“What’s happened?”
“Abbott’s been offered a way out of war with Rinaldo if he turns Kirsten over to them.”
“You have reason to believe he’s accepted the offer?” Aaron’s voice was all business. The dragon would take everything in and be fully informed before taking action.
“He didn’t deny it. Kendra did for him, but he hasn’t. He’s on the phone with Kirsten even now, and he still isn’t denying it.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
“You have a little over two hours until sunset.”
“Understood. Can Kirsten hear me?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Stay with Nathan until we figure this out.”
I considered muting my call to Abbott, but he was probably still listening through Kendra, and if even if he wasn’t, Kendra would tell him whatever was said.
“Lauren’s at work. I need to go to her.”
“I’m closer. I’m sending someone to her now.” I heard his keyboard clacking, and he continued. “He’ll hang out in the pool until she gets off work, and he’ll see her home safely.”
“Someone not susceptible to mind control?”
“Of course.”
“I’m told I have an upcoming meeting with Apollonius.”
“Nathan?” This was apparently news to Aaron.
“She found blood-bond threads leading to Abbott, Griffin, and Aquila. She broke them. Abbott’s still healing, apparently.”
“When it rains it pours. I’ll talk to Abbott. Bug, you should call Bran and ask for advice, but get his price up front.”
Aaron disconnected, and Abbott said, “I should go so I can answer Aaron’s call. I’ll let you know what you can do to help once I’ve spoken with him and my top people.”
Abbott ended the call, and I looked to Kendra. “I hate this. You’re my friend, but I understand your loyalties lie with Abbott.”
She nodded. “I believe it’s his intention to fight them. I’m not sure why he made you believe otherwise. While I can’t vow to protect you from him, I will promise I won’t kill you, even if he commands it.”
“Will you promise not to turn me over to your enemies?”
She looked at Nathan. “I’ll leave when the sun sinks below the horizon. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Safe passage for you and your human lasts until you exit my driveway, or five minutes after official sunset. Whichever comes first.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Nathan had stepped between Kendra and me earlier, and now he motioned for me to leave. I met Kendra’s gaze, hoping she’d tell me this was all some kind of sick joke, but she told me, “I’ll enjoy ripping apart the bodies of our enemies. I look forward to the day we can be on the same side again.”
I turned and walked out, and trusted Cora and Nathan to have my back.
Chapter 24
No one said anything until we were upstairs, and I told Nathan, “I’m not calling Bran because I know what his cost will be without even asking. Let’s see what Apollonius has to say.”
Nathan crossed his arms and his lion looked out his eyes. “I can provide someone for him.”
I shook my head. “No. Absolutely not.”
“We need his advice. I’ll negotiate with him. You’re supposed to trust me in matters concerning my people.”
“Fuck.” I said it with feeling, and I grabbed my phone and called Bran without explaining myself. I couldn’t keep letting other people pay the cost for my safety.
I told Bran what’d happened in as few words as possible, and ended with, “Can you help? And if so, what will it cost me, but make sure it’s something I’ll agree to before you name your price. I’m not going to let someone else owe you anything, and I’ll take my chances with Apollonius before I agree to let you hurt me without a safeword.”
“I’m going to a party in three weeks and I’m looking for a female bodyguard to act as my date. I’ll be happy with either you or Cora, and whether or not you have sex with me is entirely up to you.”
“What’s the party?” asked Nathan.
“Wolves in three states have agreed to join under common leadership.”
Nathan shook his head. “Cora can’t go. Kirsten’s a friend of the Pack, so even taking her could get sketchy.”
I looked at Cora, who said, “The wolves in those states are friends with Celrau, and with Strigorii who feel their food are nothing more than cattle. The party’s in Salt Lake City. There’ll be human slaves tied up and open to be used as party favors by one and all.”
“Neither Kirsten or Cora can go,” said Nathan. “I’ll send one of my lionesses.”
“No.” I glared at Nathan and told Bran, “I’ll go with you as long as Marco and at least one other guard I trust goes, too.”
“Marco and someone Aaron chooses. Will that suffice?”
“One night?”
“We’ll fly out around noon Saturday and I’ll have you home before sunset Sunday. Likely before noon, but I’m giving myself some leeway for unexpected invitations. Also, you’ll be in a skimpy dress you aren’t going to like, but I promise it’ll be fashionable and on par with what the other females in power are wearing.”
“Okay. If I can’t find someone to go who wants to go, and whom you prefer over me, I’ll go with you. Now what do I do about Apollonius?”
“Hire me. I have to charge by the hour to make it legal, so I’ll charge a dollar an hour. Give me ten dollars on retainer, and when I’ve used it up I’ll let you know.”
“What will you do?”
“Argue your case. I know supernatural law inside and out, and I have an idea of how to legally prove you’re human. It might not work, but it won’t do any harm to try. In other words, if I can’t prove you’re human legally, it won’t prove the opposite. If I fail, everyone will still be arguing over whether you’re human, an offshoot of a known species, or a new species.”
I looked to Nathan, who said, “He’s allowed two guards and a date, and he’s using you as a third guard.”
“I’m good with that. Should I hire him to argue my case?”
“Yes. He wants you alive and free long enough to be his arm candy. We’ll meet him at Drake Security. I’ll tell Apollonius we’ll meet him there in two hours.”
I shook my head. “No, I’ll call Apollonius. It’s time I started handling my own shit.”
Nathan nodded, I made sure Bran was good with meeting at the Drake offices, and I called Apollonius.
“I understand you wish to see me?”
“I do. The Amakhosi is keeping me away from you, for now. You can’t stay there forever.”
“I was only recently notified there’s an issue. I’ll meet you at the Drake Security offices in two hours, if that works for you?”
“Make it two and a half hours.”
“Thank you for working with me on time. I appreciate it.”
He disconnected, and I looked to Cora. “Why do I feel like I should send you to Randall while I meet with Mister Big-and-Scary?”
“Call Bran back and ask if Cora should come,” said RaeLynn.
I nodded, called him, and he agreed with my gut, saying, “He knows the two of you are bound, but we gain nothing by reminding him.”
“RaeLynn will escort Cora to Randall’s,” said Nathan.
“Thank you,” I told RaeLynn. “I appreciate your hospitality, your excellent cooking, and now you’re helping make sure Cora stays safe, too.”
“You’re special to my King. I’ll do anything for him. Keeping you and those you care about alive and safe is important to him.”
I had no idea how to reply to her, so I asked Nathan, “Am I coming back here when we finish at Drake? Should I pack, or do I just need my purse?”
“Body armor and extra mags. Until this is over, you’ll be fully armed before you exit the house.”
“Your counsel requested I arrive with our portable lab.”
I couldn’t tell if Apollonius s
eemed more annoyed or entertained. Or, perhaps both.
I shrugged. “I’m trusting he can help us sort through whether I’m human or something else. I feel human, my parents are human, my grandparents were human and died normal, human deaths. It seems a no-brainer to me that whatever I can do, humans can do, since I’m human. There are plenty of things only one or two humans can do. Once upon a time, the four-minute mile seemed impossible to break. Once a single human finally broke it, a whole lot followed. Now we have high school kids as well as men over forty breaking it.”
“She speaks truth,” said Bran. “Once the first person does something and it’s seen as possible, other humans invariably follow through. No one can see her doing the things she does, so we won’t know if the effect would create other humans who could wield light weapons — nor do we want to know.”
“Why do I have the mobile lab with me?” Apollonius asked Bran.
“Because they’re going to test her blood for vampire, shapeshifter, demon, and fae markers. If they don’t find a vampire marker, and any shapeshifter, demon, or fae markers are less than seven percent, she’s legally considered human. Correct?”
“You wouldn’t have me test her blood unless you were certain she’d pass.”
Bran shrugged but didn’t confirm or deny Apollonius’s assertion. To my knowledge, he’d never taken my blood and tested it, but I’d lived with him when I’d needed protecting, and I’d bled around him. He probably could’ve gotten a sample without my knowledge.
“Are you confirming that you did, indeed, find a blood bond and break it?” Apollonius asked me.
He could tell if I was telling the truth, so lying wouldn’t get me anywhere. “Kendra took me in with her — I didn’t figure it out on my own. I’m not sure she intended for me to be able to do anything once we were in there, she was just letting me see what she did.”
He nodded. I wasn’t sure he knew I’d gone back in by myself, and figured I probably didn’t need to tell him.
“Bran is correct that we currently have five categories for people born of two humans — human, shapeshifter, half-demon, one of the three vampires, or part fae but their parents carried recessive genes and thus seemed human. We have blood tests to define these categories. This won’t actually solve the problem of whether you’re a different category, but it will mean we’ll legally have to define you as human until we can convene a congress specifically to define a new species.” He looked at Bran. “We used to have a category for demigod, but as no one born in the past thousand years had been declared one, we did away with the category at the turn of the millennium.”
“Once she’s legally been declared a human,” said Bran, ignoring the whole demigod conversation, “unless her circumstances and bloodwork changes, you’ll have to meet twenty-three specific points before you can even mention forming a congress to define a new species.”
I tried not to be nervous as they performed test after test on my blood. Some were instant, others needed four or five minutes before you could read the results. One took an hour, though they did that first and set it to the side while they did the others. The lab techs worked for an hour and a half before confirming I tested negative for everything supernatural and positive for all human markers. They wanted to test for recessive fae genes beyond what was called for, but Bran put forth some kind of legal argument I didn’t understand, so they only tested for the ones absolutely necessary — enough to confirm I wasn’t legally a fae, though I understood the legal definition might not fit reality, in my case.
“A word of caution,” Apollonius told me before he left. “I’m comfortable declaring you a legal human for now, but should we perform tests on your energy level, we’ll be well on the way towards those twenty-three points needed to start the process of declaring you a new species. Hiring Bran has made it harder for us to declare you something new, but it means the consequences will be more far-reaching should it eventually happen. I’m aware your friends have cautioned you against doing things to draw attention to yourself, which includes killing old and powerful beings. Listen to your friends.”
“I appreciate your counsel.” I wasn’t sure how to be all formal and say everything according to the rules, so I followed my instincts. “It isn’t my intention to draw attention to myself, but I believe I’ve become somewhat of a mark — someone people want to take out to make a name for themselves, or perhaps a human the old ones want to add to their collection?” I shrugged. “Either way, it means I have to defend myself, which is hard when I’m worried about not drawing even more attention.”
“You’d make things easier on all of us if you allowed one of your friends to change you. Whether Strigorii, lion, wolf, or something else, it would solve many of our problems. I wouldn’t recommend Lugat, as having powers as one would create another set of problems.” He shook his head when I started to speak, and he continued. “I’m curious about where you may go, so I’m not advising you to follow the easy route. Follow your instincts. They seem to be leading you well.”
He nodded to Nathan and Bran, and disappeared.
“RaeLynn saw Cora to Randall’s,” said Nathan. “She returned to my house and escorted Kendra off the property. Aaron, Sophia, and the kids will meet us there.” He sighed. “My guess is his talk didn’t go well with Abbott if he wants his family away from home for the night.”
“There’s no way Abbott would hurt Sophia or the triplets!” I exclaimed.
“I would’ve said the same thing this morning, and yet he’s bringing them to my house tonight. They’ve been friends for centuries and I’ve never known them to square off against each other.” He tousled my hair. “The next time Abbott asks you to tell him who you’d save, imagine yourself saving him and tell him you’d rescue him first. Don’t imagine letting the other person die or he’ll smell the lie, if indeed it’s a lie.”
I shook my head. “And you’d have been okay with me saying I’d rescue him first?”
“If you told me afterwards you’d been lying earlier, and I smelled the truth in your words? Yeah.”
“The truth is I’d save you over him, though I’d suffer guilt for letting him die.”
“Unless I did something stupid to get myself killed, apparently.” He said it with a smile, but I sensed the question.
“Probably. Maybe.” I shrugged. “If we’re telling the bare-bones truth, I get pissed off by what-if questions like that. How does anyone know what they’ll do in a crisis until it happens? I mean, sure, we can train so we’re used to the adrenaline hit, but you never know what you’ll do for certain until you’re there.”
“True enough. Let’s get you home. We’ll travel with a car before us and after us.”
I didn’t tell him we were going to his home, not mine.
Cora stayed at Randall’s house, and Emmy and Sapphire begged to sleep with Lauren. Once Lauren assured Sophia it would be fine, permission was given and the three set up for a slumber party. I had a full day of work scheduled the next day, but I needed to talk to Aaron so I stayed up until we had the kids situated. The grown-ups finally convened in a soundproof room to keep the triplets from hearing us.
“Abbott’s thinking purely in terms of the number of people who’ll suffer,” Aaron told me. “One human versus hundreds of vampires and an unknown number of humans, because if he loses North Carolina he’ll likely lose South Carolina too, since he’s holding it by a thread as it is.” I could sense the dragon in the room, and realized Aaron was beyond pissed. I wasn’t sure who he was angry with, but I’ve learned dragons are unpredictable and prone to violence when enraged.
“Are you upset with me?”
He shook his head. “I’m frustrated with the situation. Abbott has three choices — he can back you and accept your offer to help him fight. Or — and this is probably the easiest option — he can withdraw his protection of you and allow his enemies into his territory long enough to kill or capture you.”
He stopped talking, and I supplied the fina
l option. “Or he can capture me and hand me over, though I’m guessing he’ll have Gavin do it for him, if that’s his decision.”
“There’s a fourth option,” said Nathan. “He can change her and claim her as part of his line.”
“With Sophia here, I’m going to send Jonathan with you tomorrow,” Aaron told me. “He has good shielding against Strigorii, which is going to be important. Tyler and Patrick won’t be enough.”
“Will it help for me to call Abbott? Is there anything I can say to sway him?”
“Not at this time,” said Aaron. “I’ll monitor things as much as possible tonight, and we’ll touch base tomorrow.”
“Apollonius said your house is sacrosanct. What does that mean, exactly?” I asked Nathan.
“It means he can’t teleport here, and it would take a serious assault of probably a hundred or more supernaturals to breach it. The windows are made up of layers of military grade polymers, with a metal alloy mesh sandwiched between. It isn’t just bullet proof, it’ll keep out even a small missile. It features military defenses as well as magical protections, and only a few people know where my home is located to start with. The pool and courtyard aren’t as secure. I’d like you to stay out of those areas, otherwise, you’re safe anywhere in my home. Should we go to a higher alert, I’ll move everyone to the basement, in quarters similar to the suite I had Kendra in.”
I looked at Aaron and he chuckled. “It’s a lion’s den. What did you expect?”
“Will you move your Pride in? Or at least the lionesses you’re closest to?”
Nathan shook his head. “They don’t spend the night here. Their home has secure underground facilities. They’ll be safe.”
Chapter 25
I tossed and turned all night, worried a vampire would come into my head if I slept, concerned about making sure my patients were safe the next day, and pissed that Abbott was turning his back on me. I understood the logic of protecting so many of his people versus a single human, but it still stung.
Defining Human (Only Human Book 4) Page 18