Lycan Legacy - 4 - 5 - 6: Princess - Progeny - Paladin: Book 4 - 5 - 6 in the Lycan Legacy Series

by Veronica Singer

  “I was responsible for cooking for my seven older sisters and my mom,” he said. “I learned to cook fast and well.”

  “Didn’t you have servants for that?”

  Mason took a moment to flip the eggs over and turn the bacon. “All males in Fae learn to serve their family. Forcing the job onto servants would be considered shirking a responsibility.”

  Mason used the fourth pan to reheat our leftover barbecue.

  My mouth watered at the scent of food. I had been so distracted by Mason’s display of culinary skill I had forgotten all my questions.

  Mason slid an extra-large plate in front of me and a normal plate at his spot.

  Mason sat in his chair and picked up a fork. “Bon Appetit.”

  “So this bank—”

  “That’s business talk, Luna,” he reminded me.

  We had a rule: no business talk during meals. That rule chafed now that I had a million questions.

  I ate quickly, wanting to get back to the matter at hand. Well, that and because Mason was a really good cook.

  Mason was enjoying this enforced silence just a little too much. I used my toast to sop up the last bit of egg yolk and finished my plate.

  I started drumming my fingers. Click-click-click-click. "I have a lot of questions," I said.

  "I know it's a lot to take in, love," he said as he slid a second plate in front of me. "Let's save them for the demo."

  "Demo?"

  "Yes. I've invited Naomi and Kuga to come to visit so we can discuss this. I owe her three favors; I will give her three coins that she can redeem later. The kitsune accepting this new method of debt reconciliation will be a big boost to the plan."

  "Wait, you've already made the coins?"

  "Yes, dear. I'm sure you'll love the design. You'll see them at the meeting. Now eat up. No more talk of business."

  13

  "No way!" I said as I examined the coin. "You can't put my face on your funny money. I'm not a president or a saint or… or someone important."

  The design was beautiful. A profile of my head on the obverse, with a crescent moon above. It was a work of art. I had never looked better. I flipped the coin over. There was the same howling wolf that graced the portal coins, shown in even greater detail. This wolf was recognizably my wolf. How did Mason get so much detail into a one-ounce coin?

  "You are important," insisted Mason. "More than you know. Read the inscription."

  I squinted at the engraved letters under my image. "Princess Luna the First? Won't the human royal families be pissed off that I'm trying to steal their thunder?"

  Mason, sitting on my right at the big conference table, smiled his heartwarming smile. "But you are a princess. You're my princess. Now anyone who wants to deal with us will have to acknowledge that."

  On my left, Logan snorted. "Let Mason play his games. I think you're cute—"

  At my murderous glare, he cut himself off. To Logan's left sat Mike, then Christopher. I had insisted that the other holders of portal coins attend, as well as Christopher, to represent the pack.

  On Mason's right sat Naomi, then Kuga.

  Naomi couldn't resist chiming in, "I like the design, Princess. I'm sure the kitsune queen would agree." Behind her, her phantom tails wagged, reflecting her humor.

  "Hey," said Logan. "Don't mock her. Aren't you some kind of princess?"

  Naomi looked up and away as she chose her words carefully. "I am the niece of the queen, one of many in the line of succession. But our system is more of a meritocracy than a hereditary monarchy."

  "Lots of big words," grunted Logan. Then he repeated the concept in harsher language, "You're part of the family, so you have a shot. But you have to prove you've got the stones to be successful."

  "Exactly. My understanding is that wolf packs operate similarly."

  Naomi turned back to Mason. "Please explain how this would work."

  "I owe you, or the kitsune clan, three favors. I will give you three coins to represent those favors. You can either redeem those favors or trade the coins off to another supernatural, passing my obligation off to them."

  "What's keeping someone from making new coins? A few ounces of gold, a stamping machine, and poof, you've got a bankrupt magician."

  Mason chuckled like a parent whose child had just presented a hand-drawn banknote and demanded payment. "I've instituted several anti-counterfeiting techniques. These coins are not just physical; there is also a virtual component."

  "You mean magical? I can sense only the tiniest trace of magic in these coins."

  "No, I mean virtual. Each coin has a hexadecimal address engraved. Each address is unique."

  I flipped a coin over. Around the edge were a series of numbers and letters. I guess it could be a serial number.

  "Real gold, fake numbers," said Naomi. "They can still be duplicated. How are you going to prevent counterfeiting?"

  "There's an app for that," said Mason with the smile he used when he was about to show an impressive trick.

  "What app?"

  "There's an app that can verify each coin and guarantee authenticity," said Mason.

  Kuga, a banking executive, caught on quickly. "You have an open-source, cryptographically-secure payment system?"

  "Yes." Mason followed up with an incomprehensible string of words that included "block-chain," "public key infrastructure," and "open-source."

  Christopher and Kuga seemed excited, but it was babble to Logan and me.

  After several minutes, Kuga said, "Let me put this in simple terms. Please correct me if I am wrong. You have a way to track each coin and verify its authenticity, via a web app that anybody can access?"

  Mason nodded. "I based it on current cryptocurrency technology, then added some extra security."

  "Show us how this would work, please," Naomi said.

  "Sure. Please unlock your iPhone and give it to me."

  "Okay, but no looking through my photos," she muttered as she handed the phone over.

  Mason held up Naomi's iPhone. "I'll download the app from the iPhone store."

  He clicked a button, and the download started.

  "Wait, when did you have time to develop an app for this?" I asked.

  "I got up early."

  "You got the math done, created the coins, and developed the app before I got up?"

  Mason gave me that infuriating ‘Like that's hard?’ look. "The hardest part was getting the app approved right away. I had to call Tim to get it done."

  "Tim who?"

  "Tim Apple. He was kind of grumpy about being woken up, but he owed me a favor."

  "You woke up the billionaire who owns the phone company to get him to approve your app?" Then another thought struck. "How did you get his number?"

  "We have each other's number. Like I said, he owed me a favor," said Mason. "Ah, the app’s finished downloading."

  Mason pulled a coin from the stack on the desk, placed it in front of himself, opened the app on the phone, and used the phone's camera to scan the coin's hexadecimal address. The app beeped and a red X appeared on the screen

  "See, this coin hasn't been activated," said Mason. He handed the coin to me. "Please kiss the coin and give it a touch of your magic."

  "Can't either of us do that? I don't like kissing my image. It seems narcissistic."

  "Either of us can activate a coin, but I need to prove you can. Please."

  I flipped the coin over and kissed my werewolf image, letting the tiniest trickle of lunar magic pass through my lips. I pulled the coin away and the image of my lips remained limned on the coin, glowing for a few seconds, then fading away.

  Mason scanned the coin again with the app and this time the image came up with a large green check-mark and an exclamation point. A pleasant ding like a cash register opening accompanied the app. He handed the phone back to Naomi so she could see for herself.

  "Okay," said Naomi, "so you've proved that the app can verify these coins—" A ding from her phone interrupted h
er.

  "What's this message? Someone is offering me fifty thousand dollars for the coin!"

  "That's me," said Mason. "I set up an auto-responder to send an offer to anyone who scans a verified coin. That way, if a mundane has a coin, he or she can get the cash and the coin gets returned."

  "And if they're aware of the supernatural world?" I asked.

  "Then they know the coin is worth much than fifty thousand, and will act accordingly."

  Naomi looked conflicted. She reached for the coin, but Mason had his finger on the object before she could touch it.

  "Will you accept this token for one of the favors I owe you?" I kicked him under the table. "Excuse me, one of the favors we owe you?"

  There was a momentary one-finger tug-of-war between them, then Naomi nodded, accepting the exchange.

  "Luna, my love," said Mason, "please bless two more coins for Naomi."

  "Bless?" asked Mike. He was a believer—maybe he considered that term sacrilegious?

  Mike had done a lot for us—helping Mason to get me out of my ex-alpha's prison, to help me escape that Arctic prison—he had risked his life multiple times to help us. He deserved more than the portal coin I had given him, the magic coin he couldn't spend without paying a terrible price.

  I quickly kissed—okay, blessed—three coins. Two I handed to Naomi, who stacked them up in front of herself, stroking the gold like a miser.

  I turned to Mike, holding the third coin in my cupped palms. "Mike, thank you for your service. Please take this coin as partial payment for everything you've done for us."

  "You're kicking me out?"

  "Of course not! Don't be silly. We will need your help for a long time. This is just a gesture of how much we appreciate your loyalty."

  "In that case, I gratefully accept your offer. My service, my loyalty, my life are yours to command." Then he kissed the coin in the same spot I had kissed it, sending a tingle down my spine.

  Logan raised an eyebrow at that comment, then laughed. "Mike, buddy, sounds like you've been watching too many knights-of-the-Round-Table movies. That corny dialog is rubbing off."

  I didn't understand men at all. Although his declaration had sent a chill down my spine, Mike knew I had no romantic interest in him. I blessed two more coins and handed them to Logan and Christopher. "Thank you for your service. You can call on me or Mason anytime for a favor with these coins. Or trade them for as much cash as you can get."

  Logan bit his coin to test that it was real. Christopher sniffed his to catch my scent. Both were satisfied and smiled at the transaction.

  Logan pointed at Mason and said, "It'll be a cold day in hell before I use this coin to ask a favor from a magician." Christopher nodded in agreement.

  "Whichever of us you call on," I said, "we will do our best to help you."

  Naomi interrupted us. "Just how many of these coins are you going to hand out? I don't want you diluting our reserves."

  "We will limit the first batch to one hundred coins," said Mason.

  "And the next batch?"

  "The board will decide when and how many more coins to allow. Remember, we will only issue as many as we feel we can back."

  "And this board is…?"

  "Luna and I are the guarantors for the coins. We will cover any requests. We are the board."

  Naomi nodded and started typing on her phone in Japanese, holding the screen so nobody but Kuga could see it.

  Mike was playing with his phone. "Do you have that app in Google Play? I don't have an iPhone."

  Mason showed him where to download the app. When he scanned his coin, it came up with a green check-mark, soon followed by the ding of a new message as Mason's auto-responder offered him cash for the coin.

  Then his phone dinged again, surprising everyone.

  "Hell, somebody just offered me sixty thousand for the coin! Who could that be?"

  Everyone looked at Naomi, who smiled serenely under our scrutiny.

  Mason was the first to comment. "Only ten thousand more than my offer? Somebody's trying to low-ball you, Mike. You'd better wait. I'm sure a better offer will come along."

  "This coin is worth more to me than money," said Mike.

  Naomi's expression soured. Then she brightened and said, "Please excuse us for a moment. Kuga and I have to have a discussion."

  Instead of leaving, she popped a privacy bubble around herself and Kuga—a bubble so soundproof, even werewolves couldn't hear what they were saying. The bubble was also frosted, preventing lip-reading. All we could see were two blurred figures gesturing and talking quickly.

  Logan and Christopher recoiled at the blatant display of magic, then rubbed their noses as if a skunk had entered the room.

  We chatted about other things. I wasn't naïve enough to believe that just because we couldn't hear them, they couldn't hear us. It would be a typical kitsune-style trick to make the privacy one-way.

  Meanwhile, we refilled our drinks. Coffee for Mason and Mike, Cokes for Logan and Christopher, fruit juice for the pregnant lady.

  Finally, the bubble popped. Naomi smiled tightly. Her tails were still, showing she was controlling her emotions.

  She carefully pushed one coin back toward Mason, leaving it in the middle of the table. "We want in."

  "In on what?" he asked.

  "On the First Inter-dimensional Bank of Luna. We want a position on your team."

  "‘We’? You and Kuga?" asked Mason.

  "No, me and the kitsune clan," said Naomi.

  "You don't have the authority to bind your queen and clan to this deal," stated Mason.

  "I do," she said. A flat statement with no wiggle room. Supernaturals place great store in their honor; if she said it, it was true.

  "You realize you would have to accept the responsibility to grant wishes to whomever presents a coin?" asked Mason.

  "I do," she repeated. "We accept this responsibility." She pushed the single coin even closer to Mason, urging him to accept.

  "Wait a second," I said. "You expect to get in on the ground floor of a huge enterprise with one coin and a promise to help, eventually?"

  "Kitsune promises are worth a great deal," she said primly. She sat back and folded her hands. I continued staring at her for a full minute. Then she pushed another coin in the middle of the table, upping her offer.

  Another staring contest, then she said, "Although considering we will all share equally in the obligations and rewards, a slightly higher buy-in would be appropriate." She slowly pushed the third coin out to join the other two.

  Mason took a deep breath and reached to gather in the coins that represented all the favors he owed the kitsune. But just before he touched the coins, Naomi said, "Fifty-fifty, correct?"

  Mason's hand froze, and he looked at me.

  "No way!” I said. “Mason and I both have talents to bring to this operation. We're equal partners, I have an entire magic-proof wolf pack, and Mason can perform literal miracles. And you want more than us?" I sniffed dismissively. "If we need some tricks played on children, we might call on you."

  "You didn't talk like that when I helped you face down your president, using my shape-shifting trickster abilities. Or when I took care of those invisible assassins. Don't underestimate the power of the kitsune."

  "Yes, I admit you're perfect for certain missions. Which is why we would welcome you to our enterprise for… shall we say, thirty percent participation for those three obligations."

  Naomi shot a glance at Kuga. The banker gave her a tiny nod. I was bargaining out of habit, because kitsune are famous for making disastrous deals with humans. Hard bargaining with them is self-protection. But Kuga saw this as an opportunity great enough to accept what would normally be considered a bad deal.

  "We accept a thirty-percent share in your new 'token economy.' The kitsune will accept coins and endeavor to fulfill obligations for anyone who holds a coin. We will work to our strengths and expect you to do the same."

  "What's that mean?" />
  "Requests that fit our talents as, what did you call us? 'Shape-shifting tricksters’? We will concentrate on those missions where our talents naturally lie." I waited a moment, then she continued, "Just as we expect the wolf and her pack to undertake missions that require extreme violence and resistance to magic, and Mason to accept tasks that require exceptional magical ability."

  She made sense, but I didn't trust her. On the other hand, I couldn't find a problem with her argument. "As long as we share the tasks equally amongst us."

  "Agreed. Although I am almost insulted that you would think we’d shirk at sharing the work."

  "This is business; I intended no insult," I conceded. I nodded and Mason scooped up the three coins, sealing the deal.

  "No insult, agreed. The kitsune will accept an equal number of missions as you and Mason."

  "Sounds fair," I said.

  Then came the zinger. "We shall endeavor to ensure you and Mason only get the most interesting cases."

  14

  "What are we going to call these coins?" asked Naomi.

  "I don't know," said Mason. "I was thinking of using the terms Binary, Internet, Trusted, and maybe Clearing House. Those words convey the idea. So, maybe Clearing House for Internet Trusted Binary coins?"

  "CHIT-Binary? Sounds clunky. It needs something catchy, not technical," said Naomi.

  Mason turned to me. "What do you think, Luna? They're your coins."

  "Why ‘binary’?"

  "Because they have both physical and virtual qualities," explained Mason. "Internet because we can verify them on the internet. Trusted because the crypto function guarantees authenticity."

  "B, I, T, and coin. Too bad bitcoin is already taken," said Christopher.

  Logan and Naomi exchanged a look, both grinning like idiots. Then they said, "BITCHCoin!"

  "With my face on these coins, you want to call them—” I started. My claws extended unconsciously.

  "Done," announced Mason as he typed on his phone with superhuman speed. "The First Inter-dimensional Bank of Luna has a name for the guarantees it issues."

  "Why do I feel you're all ganging up on me?" Click-click-click-click.