Page 11

Chapter Eleven

O rion found a flute in a drawer in the buffet that Basil had brought him and Cullen as a gift from…somewhere. It wasn’t his. He wondered if it had belonged to someone who used to live in this house, but Cullen assured him that was all over on Corbin’s side, so goddess knew where it came from.

But the flute was lovely.

And he was bored, because Cullen had taken Cosmo to visit their parents with Elliot and the new baby. Even Corbin had gone. Hawk had gone to the dragonlands.

It was just him and the magpie.

So Orion took it apart and cleaned it, then reassembled it and started to play.

Oh, that was rather good.

So, he played, and he danced about as he played the flute, and the magpie bounced about with him, flying from perch to perch, calling out as if singing.

“Sing it, Ed!” he cried, taking a bit of a breath, which was when he heard the knocking at the main door of the house. The door to the human world.

“Oh, shit, Ed. What the hell? No one knocks at this house.” Not even Amazon. They just left shit in the weatherproof box at the end of the driveway…

Ed screeched, then flew out through the hall of Cullen’s house, heading to the front door.

“Okay, fine.” He held his flute more like a weapon than an instrument, stomping out to the front door. There was no camera or even a weird offset mirror thing to see who was out there. Just a peephole, and Orion had watched enough horror movies to know better than that.

“Who is it, Ed?”

The knock sounded again, and then the thump of a beaver tail sounded on the boards.

“Yarrow? Is that you?”

“Let me in! I brought doughnuts!”

“Just a moment!” He did look then, simply to make sure Yarrow was alone. When he saw no one else, Orion opened the door, smiling at his friend.

“How are you doing, old friend?” Orion wasn’t sure if he should let Yarrow in. It wasn’t his house.

Well, this part wasn’t his house, but he didn’t know any way to get to his house except for through this door, this way.

“Okay, I’m good. Real good. I just thought I’d stop by. I’m fixing to go to ground for the winter. It’s going to be a harsh one. I can feel it in my bones.” Yarrow held up the box of doughnuts. “Anyway, I thought that I would share my bounty, say hello.”

“Do you have a good place to stay for the winter?” Orion hated the thought of his friend being miserable for the cold season—which was weird because he had been friends with the beaver for years, and he’d never worried before.

“Define good.”

“I mean is it safe?” Orion asked.

“Well, it’s warm, it’s deep, and I can sleep there. So I like that. It’s a little dank, but you know. It’s a den.”

He nodded as if he understood, even though that was a lie. He really didn’t understand dens. Or dank. Oh really, no. That wasn’t his thing. Still, it was his job to acknowledge and agree, right? “Okay. Well, that’s good.”

He couldn’t just not let Yarrow in. It just felt wrong.

Cullen? He wasn’t sure Cullen could hear him from across dimensions, but it was worth a try.

Yes, mate?

Okay, that was easy. C a n I let Yarrow come in?

It’s your house too; just don’t let any vampires in, because that’s creepy.

He looked at Yarrow. “Are you a vampire?”

“A who what?” Yarrow’s breath made a whistling sound through his teeth.

“Are you a vampire?”

Yarrow bared said teeth, which were absolutely huge, but blunt. Not for sucking, just for gnawing.

Totally not a vampire.

Then let him come in.

“Come on in, have a seat. This is our shared living area.”

Yarrow toodled right in, and he shut the door. “Oh, it’s nice in here. Warm.”

“Yeah. You know, you probably need a better coat.”

“Eh, in my beaver form it’s a non-issue.”

“Are you sure? I mean, we have an old spring house out back…”

Those super-dark eyes gleamed. “Really?”

“Yeah. We never use it anymore, apparently. And it’s always warm in there.” Cullen, can Yarrow stay in the spring house?

Hmm? Why would he stay there?

For the winter. It would be a good warren for him.

Oh, sure.

“Cullen says it would be fine, hon.”

“Oh, cool. Can I go see it?”

“Sure, but let’s have a cup of coffee first.” Orion grinned at his buddy. Yarrow would be a great watch beaver.

“Totally. It’ll go with the doughnuts. So where are the others?”

“Visiting their parents.” That was innocuous, and he figured he didn’t want to mention new baby and or babies or just recently not pregnant Cosmo or currently pregnant Cullen. Man, it was dizzying.

“And they don’t mind about the spring house? The boys, I mean.”

“No. We’re not using it. It would be nice for you to be close and warm and solid. You could make it a home of your own.” Orion loved the idea of close and personal.

“I’d like that.” Yarrow started, pulling out doughnuts from the box. “I got you blueberry and lemon. I was craving maple logs.”

It didn’t surprise him at all that the beaver who gnawed on logs would like maple. It made sense. In fact, it was kind of deeply satisfying in a way.

“What on earth have you been doing up here?” Yarrow didn’t look upset, just curious, and Orion had to think about what he had been doing.

Moving furniture.

Playing with Elliot.

Exploring the dragonlands with Cullen.

Exploring the Land of Summer with Cullen.

Knocking Cullen up.

“Watching Cullen make some of the strangest magical illusions I’ve ever seen in my entire life.” It was kind of unnatural to wake up with a giant lizard in the bed. Not quite as unnerving as when Cullen started glowing with a bright yellow light. Not a light in that gentle, soft, warm glow of a lightbulb light. But more in that as bright as the sun itself, I think I’m going to go blind, kind of light that even putting numbers of blankets over Cullen didn’t seem to help.

They’d actually had to call Cullen’s mom in for that one.

“Did you know that orgasms change magic?”

Yarrow blinked over, doughnut in his hand. “Pardon me?”

He started the coffee pot. “I’m serious. Like, let’s say you’re doing illusions, and you, oh I don’t know, start growing really, really long toenails, and it’s worrisome. If you give someone an orgasm, it changes it.”

“Oh.” Yarrow tilted his head. “Into something better?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Huh. That’s kind of…unhelpful.”

Orion shrugged to his friend. “Yeah, but at least it’s fun. And you know, if you can get a twofer, even a threefer, your chances get better.”

“I worry about you, friend. Seriously. You need help in the worst kind of way.” Yarrow winked at him, playing with him. “You know, they say it’s dangerous to get involved with dragons. They’re…not of this earth.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s an issue.”

“No?” Yarrow studied him. “Yeah, so unicorn and all. I get it. But, I never see you guys outside.”

“Are you stalking us, Yarrow?”

Yarrow flushed a dark pink, which made his sideburns look very dark. “I’ve just been looking for a place to winter.”

“Sure, man. I get that. I was just teasing. But if we go outside, then someone has to maintain an illusion, at least here. So, we don’t go where anyone could see us from the road.” He wasn’t going to explain to the whole Lunastra and Land of Summer thing.

And he hadn’t taken Cullen to the Glade yet.

“Ahem.” Yarrow squinted at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Reams of shit, my friend, but it’s not my story to tell.”

“Right.” Yarrow chattered his teeth. “Spring house?”

“You know it.” He finished up his doughnut, licking his fingers. God, that was good. Lemon. Yum. He climbed to his feet, heading out the hallway to the back door that led out into the actual backyard and not some other realm.

They walked out the back door, but then he had to stop, staring at the door that was in front of him again. It was open, and Yarrow was outside, but?—

“Quit joking around, Orion.” Yarrow squinted again, head tilting.

“Sorry.” He stepped out the door, then stared at the doorway and Yarrow again. From inside.

“What the fuck, man?” Yarrow blinked hard, his nonexistent-in human-form whiskers twitching. “I saw you walk outside. Why are you popping up back inside?”

Cullen? Why can’t I leave the house?

What?

I want to take Yarrow to the spring house, and I can’t get out the door. It just dumps me back into the house.

Oh, crap. Let me come back.

Oh, but ? —

Cullen walked out of their part of the house only a few minutes later. He and Yarrow were still staring at each other through the doorway.

“Hey, guys.”

Yarrow started. “You’re purple.”

“Oh, yeah. I was an old dude the last time we met.”

“That was you?” Yarrow beamed. “That was righteous.”

“Thanks,” Cullen said. “Okay, let me see it.” Cullen stayed back a good five feet from the door, watching him.

He walked outside, then ended up back inside.

“Huh.” Cullen came forward and took his hand. “Okay, try it with me.”

They walked through the door hand in hand, and he stood outside in the cooler air, right next to Yarrow.

“Whoa.” He stared at Cullen.

“Hmmm. You haven’t left the house without one of us since you moved in, have you?”

“No.” His heart started to pound as panic tried to set in.

Cullen squeezed his hand. “Well, let’s go see the spring house.”

“Did you know that you’re trailing flowers along behind you?” Yarrow asked.

“That means I’m stressed a little.” Cullen laughed.

“He’s preggers.”

“Congratulations!” Yarrow didn’t even pause.

“Thanks.”

They walked Yarrow to the spring house, and he pried open the door. Yarrow gasped as he walked in. “Wait, this is a hot spring house! Not cold storage.”

“Yep. They used it like a sauna, I think.” Cullen waved at an old brazier in the corner.

“Oooooh.” Yarrow shifted, his clothes falling around his wee beastie body, and he waddled all over, sniffling and batting his tail on the floor with joy.

“I think he likes it.”

“Me too,” Cullen said.

“So why do you think I can’t leave without one of you?”

“I have no idea.” Cullen sent another raft of flowers out of his hair.

“Hey.” He squeezed Cullen’s hand. “It’s okay.”

“I dunno. Do I want you trapped in the house?”

He winked. “I’m never trapped. I always have my own door with me to somewhere.”

Cullen tilted his head. “Yeah? To where?”

Orion grinned. “The Glade.”