Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf (Black Swan 4) (14 page)

Sol's smile was slow to form and disturbingly sardonic. "So now he's your protégé is he? If he's everything you say, he should be able to pass a little test."

"A little test." Storm's intonation was flat and dry as dust.

"He'll fit right in with the..."

"Fuck ups."

"Come on. All second sons are fuck ups, to one degree or another."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot."

"Don't forget that I'm including myself in that assessment. Before I was your lord and master, I was a trainee and then a knight. I started out as a second son just like most. I was going to say that he'll fit right in with the team that sets the standard for, ah, color."

Storm groaned.

Z Team had been stuck in Marrakesh because Marrakesh was such a mess that The Order simply didn't care if they left a trail of chaos behind them. Who would notice? Known as "back door land", nobody in Morocco would build a structure without a back door because they knew there was always a chance that, at some point in the future, they might need it themselves.

The reason Marrakesh was a big draw for vampire was because it had become a famous pleasure destination - permanent, year round spring break, with a big streak of danger that was curiously appealing to a certain personality type. It was the sort of place that brought "s" words to mind: skanky, seedy, sleazy, shitty, shaggy, shifty, and sodding.

Owning an I-survived-vacation-in-Marrakesh tee shirt was good for permanent water cooler creds. People knew when they bought a ticket to the capital of decadence that lots of people with round trip tickets never showed up for a return flight. In an inexplicable quirk of human psychology, that seemed to be part of the draw - at least for a percentage of the very young demographic who were old enough to travel, but not old enough to realize when they were being reckless or stupid or both.

Regarding Sol's reference to Z Team's appearance, they rocked bad boy in ways that left little to the imagination. Their tastes ran toward colorful tats and hair streaked with color du jour. They avoided piercings that might compromise them in a fight. Giving an opponent something metal in your skin to grab and rip was even dumber than people who chose Marrakesh as a vacation spot. Although there was a rumor that at least one of them had a piercing in his pants that was designed to pleasure the little ladies.

Z Team took the usual second son rebellious nature to a new level. The idea of calling them knights went against every pressed crease in Sol's wardrobe.

He would have loved to tell them where to get off while planning to give them a push a minute before they got there. Unfortunately, these guys not only fit the profile well enough to be recruited, but they had excelled in certain areas of field duty, repeatedly demonstrating extra keen instincts and hunter talent that just couldn't be denied or overlooked. They were high maintenance, but far too valuable to waste.

"I call fair, Sir Storm. You want me to challenge myself to consider grooming an untried trainee, not yet old enough to vote, for the job of Sovereign of the most powerful hunter unit in Black Swan? I return the challenge by saying he needs to give me some reason to think he could be up to the job in two years.

"I'll send him to Marrakesh in some capacity of authority over Z Team and see how he fares."

Sol had to chuckle at the shocked look on Storm's face, which may have even paled a little. "Authority over Z Team? Even
I
wouldn't walk into that. Even
you
wouldn't walk into that."

Recovering his characteristic serious expression, Sol said, "That's exactly the point. I
would
walk into that. And anybody planning to take my place is going to have to be prepared to do what needs to be done." Sol's gaze flicked to Litha and back. "Have you asked the boy if he's interested in administrating Hunter? Do you know for a fact that he wants the job?"

"No. I thought it would be pointless to bring it up without talking to you first."

Litha had been very quiet throughout this exchange, but she was a good listener and, being something more than half demon, she was also exceptionally good at negotiating.

"Maybe a compromise?"

The way both men looked at her made her think she'd been transported to another time when little women were supposed to be seen, but not heard. For a second she wondered if she was going to be patted on the head and sent for more coffee with indulgent smiles and a wink between the two men. Seeing her surprise and the tiniest suggestion of offense, Storm recovered first.

"Of course, Litha. What do you think?"

"It strikes me that, if it's a
real
test, and not just a patronizing way to dismiss, or sabotage, the prospect..." Sol raised an eyebrow at that, "...that it needs to be controlled to the extent possible. That would mean bringing this Z Team here."

She directed her attention to Sol. "You'd be able to monitor your test and you wouldn't be taking a chance that you might have regrets later about throwing a lamb to wolves and walking away.

"You'd be able to observe Glen's actions and reactions first hand, his mental processes and coping skills, ultimately - his success or failure."

Both men frowned, but both were clearly considering the suggestion. Compromise was never fun. Naturally everyone wanted to have one hundred percent of their way one hundred percent of the time.

After a few seconds, Storm said, "Would it be possible to shift some teams around and keep Marrakesh covered?"

Sol absently ran his thumb over the design on his china cup. "Z Team here? Why don't we just gather up a dozen
Rhinocerotidae and turn them loose in the hub? Less chaos and less destruction."

Storm's intense gaze slowly became a wickedly hot smile. "But much less entertaining."

Sol stared. "You think that much of this kid. Really?"

"It's not just me. Call Simon and ask what the Edinburgh crusties think of him. If you want people to vouch for his dog walking and babysitting skills, call Ram or Elora. And, I'm not sure you want to know this, but I hear there are a lot of young ladies in Scotia who would be sorry to see him go."

Sol couldn't believe he was considering shuffling some teams around for an experiment that was a recipe for catastrophe. He could kick himself for having started down that road.

"I might agree, on the following condition. Since you're the one who put him up for the job, you're the one who needs to supervise for, eight weeks?"

Storm couldn't believe he'd set himself up to be out-manipulated by Sol. Again. He looked at Litha who shrugged.

Storm gave Sol a look that could kill. "I'm having a baby. Litha is my first priority. My second priority is the health and well-being of our vineyard. I can check on him by phone and in person sometimes, but I'm not going to live here. And, if something happens to Glen because of Z Team, I am going to hold you responsible."

"Is that a threat, Storm?"

"Did it sound like a threat?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, there you go."

Sol laughed and shook his head. Scratch the surface of Black Swan's quintessential knight and you find a kid with his third finger at the ready.

On the way back to his office, Sol was thinking that he'd catch up on some paperwork for a couple of hours and then call Simon, who should be up and about in Edinburgh by then.

Director Tvelgar was having breakfast in his office when Sol called.

"Glendennon Catch? As recommendations go, there just aren't words. The kid is a phenomenon all in himself. There doesn't seem to be anything he can't do.
Everybody
here wanted him in their department or on their team. Somebody floated the idea of making him a floater." Simon stopped to chuckle at his own word play. "And I was considering it.

"To top off the package, he's well-liked. Got one of those easy going, affable personalities that draws people in."

"According to his file, decision time is coming up. Did he give any indication where his interests lie?"

"Bollocks. Now that you mention it, I'm not sure he was ever asked."

"Hmmm."

"You wouldn't want to tell me why you're asking. You're not thinking about trying to snatch him away for yourself."

"It looks like he's my protégé's protégé."

Simon laughed. "He's your grand protégé?"

"Funny. I'm asking because I'm getting married in June and retiring in two years. I wanted Storm to step in here. He said no, but put this kid up for the job. Have you ever heard anything more outrageous than a trainee being considered as my replacement?"

"It's... different. Congratulations by the way."

"Thank you. So a test has been proposed. We're thinking about bringing Z Team here and putting him in charge of them." There was silence on Simon's end for a few beats before he started laughing. Sol sighed. "Yeah. If it was happening to you, I'd be laughing, too."

The second attempt at holding an exploratory dinner for Deliverance was less eventful. The guests arrived on time and were seated at the same round table. This time they were seven plus one. Baka was invited because he had a stake in what happened with the French vampire and Deliverance had them.

Litha and Elora had decided together that they would turn it into an occasion and dress up. Both wore after-five dresses. Elora's was an off the shoulder red that revealed a generous swath of near-flawless skin. Litha's was a black, empire cut, with vertical rows of sparkly beading. Although the style was designed to conceal, Elora couldn't help but be a little alarmed at the fact that Litha's pregnancy was noticeably more apparent in just four days.

When she had first turned to see Litha approaching, she had started to smile then her eyes had been drawn downward to Litha's stomach. She tried to jerk her gaze back upward to Litha's face and hide her surprise. Storm, standing next to his wife, had caught every nuance of Elora's reaction. He shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Litha was unfazed, clearly relaxed, content with her condition and not missing a thing. She laughed at Elora. "Don't look so worried. Everything's fine."

Elora smiled and nodded, but Litha's reassurance failed to reassure. Of course there was cause for concern and it was expanding rapidly.

The dinner presentation was the same except for the centerpiece flowers. Instead of calla lilies and trailing Epidendrum, Farnsworth had chosen huge ivory colored chrysanthemums and trailing stems of Paphiopedilum, Lady Slipper orchid. Showy and elegant at the same time. She had also replaced the plates and stems that Ram had broken. If he was still on payroll, she would have taken it out of his plus column.

Crisp sent the bar attendant and the sommelier in for drink choices.

Deliverance was asked about the vampire.

"When the effects of the spiked fake blood wore off, we talked about the best way for them to help you without causing any more trouble. When you get them back, they're going to be able to speak Anglish well enough to talk for themselves. They've been alternating between language programs and movies. Their favorites are
American Pie
and
Alien from L.A.
"

Elora mouthed, "
American Pie
movies" to Ram with a look of horror. Ram was clearly enjoying the déjà vu. As much as Elora objected to the vulgarity of thirteen-year-old-boy humor, she remembered watching every video in that genre with Ram while his ribs - that she had broken - healed. Somehow he overcame the basic offense of that and she'd accepted him as her mate in spite of one indignant blush after another. When her eyes came back into focus, she saw that he was watching her with a sexy little crooked smile, looking like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Deliverance was still talking. "Since the artificial blood isn't going to work, it seems like there are only two other options. Either they can come and go and take care of their own needs as needed or you can provide them with local volunteers. Since there's no way to tell what contact with the vaccine will do to them, they prefer the first option. They will live here, if you wish, until the situation is resolved, but will pop out for meals."

The other seven guests looked at Deliverance like they thought he was going to say more. He didn't.

"When do you expect them to return?" Baka asked.

"After dinner?"

Elora turned to Sol. "Have repairs to the trainees' rec been completed?"

Sol nodded. "It probably still smells like paint, but, yes."

Anyone who looked at Baka could see he was excited. "So. Does that work then?"

Sol looked around the table. "Objections?" No one spoke. "Suggestions?" No one spoke. "Corrections? Additions? Amendments?" Silence. "Very well. A bona fide miracle has officially transpired. Consensus has been reached by The Order's version of motley crew. Let it be entered into the annals."