Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf (Black Swan 4) (8 page)

Stalkson nodded. While Elora was talking quietly with Ram, he turned to Monq. "Any idea yet how long you'll need me here?"

Monq pursed his lips. "Probably just through the day."

"Will you be sending people?"

Monq looked at him closely and detected the worry and anxiety that was barely disguised by pride.

"Let's get through the afternoon and then we'll see."

Elora closed her phone and turned to Grey. "Okay. Tour bus leaving. All aboard."

Grey looked confused. "What?"

She grinned. "Never mind. I guess I just experienced a flash back to my own tour of Jefferson Unit. The guide had a sense of humor. He told me that he
would
accept a tip, thinking he was being funny, and then was sorry he'd brought it up because he had to spend a half hour explaining tipping to me." She chuckled. "I'm still not an expert on the subject."

Elora walked Grey around the facility showing him the workout facilities, the classrooms for trainees, the fabulous state-of-the-art medical clinic, and the courtpark. She explained the ins and outs of eating at Jefferson Unit including which baristas made the best hot chocolate and what time of day was best to ask for a club sandwich.

Last, she took him to her own apartment to show him their temporary quarters and the absolute best thing on the whole premises - her baby boy.

As they walked along the hall, he said, "You seem to be rather proud of this place, almost like it was your home."

Elora smiled and looked down for a minute before she slid her eyes back to his. "You're very observant for a werewolf."

He looked at her sideways. "How many werewolves do you know?"

She laughed. "Busted. I know a total of two.

"In an odd way, at the end of a very long story, this place really is like home to me."

"Does it have something to do with the Interdimensional Something Defense Thing?"

"Do you have security clearance?"

"Five."

"Okay. Consider it just between friends and off the record for now. Here's the nutshell version. I came from another dimension very similar to this one, which is why I'm strong enough to put you down without breaking a nail. I arrived here, at Jefferson Unit, as alone as a person can be. I went from prisoner of interest to Black Swan knight, which is why my name is
Lady Laiken
. I made friends who are my family. I fell in love and mated. And it all started here. So it does feel like home base. I guess it always will."

Arriving at her temporary quarters, Elora looked back at Stalkson and grinned. "Beyond this door lies the center of the universe." He cocked his head slightly to one side then looked past her when the door swung open.

Elora waved at Ram. "I brought Stalkson to see Helm."

Ram nodded at Grey and waved a hand toward where the crib was sitting in front of the window. When Helm saw his mother come into his field of vision, he pumped his little arms and legs like he was training for an Iron Man and gurgled excitedly. She laughed at him and he cooed at her adorably.

When Stalkson came into his field of vision, Helm grew still and studied the newcomer with intense interest and the suggestion of a scowl on his brow. Then he took a deep breath and gave Grey the longest, most perfect raspberry Elora had even seen rendered.

Grey blinked a couple of times like he was trying to decide if that had actually happened. Then he laughed openly, seeming to enjoy the baby's rebuke immensely. "The center of the universe has spoken." He looked at Elora and smiled. "I sense problems with authority. No doubt he's your boy."

Ram used his hand to wipe the laugh off of his own face. Elora gave Ram a cool look.

"On the contrary, problems with authority, should they develop, will be laid squarely at the feet of the elfling's father."

Grey smiled. "Whatever you say."

Counterintuitive as it may have seemed, Litha and Storm returned from their New York weekend loose, relaxed and prepared to thoroughly enjoy time together alone at the vineyard. It was Litha's turn to clean up after dinner. She was just finishing and planning to join her husband by the fire for a glass of sweet red when her cell played a few bars of "Devil Inside".

She looked at the caller ID.
Unknown caller.

"Don't answer it," Storm yelled from the living room right on cue, like he had seen the caller ID.

She considered letting it go, but she had a strong suspicion that the caller, who'd prompted the mysterious ring tone that she did
not
have on her phone, was the furthest thing from unknown.

"Dad. How did you program a ring tone into my phone?"

"You noticed! Did you like it?"

"I haven't gotten that far. Answer the question."

"Magic."

"Really."

"I have to get off this plane."

"Okay. First, why are you calling me on a phone when you could just show up here if you have something to say and, second, why are you on a plane when you could just ride the passes?"

"Okay. First, I'm calling because the last two times I popped in I got in heap big trouble because you were boinking. Remember? Because you're shy about that. Remember?"

"Yes. Thanks for reminding me and for using such delicate phrasing."

"Second. I'm not on
a
plane. I'm talking about
the
plane, as in this limited version of reality."

She laughed. "Limited? Your options are practically infinite. What are you talking about?"

He sighed. "I'm bored."

"Well, maybe demons weren't meant to live for so long."

"That's your idea of sympathy? Feeling sorry for my grandchildren already." Instead of the indignant protest he was expecting, his daughter made no reply. "Hello? Can you hear me now? Where did I lose you?" He appeared in front of her on the other side of the kitchen island. He watched her reaction closely while he said, "Never mind," into the phone and then shoved it into the pocket of soft faux doeskin pants.

Litha set her phone on the counter next to her.

"I wasn't serious about thinking you'll be a bad mama jama." He flashed his most charming smile just as his eyes were pulled downward. "Ohhhhh." He grinned. "So all kidding aside, my little girl is
really
gonna be somebody's mama, which means..."

"Don't say it."

"I'm gonna be a grandemon!" He hadn't been this animated since, well, she'd never seen him so excited. "Forget what I said about being tired of this plane. This is just... It's just... I can't even think of a word to describe it. Transcendent! Yes! It's a transcendent experience. I can already tell."

"And when did you become interested in transcendence?"

Storm walked into the kitchen before the demon answered. When Storm heard voices in the kitchen, he knew it was his father-in-law and thought about hiding for a split second. He didn't, but suspected he would regret that decision before the visit was over. Deliverance almost knocked him over with a very big and, decidedly unwelcome, shirtless hug.

"The proud papa, I presume." He laughed and patted Storm on the back before turning back to Litha. "Have you named him?"

"He came with a name. It's Storm."

"Cute."

"What makes you think our baby is a him?" Storm asked.

Litha watched her father's face soften into something that looked like adoration. "It's a girl?" It was a whispered question that melted Litha's heart. One thing that could be said about her dad was that you could never guess which way he would jump.

Deliverance pulled Litha into an embrace and hugged her tenderly, rocking her back and forth. Litha met Storm's gaze over her father's shoulder. That beguiling twinkle she loved was fixed in her husband's black eyes.

"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me." He pulled back and looked his daughter in the face. "Next to you," he said softly.

"You trying to make me cry, demon?"

Storm spoke up. "He's making me cry. I had a nice, quiet, relaxing,
private
evening planned with my wife."

Deliverance shot his son-in-law a dirty look that as much as said, "I could burn you to a crisp where you stand."

Storm replied with a sneer that as much as said, "Maybe so, but like it or not, she's mine."

They both thought they were clever, but Litha was always aware of their wordless communications.

"Ratchet it down a notch." She grabbed her father's chin and forced him to look at her instead of her husband. "I need a favor."

"Anything within my power."

"Storm's old boss is throwing a small dinner party. I've been asked to bring you along."

Deliverance's pupils could narrow to slits when his suspicion was roused. "Why?"

"What happened to 'anything'?"

"I didn't say no. I said, 'Why?'"

Litha sighed. "I think they want to ask you to help with some matters that require extra-human abilities such as yours."

Deliverance stared for a couple of beats. "What kind of women are they serving?"

Litha smiled.

Storm said, "I asked about that. Maybe you could snack..." He put the word "snack" in air quotes. "...beforehand and then go out for all-you-can-eat in New York afterward."

The demon moved his head back and forth like he was either thinking about it or responding to a dance tune that only he could hear.

"I'm saying yes to dinner." He giggled like the notion was ludicrous. Which it was. "Nothing else."

***

CHAPTER_5

Sol was certain there was no one in the known world better prepared to stage a dinner party than his fiancé, Farnsworth. He had left all the arrangements to her and damn if she hadn't done a bang up job. She had commandeered a private room on the far side of the mess that was large enough to feel elegant, and small enough to be intimate. The room looked onto a garden courtyard with ambient lighting, but was also located conveniently near the kitchen.

Sol had requested a round table for six to eliminate questions about the hidden meanings behind seating assignments. Some of the tufted red leather club chairs had been brought in from the lounge and set around the table. The hostess in absentia used white linens to contrast with the dark red floral design in the carpet. The table was set with the unit's fine china, crystal, and silver, but the
pièce de résistance
was a three foot high blown glass flute topped with a fountain spray of calla lilies garnished with sprigs of delicate orchids cascading down the sides, but not far enough to obscure eye contact between the diners.

The room was bare except for the table and chairs, a long side serving board, and two Black Swan flags proudly displayed in corner stands. Jefferson Unit considered itself sovereign territory and did not acknowledge any law or governing body other than The Order.

Sol had received a message from Storm in the afternoon saying that he was bringing Litha, Deliverance,
and
another unnamed guest. Counting Ram, Elora and himself, that would be seven. Not six. Sol considered himself a lucky man. He knew his wife-to-be wasn't easily nonplussed. She would add a seventh person without breaking her stride.

Everyone was assembled except for Litha. Storm introduced his father-in-law and mystery guest, Glendennon Catch, to Sol.

Although Glen had been a trainee at Jefferson Unit for six years and undoubtedly knew the Sovereign on sight, Sol made it a point to avoid getting to know trainees. If an honored guest happened to bring one of them to dinner, he supposed he would have to make an exception. Sol raised an eyebrow when appraising Glen's piercings, tattoos, and chunks style hair and made no attempt to disguise his disapproval.

The six who had arrived were enjoying cocktails. More accurately, four were enjoying cocktails. Glen's drink request had been changed from Whiskey Sour to Virgin Daiquiri by Storm and Deliverance opted for drinking in Elora's curves, currently enhanced by nursing. She was telling the group about the raspberry Helm had given the Elk Mountain king.

Litha knew she was late. She'd been detained by a talkative researcher from the Department of Records of Extraordinary Occurrences. She was rushing through the haze of the passes with nothing in mind but her destination, when she brushed up against another rider. The fellow traveler grabbed her elbows and easily pulled her to a standstill, a thing she hadn't even known was possible.