by J. M. Briggs
“His mother,” Alex repeated carefully.
“Elaine Pendred, very wealthy and very successful business woman who is known as the dragon in her social and business circles. She’s a little… insane when it comes to her son. When I first started dating him she interrogated me several times over dinner and I’m pretty sure she had a detective check out my family. I suppose to make sure that I was good enough for her son.”
Alex’s eyebrows shot up and she really hoped that Jenny was kidding, but her former roommate wasn’t done.
“She calls Arthur twice a day, has the decency to call around classes, but if you’re with him when she calls then be warned that your job is being quiet while Arthur tries to calm her down and assure her that he’s fine despite not living with her anymore. He tries to hide this of course, but if you’re dating him then you’ll find out about the dragon soon enough.” Jenny shrugged and added, “I think it’s cause his father died before he was born, but she is obsessive about her son.” Jenny turned and started walking away, “Like I said, just a little warning.”
Then Jenny was gone, lost in the crowd of students who were moving between tables with their trays of food. Slumping back in her chair, Alex exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. A moment later her own phone chirped and Alex pulled it out. Holding it up to her ear, Alex answered the phone with a tired greeting.
“Are you okay?” Arthur’s warm voice asked, causing Alex to perk up slightly.
“I just… well, I sort of had lunch with Jenny,” Alex admitted as she looked down at her half-eaten burger. “It was awkward.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Alex reminded him with a shake of her head. “And it’s not my fault. That’s just how things are going to be for a while.”
“How was she otherwise?” Arthur asked carefully.
“She looked tired,” Alex told him, letting her own worry show to reassure Arthur that she wasn’t jealous. “I doubt she’d been sleeping well since she returned.”
“Damn,” Arthur hissed on the other end. “Well, thanks for trying. Jenny probably just needs some time and space.”
“I let her know that she could still come to me.”
“Thank you for that Alex, even before we dated and all this happened she was a good friend to me.”
“Of course Arthur.”
“Well I’ve got to get back to the team,” Arthur said with a chuckle. “I just slipped away for a moment. I’ll see you in Spanish.”
“See you in Spanish,” Alex repeated before the call ended.
Picking up the last onion ring, Alex bit into it and smiled when she felt a flicker of appetite return. Alex polished off the onion ring and picked up the remaining half of the burger, biting into it with determination. She’d done what she could today and for now, that would just have to be enough. Still, Alex’s free hand dropped to her bag and after a moment of fumbling traced the tip of the hilt of her iron dagger, safely secured and in reach. Alex realized with a sigh that she was becoming paranoid about things going too well. She was braced for something terrible to happen like the Sídhe or their mysterious new Old One foe attacking soon. She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts and forced herself to focus on the burger before it went completely cold.
5
Lunch at the Boscos
“This is going to be weird,” Alex whined from the backseat of his truck behind him. “Your dad’s a professor and he teaches our fencing club.”
“And he likes you,” Aiden assured Alex as he tapped the brakes as they pulled up to the bridge intersection by the campus. “Besides you’re in astronomy, not his class. And spending time with Morgana and Merlin doesn’t bother you.”
“The Boscos are great,” Nicki added from her spot next to Alex. In the rearview mirror, Aiden saw her patting Alex’s arm. “You’ve met them before.”
“Very briefly: they were on their way to a funeral and I’ve only interacted with your mom at the bookstore.”
“Look my folks just thought a barbecue to celebrate the first week of school would be nice,” Aiden reminded them. “They just want a chance to make you guys feel welcome.”
“And let’s not forget that because we’re having a lunch time barbecue with Aiden’s folks today that we don’t have to start magic lessons yet,” Nicki added.
“Still I sort of understand Alex’s nervousness,” Bran chimed in from the front passenger seat. “What if we let something slip?”
“Then something slips,” he answered, gripping the wheel a little tighter. “We won’t be able to keep our magical lives a secret forever.” His truck full of passengers fell silent and Aiden sighed loudly. “Look, guys, I’m sorry-”
“We’re all edgy about our families,” Nicki interrupted. “It’s natural, they are our families and we love them. None of us have ever had to worry about keeping secrets from them. But that’s part of growing up, isn’t it? Moving out and building your own life, natural and a little scary.”
“Most people don’t have to worry about the Sídhe and huge nightmare creatures,” Bran muttered.
“The dreams still bad?” Nicki asked, leaning forward to put a hand on Bran’s shoulder.
“No, I only have them on occasion,” Bran assured Nicki with a soft sigh. “But I don’t really have a good description for Morgana and Merlin yet. It’s just a big dark shape, nothing that helps identify it. I know they’re getting frustrated.”
“Well it is hard to plan a defense for something you don’t have identified,” Alex conceded from the back. “But we appreciate the warning that your vision gave us.”
Aiden nodded but didn’t say anything more. Bran’s last vision at the end of the school year had warned them that an Old One was heading for Ravenslake, but he’d also been stabbed from behind by a sword in the vision. Aiden knew he wasn’t the only one worried about just what that might mean for them.
“We’re here,” Nicki called in a sweet tone. “Come on mages, smile and enjoy the food. Aiden’s dad is really good on the barbecue and his mom told me that he was even going to make ribs.”
Aiden pulled the truck up to the curb, noting that there were a few other cars he didn’t recognize parked around on the street. He saw Bran frown slightly and look towards a dark blue SUV parked across the street, but his friend just chuckled and shook his head. Everyone climbed out of Aiden’s blue truck quickly.
Laurel Street was a calm street just off of Riverside drive, close enough to the university that his father usually walked when the weather was nice, but far enough away that there wasn’t a lot of noise. The handsome two-story light yellow house that he’d grown up in had a decent sized front yard with a large crabapple tree. The dark blue door that his mother repainted every summer without fail was open with only the screen door securing the house. Even at the street, Aiden could already hear voices and people laughing.
“Who else is here?” Nicki asked as the group started up the sidewalk to the house.
“I don’t know, but it sounds like they’re out back,” Aiden replied with a shrug, leading his friends towards the gate of the chain link fence that surrounded the backyard.
Pulling open the gate, Aiden waved his friends through and smiled when he heard the Bosco family dog Charlie barking happily. Alex gave Aiden a small smile as she passed him, but didn’t move forward any further until Nicki took the lead. Aiden paused and closed the gate behind him once everyone was through and followed his friends onto the large back patio that took up a third of their yard.
“Mom!?” he heard Alex squeak loudly, her voice becoming oddly high pitched. “Daddy?”
“Surprise!” His own parents shouted, laughing loudly.
Aiden’s eyes widened as he watched Alex launch herself towards a middle aged couple who were grinning at her. Bran was quickly pulled into a hug by a short Asian woman with a warm round face and black hair tied back in a messy bun and thick glasses. Samantha Russell was a lovely older woman with graying short hair, bright han
dmade jewelry and simple, but attractive clothing who quickly hugged Nicki tightly.
“Gran,” Nicki laughed, pulling back from her grandmother’s hug to look towards the strangers with their friends. “Did you help with this?”
“I may have helped Shannon organize this,” Nicki’s grandmother replied with a wink.
Aiden grinned, looking towards his father who was standing by their barbecue in a novelty apron. His mother was standing next to him with an equally wide grin and strands of her light brown hair falling into her face.
“I can’t believe you guys came all the way from Spokane,” Alex exclaimed, capturing his attention again.
“We’ve been waiting to meet your friends,” the man he assumed was her father said, wrapping an arm around Alex’s shoulder.
“Yes, so please introductions,” the blonde woman next to her added.
Smiling, Aiden stepped forward and extended his hand to Alex’s father.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Aiden Bosco, Shannon and John’s son.”
“I’m Elizabeth Adams,” Alex’s mother replied warmly as Aiden noted the strong resemblance between mother and daughter.
Alex’s father took his hand and gave it a firm shake. Aiden noted that Alex’s gray eyes seemed to have come from her father.
“I’m Michael Adams, good to meet you Aiden.”
“Brandon Fisher, better known as Bran,” their fellow mage said as he stepped up next to them. “Good to meet you both.”
“Let’s see Bran you’re the physics major, right?” Alex’s mom asked curiously. “And Aiden you’re engineering? Uh, electrical engineering?”
“That’s right Doctor Adams, on both counts,” Bran replied with a nod.
“Oh Elizabeth please,” Alex’s mom told them with a smile before her eyes moved to Nicki who nearly skipped over to them. “And you must be Nicki.”
“Nicole Russell at your service,” Nicki replied with a beaming smile and a little bow. “Pleasure to meet you both.”
Bran stepped back from them and moved over to his mother, putting an arm around her. Aiden noted with a chuckle that his friend rather towered over his mother. While he’d seen a photo of the woman in their dorm room up close like this he could see the subtle facial features that Bran had inherited from his mother.
“And this is my mother Jinsung Fisher,” Bran informed them cheerfully.
The process repeated with all of his friends greeting Bran’s mother, then everyone moved on to Nicki’s grandmother although they’d all met her in passing at least once. His little sister Aisling was brought forward to meet everyone before she vanished inside with his mother to bring out the main course for barbecuing. Stepping away from the others, Aiden headed for the large folding table that was covered with a plastic blue tablecloth on the far side of the patio. Plates of crackers, chips, and cheese were set out beside a pitcher filled with red punch. Seeing nothing else to drink at the moment, Aiden poured himself a glass and leaned against the side of the house to watch the proceedings.
His mother’s punch was a little too sweet, Aiden thought as he sipped the bright red liquid from the tall glass he’d grabbed from the table. That was probably due to Aisling helping with getting everything ready: his little sister did have quite the sweet tooth. Aiden was more than a little surprised that she’d managed to keep the secret that Alex and Bran’s parents were traveling to Ravenslake for this get-together. Then again, it was possible that his parents hadn’t told her that. Taking another sip, he had to admit it wasn’t too bad and once the burgers, hot dogs and ribs were off the grill the barbecue taste would help dull the overly sweet tingling in his mouth. Aiden lingered by the door and observed the others with a small smile.
Alex was standing in the shade of his mother’s lilac bushes talking with her parents and, judging from the smile on her face, Alex was more than happy to see them. The tension that had been in her shoulders since her lunch with Jenny on Wednesday was finally gone. Alex had been in such a knot that she’d let a new freshman member of the fencing club beat her at Wednesday night’s meeting.
His father, Professor John Bosco, was engaged in a loud cheerful conversation with Bran’s mother, Jinsung Fisher, who had driven down from Eugene about his chemistry classes at the college. But Jinsung’s eyes kept flickering over to where her son was engaged in a conversation with his own mother Shannon Bosco about a book series that they’d both read with his mother promising to hold a copy of the latest book when it came in at their family bookstore. Aiden was beginning to see why Bran had been interested in going to a school a decent distance away from his mother as Jinsung wouldn’t fully relax despite Bran being only a few feet away. He wondered how often she called and if she was as bad as Arthur’s mother supposedly was.
Though when Bran moved and the metal of his leg brace clanged against the side of a patio chair, Aiden saw a flash of guilt on Jinsung’s face. Grimacing slightly, Aiden remembered that Jinsung had been the one driving the car during the accident that hurt Bran. His friend’s magic had manifested for a moment, giving him a brief vision of the danger. Bran had grabbed the wheel, saving his and his mother’s life, but had suffered the injuries to his leg and groin so perhaps Jinsung’s overprotective tendencies were understandable.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were coming,” Alex laughed, her voice cutting into his thoughts as she and her parents stepped back onto the patio, heading for the punch.
“We wanted to surprise you,” her father replied with a small shrug and a pleased smile.
“The look on your face was brilliant,” her mother added with a laugh as she put an arm around her daughter. “Besides we felt bad for not being able to come down when you moved in. Plus, like we said, we wanted to meet your friends. There isn’t the opportunity to know your college friends like we did your high school ones.”
“After all, despite having video calls the four of you got together in June,” her father added with a curious glance towards him and Bram.
“Yeah well, you know just meeting up for a quick visit,” Alex insisted nervously, her shoulder tensing slightly. “And Arthur was still in town then so it was nice to see him.”
Aiden paused, noticing a curious expression being shared amongst the parents. He nearly flinched, recognizing the expression of worry coloring each of their expressions. Bran’s mother was biting her lip, his father’s smile had fallen away and Alex’s mother was gripping her shoulder tightly. They knew that something was up, that much Aiden was confident about. Somehow parents knew when their children were keeping something from them. He looked towards his own parents as his mother brought a plate of cheese over to his father.
“Well it’s nice that you’ve made such good friends,” Elizabeth remarked with a smile, breaking the tension a little. “And it’s nice to meet Samantha and the Boscos.”
“Oh, are they going to spy for you now?”
“Spy is such a strong word,” Elizabeth countered. “More like just keep an eye on things. After all, as much as I’d like to see Arthur again, this time as your boyfriend, your father and I can’t stay more than tonight.”
‘We just want to be sure you’re safe and happy,” Michael added warmly. “It’s important to be happy where you’re at and with what you’re doing.”
“Well, you two shouldn’t worry so much about Alex,” Nicki’s grandmother Samantha informed them as she and Nicki moved over to join them. “She and Nicki are such good friends that I consider her an honorary grandchild just like Aiden. If anything were to ever happen I’d be there in minutes. After all, she already stayed with us when the kids got together for that little visit in June.”
Aiden chuckled as Nicki and Alex shared a look, but bit his lip to make sure that the girls couldn’t hear him. He knew from experience growing up with her that Nicki could be very frightening and given Alex’s record in battle against the Sídhe he wasn’t interested in making either of them angry with him. After all, they lived together now and would
have lots of time to plan their revenge, and Nicki would probably get Aisling to help.
“That’s very kind of you Samantha,” Elizabeth replied with a smile. “Not that I’m worried of course. Alex had a pretty good freshman year. Her grades were solid, she made friends, joined a club and intermural sports and now she has a boyfriend.” Elizabeth turned her attention to her daughter with a teasing smile and added, “Pity he couldn’t join us today.”
“Like I said Arthur’s off in San Diego with the team.”
Aiden grinned, Alex sounded very relieved about that. Then again he couldn’t blame the girl, she was probably still trying to explain how she’d ended up dating the boy that her parents had met last year when he’d been her roommate boyfriend.
“They’re good kids,” his father announced as he placed the cheese on the burgers. “Even if they are a bit secretive,” he added with a dramatic wink to Aiden.