Time Mends (24 page)

“
Mr. Vasile says that you
guys have gotten into some sort of trouble,” Dad said. “Do you know
what he’s talking about?”

I opened my mouth, ready to throw out some
sort of snarky reply, but Jase answered before I could come up with
anything.

“
Talley’s situation has
been resolved,” he said, stepping forward. “She left to be with me.
Our mating ceremony is to take place in the spring.”

Dad’s head jerked up in surprise, and Angel,
who had been miraculously quiet up until this point, scrunched up
her face. “What’s a mating ceremony?”

Stefan smiled and it was an altogether
disturbing sight. “Why, didn’t you know your brother was going to
get married?”

He was going for the weakest link in order
to find out the whole mating thing was a sham. The moment Angel
opened her mouth, we were done for.

“
Why didn’t you just say
wedding?” She asked, as if the whole Talley and Jase getting
married thing was a given. “Is mating what you call it in your
country? What country are you from, anyway? You kind of sound like
that guy with the pointy hat and mustache from those old Moose and
Squirrel cartoons they play on Boomerang. You know, Boring and
Natasha.”

“
You know,” Stefan said,
clearly growing tired of pretending to be enamored by the smallest
Donovan, “in Russia, my native land, children are taught to respect
their elders.”

“
Oh, that’s not just in
Russia,” Angel assured him. “We do that here in America,
too.”

Stefan did that whole one sided mouth curl
thing again. “Clearly.” The word was meant as a dismissal for
Angel, as he then turned his attentions to Jase. “There have been
some questions raised as to the sincerity of your claim. I am
afraid the accusation requires an audience with her highness.”

Talley’s eyes went wide and Charlie
swallowed hard enough even the non-Shifters in the room could hear
it, but Jase merely dipped his head. “It would be an honor,
Polemarch.”

Polemarch? What the Hades was that?

Whatever it was, Stefan looked pleased the
title was given. “Your presence will be required fifteen days from
this night. Your mate, however, must accompany me today. As is our
custom, she will remain under the eye of the Strategos until her
fate is determined.”

“
No.” I didn’t know what a
Stratego was any more than I knew what a Polemarch was, but I knew
Talley wasn’t going there. “She stays with me.”

“
Indeed she does,” Stefan
said, steepling his hands in front of him to complete the evil doer
image. “You will also be awaiting an audience with the
queen.”

If Charlie’s muttered curse was anything to
go by, this was not a good thing.

“
And why would your queen
wish to see me?”

Stefan’s eyes skirted over my father and
sister in the long pause that followed. “Charges have been made,”
he finally said. “Grave charges for which you will stand trial. The
date has been scheduled for the same night as the queen will hear
Hoplite Donovan’s declaration.”

“
Sorry, but I’m going to
need some clarification. By ‘Hoplite’ you mean Jase,
right?”

“
Yes.”

“
And you’re some sort of
Polemarch thing?”

“
Polemarch is my more
formal title.”

“
And those guys…?” I
pointed at the unflappable couch protectors.

“
The Stratego.” Stefan’s
patience was waning. “The term comes from the ancient Greek.
Stratego are the most elite of soldiers.”

“
And I need to stay under
their elite sight until this trial?”

“
Indeed.”

I looked at Stefan’s soldiers, who hadn’t so
much as blinked an eye during our conversation. On the surface,
there were very few similarities in the three. The one on the right
was middle aged, like Stefan. He was African American and stood
close to seven feet tall. The muscles popping off his upper arms
were the size of grapefruits. If I met him on the street I would
think he was a retired professional basketball player.

The guy on the other end was younger, maybe
early twenties, and equally impressive, but looked more NFL than
NBA. His dishwater blond hair hung down to his very square jaw. He
wasn’t quite as tall or old as our Michael Jordan doppelganger, but
he was just as imposing with his wide shoulders and steel blue
eyes.

The man standing between the two was the
smallest by a long shot, but not the least dangerous. He was maybe
my height, and probably didn’t weight too much more, but he was
wiry. His skin was a dusty color and his dark eyes slanted ever so
slightly at the corners. He was standing in the exact same Secret
Service pose as the others, but with him you got the impression of
a coiled snake ready to strike.

Despite their obvious differences, one thing
was certain about the three of them as a whole - They were not
leaving without taking Talley and me with them. It was in the set
of their jaw, the flatness of their stare.

“
Where will we be going?”
Alex once told me the headquarters for the Alpha Pack was in
Romania. While I’ve always longed to see Europe, this wasn’t
exactly the trip I envisioned.

“
You’re not going
anywhere.” My father’s face sported a decidedly red tint. “I think
it’s time you leave,” he said to Stefan. “I don’t know who you are,
or what authority you think you have here, but you’re going to
leave right now and never so much as look at my kids again or I’m
going to have a Restraining Order placed on you.
Understand?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Charlie’s
stance shift ever so slightly, placing him in a better position to
fight. I followed his cue.

“
Mr. Donovan, I’m sure
you’ve been informed of your son’s status. It is our custom to
inform the parents, and as an adopted child myself, I draw no
distinction between the parents who created you and those who raise
you.”

“
I know who and what my
children are.”

“
Then you understand there
are issues pertaining to your children outside your government’s
realm.” Stefan picked a piece of imaginary lint off his suit
jacket. “When it comes to those issues, I am the government. The
laws of our kind are mine to enforce, and I will do all in my power
to ensure they are followed to the letter.” He reached out and ran
a single finger down one of Angel’s curls. Talley grabbed my wrist
to keep me in place. “Such a beautiful child. It would be a tragedy
if something was to happen to her. Yet, accidents do happen when
the rules are not followed properly.”

Dad’s face transitioned from red to purple.
“Listen here, you son of a—”

“
I’ll go.” My heart was
slamming up against my rib cage and there was an odd buzzing in my
ears. “Willingly. You promise that nothing happens to my sister,
and I’m yours.”

“
I’ll be damned
if—”

“
No, Dad. I’m going, and
you’re going to let me.” I looked at Angel, whose eyes were
overflowing with fear and confusion. “This is all a
misunderstanding. I’ll be back in two weeks. No big.”

Except, it was a big. A huge. A behemoth. A
freaking leviathan. I could feel it in the air that swirled around
Stefan and his men. I was as good as severely punished.

Even Angel could feel it.

The munchkin wrenched herself out of Dad’s
hold and wrapped her little arms around my thighs. “Don’t go,” she
begged. “Please don’t go.”

I knelt down to hug her properly. It put me
at a major disadvantage should things go south and I needed to
fight, but I didn’t think that was happening. I hadn’t lied. I was
going to go with them willingly, and Talley wasn’t the type to
resist. Jase and Charlie might try to step in, but they were sworn
to obey their Pack Leader, and I was going to order them to stand
down.

I cheated Death in May. Now it was time to
pay up.

“
I have to go,” I said,
trying to memorize the smell and feel of her. “It’ll be okay.
You’ll take care of the house and Mom and Dad and Jase for me while
I’m gone, right?”

I felt a splash of tears hit my collar bone.
“You promised, Scout. You pinkie promised.”

“
What did I promise,
Munchkin?”

“
You won’t leave me
forever. You promised.”

I blinked against the sting in my eyes. “I’m
just going away for a little while. It’ll be okay.” God, I wanted
it to be okay.

I held her until she stopped crying. I’m
sure Stefan and the three stooges really enjoyed watching our
little goodbye, but I wasn’t concerned about what was convenient
for them. Once the sniffles subsided I stood up and faced my
father.

“
I forbid you to
go.”

“
Dad, I’m adult. You can’t
forbid me from leaving.”

His lips tightened to the point it appeared
he had none. “You might be eighteen, but I’m still your
father.”

“
Which is why I’m stubborn
enough to do this no matter what.” I stepped into his embrace and
gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t let Angel play outside or go
anywhere by herself until this is over,” I whispered in his ear.
“You take care of her, and I’ll take care of me. Deal?”

“
I don’t like this,” he
muttered.

“
That’s because it sucks.”
He gave me a Dad look. “I said stinks. You don’t like it because it
stinks.”

I turned to say my last goodbye. “Charlie,
I’m putting Jase in charge while I’m gone. I want you—”

“
I’m going too,” Jase
said, meeting my eyes with fierce determination.

“
What? No, you’re
staying—”

“
I’m going.”

“
Sorry to interrupt what
I’m certain will be a most intelligent verbal exchange,” said
Stefan, “but you are not to join us until the new moon.”

Jase bowed his head. “With all due respect,
Polemarch, I call on my right to stay with my mate.”

Stefan looked like he wanted to smack Jase,
but instead he said, “Of course. You may stay with your Seer.”

“
And I’m going with
Scout,” Charlie added.

Stefan’s eyebrows shot up just as my jaw
dropped down. “I’m sorry,” Stefan said. “I did not realize you made
a declaration.”

“
Not as her mate,” Charlie
said, stepping forward and bowing his head, just as Jase had. “I
owe her a life debt and will remain with her until it is paid as
honor requires.”

I glanced over at my father, surprised to
find him looking relieved the boys were coming along for the ride.
Stefan? Not so much. Actually, he looked like he was regretting
being placed on teenager arrest duty.

The four of us were allowed to pack an
overnight bag to take with us, although each of us was assigned an
overseer to ensure we didn’t pack anything unnecessary, like our
guns. Snake Man and All American Joe headed off with the boys,
while NBA stuck close to Talley. I was honored with Stefan’s
watchful eye.

After another round of goodbyes to Dad and
Angel, and a brief phone call to Mom, we were herded outside to the
SUVs. Charlie and I were escorted to one, and Jase and Talley were
herded to the other.

“
Isn’t this the preferred
mode of transportation for rap stars and drug dealers?” I asked
Charlie as I stowed my bag in the back. “What does Stefan do when
he’s not marching poles or whatever?”

“
Being the Alpha Male is
pretty much a full time job,” he said, shooting me a
look.

Stefan was the Alpha Male? Awesome. Why
couldn’t someone have mentioned that to me earlier? Was the
pretentious ancient language really necessary?

“
So, how is it he can drop
so much cash on two sets of wheels?”

“
The Alpha Pack’s finances
are covered by a tithe collected from all Packs.”

“
Like Shifter
taxes?”

Charlie nodded as we crawled into the
backseat.

“
What is it I’m being
accused of?” I asked Stefan as NBA started the vehicle. “It’s not
tax evasion, is it?”

Stefan turned in his seat so he could see
me. “I’m surprised it took you so long to ask.”

“
It’s Shifter business. It
didn’t seem wise to discuss it in front of an audience.” Plus, the
less my dad and sister knew, the safer they would be.

“
The official charge is
Thaumaturgy.”

I waited for someone to explain what that
was, but no one volunteered.

“
Thaumaturgy?”

“
That’s a pretty serious
charge,” Charlie answered from the other side of the backseat,
which was approximately three miles away. “Did the accuser offer
any evidence to support the claim?”

This time when Stefan smiled he did nothing
to disguise the malevolence. “I believe she provided ample evidence
of witchcraft last night, don’t you?”

Charlie’s only response was a bulging of the
muscles in his jaws.

“
Witchcraft?” Although,
that did clear up any doubt as to who turned us over to the Alphas.
Mr. Matthews all but called me Goody Osborne and doused me with
Holy Water during his little visit. “You’re taking me away from my
family and putting me on trial for being a fictional
entity?”

“
The greatest trick the
devil ever played was convincing the world he did not exist,” said
a rich baritone voice, thick with a British-type accent, from the
front seat. So, not so much African American as African.

“
Many Shifters and Seers
believe in the existence of Thaumaturgics and Immortals,” Charlie
informed me quietly. I think the idea was for the comment to be a
private one, but there was really no point. We all had
super-hearing. If Jase and Talley had been talking in the other car
I would’ve heard it.