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“What they call the mates of our sons. They think that helping you is a huge boom, that they were specially picked to help you ladies. And if they can help you with your magic, which I’m betting that they already know what you have, then that makes them twice as proud.

” She asked if that was true. They’d know what she had.

“I’m sure of it. They did help me with the magic that I received when I first came to be with Storm.

I found them to be quite delighted to help me out with some of it, too. ”

“I’ll get with them. How do I go about getting my family a faerie?

I don’t want to put anyone out, but I really want them to be safe.

” Storm told her that her family was as safe as she could make them and that their houses, including hers and Edgars, were fixed as well.

“What do you mean fixed? And I have a lot of faeries at the house now.”

“I’ve fixed it so that no one with ill will or ill intent can enter your homes.

That would include your yard as well.” She asked what the difference was.

“Good question. It came to me that someone having an ill will wouldn’t be able to get into your house, but if they saw you out and about, they could harm you.

They cannot kill you, but they can harm you.

Ill intent means that when they see you out and about, walking down the street, they could harm you then.

So I’ve made it so that nothing untoward can harm you or your daughter, who I like, by the way, then either. ”

“Thank you. I’m assuming that you’ve given it to my family as well.

” Storm told her that everyone that she loves has it in their homes, but for Tommy.

“Good. Thank you. I know that you don’t understand why not him but I’ve not trusted Tommy for a very long time.

He’s sneaky and sort of mean. Well, I mean, he’s a great deal mean, and I’m afraid of him.

Or I was. He scares me to death sometimes when I see him looking at me.

Like he’s looking for a place to put a bullet into me that would make his day. ”

“I’m going to put a faerie on him as well.

Not to help him but to keep an eye on him.

If you don’t trust him and him being your brother, then I don’t trust him at all.

I’ll do that now.” She snapped her fingers, and three of the little people came to her.

After she told them what she wanted, to keep an eye on Tommy but not to engage with him, again, the fear that she had for her family rolled off her.

Not completely, but enough that she wasn’t as worried about them as she’d been before.

“They’ll be able to warn you, too, when he’s coming toward you.

Also, you might not have thought about this, but the more you know about your magic, the better you’ll be able to keep yourself from getting harmed as well. ”

“Edgar and I are going to talk about that when we get back home. I never thought about what I might have.” She thought of something.

“Will my parents have magic too? And Earl? And Mandy? I would have to talk to them about it if they did. They’re not as backwards thinking as most people their age are.

They’ve embraced the fact that not everyone around them is human, and it’s served them well. ”

“I’ve noticed that about them. When I told them I was a vampire, they didn’t even blink twice.

I loved it, and your father is a hoot. I like your mother in her way of just saying what she thinks, too.

But your father is just funny.” She told Alex that her dad was usually telling jokes when he should be serious, but again, that had served him well in the business world.

“Yes, I can see that humor over getting angry would do a good job of telling people, too, that he’s too smart to have the wool pulled over his eyes.

He’s a smart man, your father. I guess I never thought of that until just now. ”

“Thank you for that, Alex. You’ve no idea how good that makes me feel that you like him.

I’ll tell him, too, if you don’t mind.” He said it would thrill him beyond words for him to know that.

“Good. I’ll talk to him and my mom first. They’re on their way here from home anyway.

I’ll call Earl as soon as I get home. I don’t want him blindsided about Tommy either. ”

By the time she and Edgar got home, she’d spoken to Earl twice and let him know what was going on. Her parents were being picked up at the airfield by her and Edgar so that she’d tell them then.

Earl’s faerie arrived and made himself known to her brother right away.

He said that he did feel safer already and that he was glad someone was going to be keeping an eye on Tommy.

Earl did feel bad that they had to think this way about their own family, and that was when she was told about Edgar’s great-grandma and how she’d been killed by Fowler when she’d tried to kill Amy.

It made her shiver when she thought of how much larger Fowler was than Edgar’s dragon and that he had to kill his grannie.