Page 32

Chapter 32

Andy

G oddess’s fucking steamy turds, my damned head hurt.

And of course, the second I thought that, the magic inside me swelled, washing through and over me, erasing the mild annoyance of my throbbing head.

Oh, that couldn’t be good. No matter how much I wanted to applaud. Could the magic cure my diabetes? Rid me of the curse that was tied into my DNA? I didn’t need to know that… because then I’d wonder if it was worth the risk to my life to be rid of my susceptibility to human diseases… and just, no. Not right now. I’d had enough craziness to last a lifetime.

“Look, I know we’re best buds now,” I said to the terrifyingly powerful living magic inside me. “But I’m not sure I trust you messing with my body that way.” For all I knew, the wild magic was just as likely blow me up as heal me.

The forces inside me calmed a little and I realized everyone was standing around staring at me. “Oh,” I said stupidly. “Private conversation.” I waved that away and looked around me. What I wanted more than anything in the world right now was to retreat to my bedroom, curl up in a blanket burrito, and have the mental breakdown I just knew was lurking around the corner. But as usual, there was more important shit to do.

First things first. I walked over to where Hasumi stood, one small child in each of the water weaver’s arms now, since Zhong’s kid had abandoned him the second we landed, to glom onto Hasumi. “Hi there,” I said awkwardly, trying to make my voice calm and pleasant, when what I really wanted to do was scream and pull my own hair out. “Are you okay, little buddies?”

Little buddies? Goddess, I was no good with kids. I had never spent much time around them as an adult, and I had never really thought I’d ever have kids of my own, so I hadn’t given much thought to how to interact with them.

The twins just stared at me with wide eyes and snuggled in closer to Hasumi’s chest. It was ridiculous. The lithe, slender weaver barely had room to hold them both against their chest. But Hasumi was stronger than they looked. “Right,” I said on a sigh, holding my hands up in defeat. “Scary stranger. My bad.” I looked to Hasumi for help, and they gave me a wry half-smile.

“Oleander is an immensely powerful witch,” they told the kids in a smooth, serious voice. “But she would never harm you. None of the people in this room will ever hurt you,” they promised, turning a bit to ensure the kids got a good look at all the grownups, now that there wasn’t a battle raging around them. “We will be your family. You are safe now. You will never be alone again.”

I sighed. But I didn’t have the energy to argue with the water weaver right now. And besides, Hasumi looked so… happy. And alive.

Fucking hell, Hasumi was alive! I didn’t care if they came back to us toting an entire herd of stray kids, the important part was that they were here. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I said, my voice cracking. Then I leaned in and kissed the water weaver, maneuvering my way between the twins for a brief taste of reassurance.

Hasumi chuckled as the soft kiss ended, pulling back to smile at me. “I’ve missed you too,” they said easily, their magic flowing around us, filled with contentment and peace. “All of you.”

I swallowed down the stupid tears that wanted to erupt, and took a deep breath, letting it out on a heavy sight. “Right. Okay.” Putting my hands on my hips, I gave the little witches what I hoped was a stern, but not scary, look. “This house is not a place for kids. You keep an adult with you at all times, understand?”

At a murmured encouragement from Hasumi, they both nodded solemnly.

“What will happen to us?” the little girl asked, lifting her tiny chin a bit to give me a defiant look. “Will you hurt us if we forget and go somewhere alone?” Ooh, she was going to be fun . Great.

I crossed my arms over my chest and met her eyes. “We won’t hurt you. But the house might. The basement stairs eat people. There are booby traps all over the house that were put here by the evil family that used to live here. I don’t know what would happen to you if you wandered around without an adult, but whatever it is would probably be painful. And possibly bloody.”

“ Andy, ” Zhong hissed coming up beside me. “Don’t terrorize them!”

At the sight of the massive gargoyle with his sharp fangs, long claws, and those huge wings spread out in agitation, the kids both shrank back, hiding their faces in Hasumi’s neck.

“Oh,” Zhong said, immediately deflating, hunching his shoulders and pulling his wings in tight. “I’m sorry. No. Don’t be afraid, babies.” He started to reach out a hand to them, then thought better of it and hid his clawed fingers behind his back, taking several steps backward and hiding behind me.

I shook my head.

Niamh chuckled. “Good job, gargoyle.” Then she relented. “The witchlings are probably used to scary monsters by now. They’ll recover.”

River clicked his tongue in disapproval and padded forward, snatching a doily off a nearby table to cover his junk on the way by. “You are all terrible at this. Have none of you ever spent time with children?”

Not waiting for an answer, he stopped in front of Hasumi and reached out to ruffle both kids’ curly red hair. “It’s okay, kiddos. I know you’ve been through a lot. But you’re safe here with your goddess.” He tossed an affable wink toward Hasumi, then returned his attention to the kids, who seemed completely unconcerned that he was buck-assed naked. Then again, they’d seen a lot of shit today. One naked guy was hardly the most shocking.

“Hey, you wanna see a trick?” River said, still smiling that affable smile. “I can summon a guardian just for you, so you’ll have someone to watch over you.”

That got a slow, cautious show of curiosity. “Is it a bad trick?” the boy finally asked. “Or a good trick? The guards before used to trip us and push us when they were bored.”

River somehow ignored the horrible part of that question and focused on the first part. He grinned at the little boy, all warm vibes and soft humor. “It’s the best trick. Do you like cats?”

The little boy glanced at his sister for moral support, then nodded his head warily. “We had a kitty once. Before…” His happy expression shut down, and he popped his thumb in his mouth.

The girl leaned her head against Hasumi’s shoulder and examined River as if she was judging his worth. “You can give us a cat to guard us from bad people?”

River winked. “Absolutely, sweetheart. Would you like to meet him?”

“Yes,” she said softly, glancing up at Hasumi’s calm face before looking back to River. “Please, sir.”

“Okay,” River said, crouching down on the floor. “He’s a big kitty. But he’s nice, and he loves snuggles and pets, so don’t be afraid.”

“We’re not afraid of anything,” the girl informed him seriously.

And goddess, I really wanted to rip someone’s fucking head off at the trauma I could sense just oozing off these poor babies. But I kept my mouth shut for now.

River’s magic flowed from him, stronger than ever. His transformation from man to cat was complete in the blink of an eye, faster and easier than ever before, as if he leapt from one form to the other with nothing more than a thought.

The black jaguar stretched and yawned, like a big, lazy housecat. Then he padded up to Hasumi and looked up at the kids. It was obviously love at first sight. And the sight of the kids’ joy, even through their fear and sorrow, tugged at my heartstrings. Hard.

“They can have my room,” I said without thought. “I’m pretty sure there’s nothing dangerous in there, and there’s the big bed and the attached bath…”

Hasumi nodded to me in acknowledgement. “Thank you.” Then the weaver and the “big kitty,” took the kids upstairs for a bath and a much-needed rest.

I scrubbed a hand over my face and turned to lead everyone else into the kitchen for tea, alcohol, or “medicinal” herbs—whatever floated their boats. We had far less pleasant things to get to in a minute here, and I needed some fortification.

I carefully avoided looking at my sister’s body, which we had laid out by the entry door.

When I got to the kitchen, the others filed in before me. I looked back to find Dyre still standing at the foot of the stairs, looking up toward where Hasumi, River, and the kids had disappeared, with a strange look on his face. Something about his expression made my heart ache.

“Dyre?” I called, breaking whatever spell had come over him. “I’m going to need you and Sunshine in a second here.”

He turned and crossed the grand entry with sure, long-legged strides, whatever had been on his mind just now seemingly forgotten. “I have an inkling what you might require of us,” he said darkly. “But have you really thought this through?”

I heaved a massive sigh. “Yes. No. I don’t fucking know. Ask me after I chug some of Ambrose’s special tea.” Then I crossed the threshold into the kitchen, my eyes on Elijah’s radiant angelic aura with its black outline.

From one questionable situation to another, without a single fucking breath between. Just like always.