan was good at distraction—or at least at distracting Rob. Not only had she taken the conversation off her own insecurities, but she had also gotten him out of the parking garage, up the elevator, and to the door of a suite.
It was almost as if she had magical powers as well as the powers of empathy.
She rang the bell, biting her lower lip as she did so. He thought it odd that she wouldn’t have a key to her own suite, but he didn’t say anything.
He’d been saying enough.
The hallway was wide and empty. Rows of suites ran along the side. This wasn’t as upscale as he was used to—John insisted that Rob always stay in five-star hotels to impress the marks.
This place felt cheap. The floorboard echoed as he walked on it, the door seemed thin, even the doorbell that Megan rang sounded like a duller version of what he was used to.
Obviously, he’d been spending too much time with the wealthy again.
A chain rattled inside, followed by the click of a deadbolt and the snick of a smaller door lock. Then the door opened, and Kyle peered out.
“Haven’t I told you to leave the chain on when you open doors?” Megan asked, sounding irritated.
“Why?” Kyle asked. “I heard you coming a mile away.”
Rob hoped not. He had to put some shields back up if he was going to be around the psychic kid.
Kyle gave him a cool glance — as if he’d heard that thought (and he might have) — then pulled the door the rest of the way open. Megan walked in, wrinkled her nose, and stopped in the entry.
Rob followed.
The entire suite smelled of garlic, potato chips, and diet soda. Beneath those smells was the faint odor of pee.
Was everywhere he went today destined to smell of pee?
The place was large, with a living room off one side, a full kitchen, and a full dining room. At least two bedrooms were off the hallway.
An obese dachshund came up to Megan, its tail wagging. It raised itself on its hind legs, put its front paws on her calves, and gave her a doggy grin.
She stiffened. Rob came up behind her and put a hand protectively on her shoulder. For once, she didn’t back away.
“That’s Fang,” Kyle said to Rob. “He doesn’t hurt anyone, but Aunt Megan was badly bit by a dog so she tends to forget that they can be nice.”
Rob squeezed her shoulder slightly in support.
“Are you here alone?” Megan asked.
“Mr. Little went to get some food,” Kyle said. “The Fates are in the bathroom helping each other with makeup. I’m having lunch.”
Hence the garlic-potato-chip-diet-soda smell. Megan walked into the main room. Light from the television set reflected onto her shirt. She picked a container off the coffee table.
“You’re having chips and dip for lunch?”
Kyle shrugged. “I got hungry.”
Megan shook her head. “Your dad’s not home, yet, right?”
“How’d you guess?”
“Just lucky,” she said.
Rob glanced at her. The dog had followed her into the living room like she was its answer to everything.
“How come it smells like pee in here?” she asked.
Kyle chewed on his lower lip. That had to be a family habit. On him, it looked painful. Parts of his lip looked chewed through.
“Dunno,” he lied. He wouldn’t look up at Rob.
Megan still had her back to him. She was picking up potato chips and wiping up dip. She certainly had managed to distract herself—and Rob—from the conversation they’d been having earlier.
“We didn’t get you here in time to solve the pee emergency, huh?” Rob asked as quietly as he could. He was almost subvocalizing, knowing Megan couldn’t hear that, but Kyle could if his psychic radar was on.
“Is it that bad?” Kyle whispered.
Rob nodded. “Didn’t John notice?”
“He was fighting with the Fates. They were mad you took Aunt Megan.”
“What’re you talking about?” Megan came into the hallway, carrying the potato chip bag and the empty dip container.
“Nothing,” Kyle said.
“How amazing you are,” Rob said.
“Liars,” Megan said, and went all the way into the kitchen itself.
“Why were they mad?” Rob asked in that quiet way.
“They thought you took her to Faerie. You didn’t, did you?”
Not yet, he thought. But he might, considering what he had to do there. Empaths could distract most Faeries, which was why empaths were so rare. In the long ago Mage-Faerie wars, the Faeries, for self-protection, had wiped out entire lines of empaths.
Kyle was staring at him, alarmed. “You wouldn’t do that to Aunt Meg, would you?”
Kyle had misunderstood him.
“Do what?” Megan came out of the kitchen, brushing her hands together. Her gaze met Rob’s. She was looking even more tired than she had in his office.
“Put you in danger,” Kyle said before Rob could speak up.
Megan smiled. “Apparently I did a good job of that myself today.”
Kyle looked even more panicked. The boy reached for Megan as the front door opened. John came in, carrying six grocery bags. He staggered past the group and set all of the bags on the kitchen counters.
Rob caught the scent of ripe tomatoes and fresh peppers. “I thought chili wasn’t on the Atkins Diet,” he said.
“Ah,” John said. “You have to make exceptions for special occasions.”
He’d learned to make chili two hundred years ago, and he had never given out the recipe. The meal was spectacular. Rob had been missing it, though, since John had ruled out chili as a viable Atkins food about six months ago.
“Why is this a special occasion?” Megan asked.
John grinned at her. “Because I declared it one.”
But his expression said enough to Rob. It was a special occasion because of her. Because she was the “best thing” for him.
If she would let him talk to her.
If she would let him convince her that he really did think she was the most special woman he’d met in generations.
“Dad’s gonna be really mad,” Kyle said to Rob in a conspiratorial tone.
Rob jumped. The boy hadn’t heard that last thought, which was good. Rob was blocking his thoughts better than he’d hoped.
“About Megan?”
Kyle shrugged. “I was talking about the pee emergency.”
Rob smiled. “I can make it go away if you want.”
“Isn’t that dishonest?” Kyle asked. “I heard Zoe telling Dad that magic was only for the right uses. We were late getting back.”
“So it’s okay to use magic to return here, but not okay to use it to clean up the mess?” Rob asked.
Megan looked his way and frowned slightly. Had he spoken too loudly? He didn’t want to get Kyle in trouble with her or his dad.
“I dunno,” Kyle said. “I’m really confused by all the rules.”
Like the Interim Fates. Like Megan. Like everyone, it seemed, except the Fates themselves.
“Let’s take care of it,” Rob said. “It was my fault you were late. If you get in trouble, blame me.”
Megan walked to the doorway of the kitchen. She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms. “Are you bribing my nephew to make points with me?”
She had, apparently, heard everything.
Rob felt vaguely guilty. Had he been doing that? He hadn’t been aware of it. But he wouldn’t normally use his magic to clean up dog pee.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Would it impress you?”
She smiled. “I’m sure it would make my brother angry. Anything that annoys Travers pleases me.”
Rob frowned. “Is that true?” he asked Kyle.
“Dad says it’s a typical brother-sister relatio
nship, but his relationship with my Aunt Viv isn’t like that, so I don’t know.” Kyle was very serious as he answered.
Poor kid. Didn’t he have a childhood?
“And yes, I did. I do lots of kid stuff.”
Rob felt a real heat in his cheeks. He was blushing almost as much as Megan had.
“I didn’t mean to insult you,” Rob said.
“You didn’t. But Dad’s on his way, so if you’re gonna do something, do it soon.”
Apparently, the kid was really tuned into his father to know that he was on his way home.
Rob glanced at Megan, silently asking her approval.
She shrugged, then grinned, and said, “I’m sick of places that smell like dog pee.”
“You were somewhere else that smelled of dog pee?” Kyle asked.
“We saw the Interim Fates,” Megan said.
“Oh.” Kyle smiled. “If it still smells like pee there, that’s because of Fang, too. That’s where Zoe rescued him from.”
“Fang was their dog?” Rob asked, feeling a little frisson of worry. More things for Zeus to be angry at.
“No,” Kyle said. “They were supposed to do something with him—like give him to somebody or something like a familiar—only they didn’t understand that. And they didn’t know that dogs need to go outside sometimes or that they need baths. He was pretty grody when Zoe brought him back.”
“I’ll bet,” Rob said.
“He’s, like, in the parking garage,” Kyle said with sudden urgency. It took Rob a moment to figure out that he meant Travers, not Fang.
“Right.” Rob waved a hand, then cupped his fingers into a ball, and willed the doggy stains—all of them—into stain oblivion.
The suite instantly smelled better.
The fact that John had just put onions and garlic in olive oil helped.
“Thanks,” Kyle said.
Megan shook her head. “From saving the world to saving my nephew’s dog from my brother’s wrath. You’re quite something.”
Rob smiled at her.
“He’s more than something,” John said from the kitchen. “He’s smitten. He wouldn’t’ve used magic for something that small before.”
“Why didn’t you clean up the pee?” Rob asked.
“I’d like to say I was going to leave it for you, but I had my hands full of Fates for longer than I wanted,” John said.
Rob opened his mouth to comment, but John shook a wooden spoon at him.
“And get your mind out of the gutter. Those women don’t do anything alone.”
“I thought that wouldn’t bother you,” Rob said.
“Gentlemen,” Megan said gently, “there is a child present.”
“Yeah.” Kyle sighed. “But I had to learn about all this stuff a long time ago, Aunt Meg.”
She looked alarmed. “What stuff?”
“Y’know, like how Fates do everything together. If you think about it, it can be really icky. Like this makeup thing. I mean—”
“Okay,” Megan said putting up her hands. “I see what you mean.”
Kyle still had his back to her. He gave Rob a sideways grin, and winked. Did the boy really know what Rob had meant?
Megan would have thought such things were bad for the boy, but back in Rob’s day, children were around parents all the time. Many people slept in one-room huts and had huge families.
The human race survived.
Kyle’s grin widened. He snapped his fingers, and Fang fell in beside him.
“Me and Fang want to finish watching the anime that we ordered up. Is it okay to watch in my room? You guys are gonna talk about grown-up stuff.”
“It’s okay,” Megan said. “So long as you grab an apple from the kitchen to chase away that chips-and-dip lunch you had.”
“That won’t make my lunch healthier, Aunt Meg,” Kyle said.
“But it’ll make me feel better,” Megan said.
Kyle rolled his eyes, and went into the kitchen. John tossed him an apple, which he caught, and then he headed down the hall, Fang trailing behind him.
“That’s one special kid,” Rob said.
“We think so,” Megan said with obvious pride.
“Your brother must have been really young when he was born.”
“Why?” Megan asked.
Rob glanced at her. John shook his head, then made a show of turning on the tiny television the hotel had thoughtfully provided on the kitchen counter.
Apparently, he didn’t want to hear their conversation any more than Kyle did.
“Because,” Rob said. “My people can’t have children once they come into their magic. Men usually come into it around twenty or so.”
“Travers couldn’t have been magic that long,” Megan said. “I would have noticed.”
“I have a hunch he hadn’t noticed,” Rob said.
Megan gave him a soft smile. “Travers is good at being oblivious sometimes. But you couldn’t ask for a better brother.”
She was being loyal after the sharp comment she’d made about him earlier. She did seem to adore her family. She had defended them when Rob criticized them, and she had shown over and over again how much she loved Kyle.
Rob approached her and reached out a hand for her. “Let’s finish that discussion.”
Her eyes suddenly seemed guarded. “Let’s not.”
“Megan, I….” And then he just decided to stop talking. Talking wasn’t getting him anywhere.
So he leaned forward, and kissed her.
She stood very still for a moment, then leaned into him ever so slightly. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
She tasted of sunshine and lip gloss and something sweet, something he’d never tasted before, something uniquely Megan. She was so soft and warm, and she leaned against him as if drawing strength from him, her arms wrapping around his neck and bringing him even closer.
He wasn’t sure how long they kissed. All he knew was that when he finally broke it off—to tell her that he wanted to go to a more private area, just to talk (and maybe do something more)—he was surprised to see that her eyes were closed and tears dotted her cheeks.
He touched one, and stared at it in awe, a shiny drop of water against the ridges on his forefinger.
“Megan?” he whispered.
She didn’t open her eyes. Instead, she squeezed them even tighter. Her eyelashes were wet.
He placed both hands on the sides of her face, and used his thumbs to wipe away the remaining tears. Then he kissed her damp, salty skin.
She let out a small moan. Her eyelids fluttered open. Her eyes seemed even greener than they had before.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean—”
“Oh, look.”
“Kissing!”
“Perfect.”
Rob felt a thread of irritation. Couldn’t those three women leave him alone?
He looked over Megan’s shoulder. The Fates had crowded together in the hallway like they were posing for the opening credits on a sitcom. He half expected to hear theme music—Here’s a story about three strange ladies—and was relieved when he didn’t.
“This is private,” he said.
“We can tell.” Clotho smiled. “Everyone who wants privacy stands in the most public place in the suite.”
“You could get a room,” Lachesis said. “You can afford it.”
“I thought Megan had a room,” Atropos said.
They were wearing tasteful but glittery makeup that somehow made their jeans-and-blouse outfits from earlier in the day look very glamorous.
He had to ignore them. Megan’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes closed again, an expression of pain on her face.
“You have a room?” he asked, wondering which of the rooms off the hallway was hers.
She nodded.
“Let’s go there,” he said.
She didn’t answer. Then she sighed deeply, opened her eyes, and smiled as if she had never done that before.
; She kept her face averted from the Fates and took his hand.
To his surprise, she led him out of the suite and into the hallway. Then she reached into her pocket and removed a keycard.
She opened the door to the adjoining suite as the other door swung shut.
Before it snicked closed, he could hear the Fates.
“I do so love true love,” Clotho said.
“It’s nice when it works out like it’s supposed to,” Lachesis said.
“Let’s hope that they don’t get too distracted,” Atropos said. “We need them to keep true love alive.”
Rob didn’t hear the response. But he did frown. It’s nice when it works out like it’s supposed to? What did that mean?
Marian had been his soulmate, not Megan.
Right?
He shivered once and followed Megan into her suite, not sure he wanted to know the answer to his internal question.
Twenty-two
Megan was good at distraction—or at least at distracting Rob. Not only had she taken the conversation off her own insecurities, but she had also gotten him out of the parking garage, up the elevator, and to the door of a suite.
It was almost as if she had magical powers as well as the powers of empathy.
She rang the bell, biting her lower lip as she did so. He thought it odd that she wouldn’t have a key to her own suite, but he didn’t say anything.
He’d been saying enough.
The hallway was wide and empty. Rows of suites ran along the side. This wasn’t as upscale as he was used to—John insisted that Rob always stay in five-star hotels to impress the marks.
This place felt cheap. The floorboard echoed as he walked on it, the door seemed thin, even the doorbell that Megan rang sounded like a duller version of what he was used to.
Obviously, he’d been spending too much time with the wealthy again.
A chain rattled inside, followed by the click of a deadbolt and the snick of a smaller door lock. Then the door opened, and Kyle peered out.
“Haven’t I told you to leave the chain on when you open doors?” Megan asked, sounding irritated.
“Why?” Kyle asked. “I heard you coming a mile away.”
Rob hoped not. He had to put some shields back up if he was going to be around the psychic kid.
Fates 06 - Totally Spellbound Page 30