I shuddered, trying to imagine sweet, gentle Dove in the grip of breach, tearing strangers with her teeth to get the blood she needed. I reached for her hand. “It wasn’t your fault, Dove. It was an accident. You couldn’t help it.”
“You know what kathair called in Chinese? E-gui, hungry ghost. Bad-treated in life, angry in death, always hungry, hungry, cannot stop.”
Ghost? Dove thought of herself as dead? No wonder she didn’t think she could go home. “Dove, you didn’t know what was happening to you. You couldn’t help it.”
“I stop myself hurting Bo. I could have stop. I just not strong enough.” She pulled her hand back, brushed the tears from her face, and tried replace them with a smile. “Sorry! I not come here for weigh you down with my sorrows. I come to wish you luck and happiness.”
Right, change of subject. “Did you find Darling?”
Wrong subject; the cloud of worry descended again. “No. I try to find Darling’s friends — Ruby, Angel, Ginger — then I find out Ginger killed. Attack you! Ai-ya, I did not think she so bad.”
“Wait. Darling and Ginger were friends?”
“Hard to get along with Ginger. Hard to get along with Darling. But they get along with each other.” Dove shrugged.
A voice in my head was saying Hmmmm. It was pointing out Darling’s attitude problems, her connection with the crimes, her disappearance when the attempt on me failed. I need to talk to Damon.
“Damon and his parents coming,” Dove said, head cocked toward the doorway. “I go. Good luck to you and Charlie, Naomi.”
I grabbed her wrist before she could shade. “Dove. I didn’t take care of Charlie the way I should have before he was born. I can’t change that. But I can take good care of him now.”
She blinked at me, waiting for the point.
“Whether you’re a hungry ghost or not, whatever bad things you’ve done, your daughter needs you. Don’t punish her for your sins.”
Dove swallowed. “I go now.” She ducked behind Jonathan’s bed and vanished.
DAMON
“He’s so tiny,” Dad said, as he and Mother peered through the NICU window like children at a candy shop.
“Look at his little hat!” Mother cooed. “Oh, he’s beautiful.”
“What’s he going to call us?” Dad asked.
“Dad, he can’t even swallow. It’ll be a while before we have to worry about that.”
“I just don’t want to label myself Grandpa and then find out there’s two other Grandpas already fighting over the name.”
“Naomi’s parents said something last night about Peepaw and Mimi, which sort of blows my mind, but apparently it’s a family tradition.” I shook my head. “We need names for you, names for them, names for Tyler’s parents, a name for Tyler — which of us is Daddy? And the kid’s not even out of the hospital yet.”
“More complicated than you thought?” Mother asked gently.
“Considerably.”
“Wishing you’d held your tongue?”
“Not even close. I admit, the whole marriage thing… I didn’t think it through. But I’m starting to notice that the more I think things through, the more I tend to screw them up. Maybe it’s time to trust my instincts more.”
“And what are your instincts telling you, exactly?” Dad asked.
“That I belong with Naomi. And she belongs with me. Regardless of… everything.” Why in the world was I blushing?
My parents exchanged a gooey so-proud-of-our-boy look that made me roll my eyes.
“Speaking of instincts,” I said, and shared my theory about Ginger and Liberty. When I tucked hair behind my ear, my hand shook a little, and I shoved it into a pocket. “Tell me if I’m being paranoid, Dad.” Please tell me I’m being paranoid.
He shook his head heavily. “Don’t know that I’d call it ‘proof,’ but… don’t know that I’d leave her alone, either.”
“Her father’s with her now,” I said, as much for my own comfort as anything. “Though I’d still like to get back as soon as possible.”
“Of course.” We started moving down the hallway. “When she’s released from the hospital, your mother and I were already planning to offer her a room with us, for the moment. Since the Orphanage is short on space.”
“Thanks. I’d feel immensely better to have her with you.”
“Oh, and here’s the ring,” Dad said, pulling a black velvet box out of his pocket. “I never expected to be able to pass it down. Quite the pleasant surprise.”
“I hope she likes it.”
“I suspect you could give her a bent nail and she’d love it,” Mother said.
Dad cleared his throat. “There’s something else we need to talk about, while we have you alone. Priscilla and Lincoln Kirby want to talk to Paris.”
“Folks in hell want a drink of water.”
“They promised they mean him no harm.”
“They’re Formyndari, Dad.”
“So was I. So am I, when the chips are down. They have evidence that he may not be guilty after all, but they need his side of the story.”
“And if they decide they don’t believe him, he’ll be nice and handy for the execution.”
Dad sighed and flipped a hand, conceding the point. “What if I give you my personal word that he’ll be safe? That even if they rule against him, I’ll give him a head start? He’ll be no worse off than before.”
“That’s… a big promise, Dad. You sure you want to put yourself in that position?”
“I trust your judgment, son. If you say Paris is innocent, I’ll back you.”
I nodded slowly. “I’ll get word to him. But the decision’s his.”
“Naturally. They also wanted to speak to you, about an ‘incident’ outside the student chapel a few days ago.”
I groaned. “How do they find out about these things?”
He grinned. “Trade secret. Also, they read the newspaper.”
“We made the papers? Ugh. Well, it’s not like we have anything in particular to hide. This time.” I scrubbed a hand through my hair. “I’ll talk to them after Naomi’s released tomorrow.”
I heard Carmen’s voice spilling from the hospital room as we approached.
“Mugged, and a mom, and engaged, and I just thought you were playing hooky from work! Apparently you listed my number as your emergency contact, and boy did that woman sound grumpy. I think your job is toast, but hey, if your new fee-ahn-say is willing to support you — I mean, you’re going for the whole fairy tale gig, right, husband and kids and picket fence? I’d rather have my fingernails pulled out, but hey, to each her own. Are you sure, though? I mean, you’ve known the guy, what, a week? Don’t be getting married just because you have a kid, okay? Look where that got my mom. Four divorces and counting.”
“I’m not marrying Damon because of Charlie,” Naomi said. “I’m marrying Damon because of Damon.”
“All right,” Carmen said in a your-funeral sort of tone. “Just take it easy with the biting-on-the-neck stuff, okay?”
My parents looked sideways at me. I grimaced and kept walking.
“The man himself,” Carmen cried as I came through the doorway. “Congratulations, Studly, you’ve landed quite the catch. She’s as meek a mouse as you could ask for.”
“Nice to see you again, Carmen,” I said dryly, shaking her hand.
“How’s Charlie?” Naomi asked.
“Just fine. I think he likes the dinosaur toy best, he keeps touching it.” I kissed her forehead and sat beside her.
“Carmen brought me some clothes from the apartment,” Naomi said, indicating an armload of cloth on the windowsill. “I can’t wait to get myself out of this hospital gown.”
Me either. I cleared my throat. “How much more stuff do you have at the apartment?” I asked.
“Not much, I guess. Why?”
I explained about my parents’ offer.
“So much for my rent,” Carmen sighed.
“I’ll pay you for this mo
nth—” Naomi began, but Carmen waved her off.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ve got enough to deal with. I will miss my roomie, though.” She gave a dramatic sniffle. “I better be invited to the wedding. Well, I’ve got class in twenty minutes. I guess I’ve done enough damage around this popsicle stand.”
“We’ll get going, too, and let Naomi rest,” Mother said, bending to hug her. “See you tomorrow.”
When they had gone, I told Naomi about Dad’s offer to protect Paris.
“You think Priscilla and Lincoln are on the up-and-up?” she asked.
I shrugged. “They usually are. They can lie when it suits them, but I don’t think they’d dare cross Dad. He may be retired — mostly — but he has friends in high places.”
“Speaking of friends,” she said, “Dove came by. She mentioned that Darling and Ginger were friends.”
I frowned. “‘Friends’ might be too strong a word… I hadn’t thought…” I was thinking now. About Darling’s hot temper, disregard for rules, and overdeveloped sense of injustice, and about the alcoholic Lumi she had left. I liked Darling. I didn’t want her to be Liberty. But then, I didn’t want anyone to be Liberty.
A paper laid across Naomi’s lap caught my eye.
.
CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH
26 MARCH 2008
ILIUM REGIONAL HOSPITAL
ILIUM, ALABAMA
.
CHILD’S NAME: CHARLES GABRIEL PRICE
MOTHER: NAOMI JEAN WINTERS
FATHER: TYLER JOHNSON PRICE
.
“Charles Gabriel?” I wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or unnerved.
“One name from all three sides of the family.”
“I… My name isn’t Gabriel. Anymore.”
She gave me a pensive, almost amused look, and traced my face with her fingers. “No, but he’s still in there.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear that. If Gabriel was still in there, Romeo might be, too. I distracted myself by kissing Naomi’s roaming fingers, making her giggle.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” I pulled the velvet box from my pocket. “This was my grandmother’s engagement ring, and her mother’s before that. It’s not a diamond, but—”
“Oooh, sparkly!” She took the ring from the box, peering closely at the glittering blue stone and the intricate flowers and vines carved along the band. Her face glowed like a toddler handed a lollipop. “It’s gorgeous! Will it fit?”
“Let’s find out.” With hands gone abruptly unsteady, I fumbled the ring onto her finger. It was just a little big.
“I’ll grow into it,” she said, grinning. “I’ll need a white-gold wedding ring to match it, I guess… We have so many details to decide on. Flowers, cakes… where we’ll live, how we’ll support ourselves… Did you ever finish college?”
“No. I tried it, but it didn’t really fit with my lifestyle.” I grimaced. “I work full-time, you know. I just don’t get paid. All my marketable skills involve the care and hunting of vampires. Which, it occurred to me last night, are in fact marketable skills. Among the Formyndari.”
She choked, giggled, then guffawed outright.
“It does feel like joining the Dark Side,” I admitted. “But what they do is good, Naomi, it’s just how they do it… Maybe I could help them change. I’m almost Formyndari already, trying to keep so many kathairna under control.”
“Would you still be able to look after your orphans, though, between me and Charlie and the Formyndari?”
“They won’t want my orphans unsupervised any more than I do. Maybe the Orphanage can be part of my official duties. Of course, this is all assuming that they’ll take me, which is by no means certain. But Priscilla said something, the other day, about us being on the same side… I think she might vouch for me.” I took her hand, fiddling with the ring on her finger. “Happier topics. How far away is this wedding?”
She sighed. “A subject on which I have conflicted feelings. I want to give my parents a few months to adjust. And I — I want a real wedding this time, Damon. Not some patched-together hurry-up make-it-do-or-do-without… thing. It doesn’t have to be a fairy-tale extravaganza, just nice, you know?”
“I know what you mean. You want everything to be… real.”
“Yes. Exactly. But at the same time…” She laced her fingers through mine, cheeks flushing. “I don’t want to wait that long.”
I swallowed. “We’re already befasted, you know.”
“Technically. But it’s like me and Tyler’s wedding. It doesn’t feel real.”
“We could have a ceremony, then. Do it over. Do it right.”
She nodded slowly. “That sounds good.”
“Jonathan could be there. Maybe Westley, if he’s up to it.”
Naomi was staring into space. “What about Liberty?”
“He’s not invited.”
She gave me a look.
“When you’re released tomorrow you’ll go home with my parents,” I said. Assuming that’s all right? and Of course traveled between us on quick, silent glances. “They’ll know how to protect you while I hunt this creep. He’ll be ash by the end of the week.” My hand around Naomi’s had gone white-knuckle. Yeah, I’d been hunting Liberty for months without result. But that was before he’d provided such excellent motivation.
If Naomi saw through my bravado — and the glowing affection in her eyes somehow indicated she did — she elected not to say so. “We can rule out a few people,” she said. “Westley and Audrey wouldn’t risk hurting the baby. Paris and Dove have been alone with me without trying anything. Darling went to great lengths not to snack on me. Though, admittedly, she wasn’t in a situation where she could have gotten away with it.”
“Darling, who was friends with Ginger, and seems to have vanished most suspiciously… And there’s still Adonis, Jewel, Galatea… though I truly can’t imagine Teya…” I shook my head. “Darling’s a pain in the butt, but I’d hate for it to be her. For Dove’s sake, if nothing else.”
“I’d hate for it to be any of them,” Naomi said. “For your sake.”
NAOMI
I dozed off with visions of wedding gowns dancing in my head, and woke to the sound of an almost-familiar voice.
“How can such a dainty thing snore like that?”
“You ain’t heard nothing yet.” That was Jonathan.
I opened my eyes. A small, gender-ambiguous figure with long, dark curls sat by Jonathan’s bed, holding a hand of cards.
“Paris! Wow, what are you doing here?”
“Putting a lot of trust in Damon’s father, that’s what. Got any nines?”
“Go fish,” Jonathan said.
“Come here, silly, let me hug you!”
Paris rolled his eyes but submitted to the hug.
“Maternal hormones,” he muttered. “And how are you liking motherhood?”
“I hardly know, I’ve barely seen him. In fact I was going to go to the NICU — I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Where is everybody?”
“Mom and Dad are off securing a hotel room,” Jonathan said. “Damon’s on the phone with the Formyndari.”
“Your bro here wouldn’t let me wake you,” Paris said. “He’s been telling me about his cute little memory problems. His concussion seems to have had an interesting shred-and-blend effect on Westley’s donation.”
“I am strangely relieved to know that this is not, in fact, a normal reaction,” Jonathan said. “On the downside, that means it’s hard to predict when or if it will get better. Got any fives?”
Paris handed over a card. “It doesn’t help that he and Westley have a lot in common,” he said. “Not so much experiences, but attitudes, likes and dislikes.”
“The dreams are the worst,” Jonathan said. “They’re driving me nuts. It’s impossible to tell—”
“Paris,” Damon called from the doorway, and held out his cell phone. Paris rolled his eyes but set down his cards, and took the phone from Damon’s hand as they
passed each other midway across the room.
“How’re you feeling?” Damon murmured as he brushed a kiss across my temple.
“Fine, Mother,” I sing-songed, leaning into the kiss. “What were you saying, Jonnie? Weird dreams?”
Jonathan nodded as Damon took Paris’s seat and picked up his cards. “It’s almost impossible to tell what’s mine and what’s his. I keep having nightmares about a dark room full of ashes. More and more ashes piling up and choking me, and this awful helpless feeling… It’s got to be Westley’s, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what it means.”
Damon went still, and asked very casually, “Ashes?”
“Yes, I can feel them in my hands, like sand but softer and finer. It makes me feel sick, but I don’t know why.” He shivered. “Got any fours, Damon?”
“What else do you dream about?” Damon asked.
Jonathan frowned at this intrusive question, but after a moment said, “A kitten. A little white kitten, hissing at you and Naomi. And I’m afraid you’ll hurt it, which is ridiculous, but I’m more afraid it’ll hurt y’all, which is really ridiculous!”
Damon stared at the cards in his hand, but I didn’t think he was seeing them.
“Damon?” Jonathan prodded.
“Oh. Right,” he said. “Fours, no. Got any twos?”
“Yeah, here.”
“I’ll take that, thanks.” Paris intercepted the card Jonathan was holding out with one hand, and nipped his hand of cards out of Damon’s grasp with the other. “You’re in my seat.”
Damon stood, taking back his cell phone. “You got everything set up, then?”
“Yeah, yeah. Operation Ambush the Overly Trusting Orphan is set for tomorrow afternoon at your parents’ house.”
Damon grunted, and to my surprise stepped back out into the hallway, already dialing. He was back before long, with Dove at his side.
“Naomi, I’m going to leave Dove guarding you for a while. I… have to take care of something at the Orphanage,” he said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
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