Working Through the Weekend

by Amber Lynn

The kitchen turned into a tin of sardines as the guys started snatching plates, with Elizabeth taking up the rear. I just stood out of the way and let them do their thing. When they had their share, I took a plate and a couple of biscuits. From the fridge I got some strawberry jelly and put it on the biscuits. I headed to the sitting room where everyone else was digging in.

  "Oh my goodness, this is so good. I think we're going to have to move to New York to live with you, Avery," Kyle said with his mouth full.

  "Yup, I'm going to start packing now," Liam agreed. He actually closed his eyes, like he was savoring the food. It was nice to know your cooking was appreciated, not that Nate and Rick didn't voice their adoration of everything I made.

  "Ha, I already have my bags packed and am just waiting to board the jet," Joseph said. I wasn't sure he'd show up for breakfast, but he claimed he needed to get used to my cooking. "So, where do you think my room is going to be?"

  "I don't know. I think you can pretty much have your pick of the remaining rooms. I'd choose the room furthest away from Rick, but that's just me," I said.

  "Wait a second, Joseph is actually going with you guys?" Liam asked. His plate was licked clean, literally, so his focus turned to the conversation. If there was still food involved, I doubted he'd have been paying attention.

  "That's the rumor," Nate replied.

  "Is there anything special he had to do to get this privilege?" Kyle asked. "Because we'd totally be ready for a change of venue and we want to keep dollface safe, too."

  "Well, it has been decided my group has to have a team meeting before we add anyone new to our camp, so you'll have our decision within two days. I think that's the earliest I can see an opening in all of our schedules to discuss," I claimed.

  "Even if you weren't joking, I can live with waiting two days for your decision. That is, as long as you don't decide to leave today after we're back from our mission. An extra day will help us prove to you we're good to have around. As surprising as it may be, we're more than just good-looking guys," Liam said.

  "I think you said we have to stay for a party. Is that still going on as planned?" I asked. I wasn't touching the good-looking comment.

  "Sure is. We told everyone else that in four days we're having the annual games. The day before the games we have a team picking contest if either of you want to try to make the hockey team," Liam directed the comment to Nate and Rick. "Sorry Vinnie, but a pulse is required for this game. I don't think there's ever been an official rule, but I'm making one now. The game can get violent and we wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

  "No worries," Vinnie replied. "Avery is fun to watch during hockey games, so I prefer to do that anyway. Plus, with my advanced mental capabilities, it'd be a little embarrassing for anyone on the other team."

  "Is it conceited if it's true?" Rick asked. "I've played pool with him, and I don't doubt he'd take the same angles and measurement crap he used to humiliate me and work it into the game of hockey."

  Vinnie only played pool a few times that I'd seen, and quickly became bored with it. He enjoyed showing off at first, but once he got a lab built to play in, he spent most of his free time coming up with ways to advance himself.

  "Now, that everyone is fed, let's get down to business," Nate said, driving the conversation away from fun and games.

  "Do we have a name for this operation?" I asked. I always loved the secret code mission names I saw in the movies. None of the missions I'd been involved with had them, as far as I knew.

  "Sure," Nate said. "It's Operation Honeypot."

  "Seriously? That's a horrible name." Nate and I watched all the same movies, so I knew he was aware I was going for something a little more dangerous sounding.

  "Well, one of the missing is a bear. They like honey right?" Nate said, defending his stupid name.

  "I'm pretty sure they like a lot of other things too. If that's what you're basing it on, why not Operation Fishkill?" I asked. I didn't like that name any better, but it at least had the word kill in it.

  "Honeypot just sounded good. Anyway, we're going to have Miranda show us the way, and then she's going to run home. She's not a fighter and she has been through enough. She mentioned that she thought the man could be a warlock. If that's the case, we have to be prepared," Nate instructed.

  It sounded like the person in charge had been discussed while I'd cooked breakfast. Nate had put on his "I'm in charge" pants and was running things. Working with him before, I didn't doubt that things would turn out that way, especially since the newcomers were trying to get on our good side.

  "Okay, this is me playing the 'I don't know squat about the magical world' card. How would you describe a warlock, and are they different from say a wizard, witch or sorcerer?" I asked.

  "Since we're speaking in the male sense, you can throw witch out of the equation. That's a term only for females. The other three words are used to describe different types of magic-wielders. A wizard is a person who has found a spellbook and uses the spells.

  "A sorcerer is a person who doesn't need a spellbook, because they have a natural ability and can make their own spells happen. A warlock, on the other hand, is someone who has sold their soul to gain the ability that a sorcerer innately has. You can imagine what good comes from giving a soulless person the capacity to cast spells," Nate explained.

  "Yeah, no good," Rick interjected. "Warlocks are nasty, but thankfully there aren't that many out there. Most people aren't smart enough to realize how easy it is to become magical. Those who want to dabble, tend to go the wizard route, and that has its limitations as far as how good the book you find is. Usually they're only harmless love spells that sorcerers like to inflict on the world."

  "You said they sell their souls, to what the devil?" I asked. I got lost in Rick's explanation, so I decided to leave questions about it for a later date.

  "No, just people who have set themselves up as gods over time. Usually, they're sorcerer shapeshifter hybrids who have lived long enough to make up some really good spells. As Rick alluded to, sorcerers aren't all bad, but there are some that let their power go to their head." Nate answered.

  "Okay, so we're going up against a soulless guy who will throw magic our way. What's the plan?" I asked.

  I was only prepared for human attackers, so I wasn't sure how to prepare for someone who'd use more than fists and normal weapons. Sure, I could throw some telekinesis at a unique attacker, but it seemed they were a little bit sturdier than what I was used to.

  "Well, you could always just freeze him, and then we could hack him to bits. Alternatively you could throw fireballs at him and burn him to bits. Any way you look at it, I want him left in bits," Rick said.

  There appeared to be a backstory that I was missing. I'd never heard Rick sound so ruthless, even after he'd spent hours interrogating murderers.

  "I'd prefer it if Avery didn't go with us," Nate started. Seeing that I was about to interject, he held his hand up. "I know that's not possible, my little butterfly. I want you to promise to only fight with your current powers and not try to come up with new ones. I know it hasn't been an issue before, but in the heat of battle, finding new abilities can be a problem, especially against an opponent who could use them against you."

  "I don't think that will be a problem. I've developed the powers I have enough that I can't think of a situation where I'd need to get creative or dream up something new."

  ?"Good, you'll have your knives, and Rick and I will have our guns. Last I knew, berserkers didn't really need weapons and a wolf king is a weapon by himself. I think we should be plenty able to handle one person, so I think we'll let Gary and Frannie sit this one out."

  "Yeah, even though I know she has some abilities, I don't think I can imagine Frannie putting herself in a situation where she might break a nail," I said. "What about Vinnie, is he coming? And how sure are we that it's only one person?"

  "We aren't sure, but warlocks don't hang out with people who harness the same a
mount of power as they do. We might run into some minions, but part of the minion job description is that they're expendable. As far as Vinnie goes, if you don't mind, Vinnie, I'd like you to stay behind and do that research we discussed," Nate told him.

  "I think that would be a good idea. Being in a fighting situation would take my processor time away from it," he replied.

  Great. I thought I was the only one who gave Vinnie special research projects. I knew that if Nate asked Vinnie for something, it had to be important, and I was curious to find out what they were keeping from me. I assumed they were keeping it from everyone else, too, so I didn't open the floor to questions.

  "So, while we finish getting mentally ready for the task at hand, do either of you two brothers have anything to say to pad the case for you moving to New York with us?" I asked. "You do realize that we can't stop you from moving to the city. All we can say is you can't live in our house."

  "We can't get breakfast if we don't live with you. We're potty trained, can clean up after ourselves, can fight like ghosts, we have better hair than your current collection of men and are really good at scaring away door-to-door salesmen," Kyle replied. "In addition, we have excellent taste in music, movies and sports, can build you an ark if needed and have the prettiest blue eyes you have ever seen."

  The last point was delivered with a wink. I was happy to hear they were potty trained. I was looking for roommates, not people I had to take care of.

  "Well, you got me with that last one; no one has blue eyes quite like yours. The rest has been recorded away mentally for me to replay when we get together to make the decision," I said.

  "Avery," I heard Nate say to me telepathically. "Why are you teasing them? You know you're going to let them come."

  "Well, yeah, but I have a plan," I said back to him so no one else could hear. "It's going to be great, just you wait and see. Plus, I promised Vinnie we'd all be included in talks when it came to taking on new roommates."

  "He was upset about Joseph, wasn't he?"

  "He wasn't thrilled, but he'll live with it. Anyway, tomorrow morning I will need your guys' help with my plan." I messaged back.

  "You and plans are always dangerous."

  "If they aren't about you, there's nothing for you to worry about," I said, finishing our private conversation. I didn't add that not all my plans were dangerous. It turned out only about a third of them caused major problems.

  "I'm going to start taking the dishes to the kitchen, so we can get everything cleaned up before we go. Are there any takers for doing the dishes?" I asked.

  The room went dead quiet and I couldn't get anyone to meet my eyes. Fine. I thought it was a little unfair for the chef to have to do the cleanup, but I could handle it. For fun, I stacked all the plates together in my hand, and then floated the plates behind me into the kitchen. The kitchen didn't have a dishwasher, so everything was done by hand.

  I made quick work of the dishes, and since I hadn't been taught the whole body heat regulation thingy, I was stuck bundling in layers before we set out. I decided not to use as many as I had the day before, and just put on a sweatshirt, thick socks and boots. My cozy winter coat went on over the sweatshirt. The lack of adding the extra layers had more to do with time than the fact I was likely going to freeze my butt off.

  I walked back downstairs and said, "Let's get this show on the road." Not surprisingly, everyone going jumped to attention.

  CHAPTER 17

  When the music changes, so does the dance