With a house as big as ours, I didn’t really have a clue where to start looking for Elan, so I headed to the kitchen to see if Liam was still around. He should’ve been able to at least point me in the right direction. No berserkers in sight when I got to the kitchen, but Nate and Elan were sitting at the table talking. Wasn’t that convenient.
“There you are. I was just mounting a search for you, Elan. I wanted to personally thank you for being there for us in the clearing,” I said.
“I just heard you were up and about and was going to come find you, but Nate told me you’d be here soon. It’s I who actually have to thank you,” he said. “I’ve never felt so welcome around other people. I mean, you have some very influential uniques here, and every single one of them has shown me respect just because I’m your guest.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I think you’re going to be a big asset to our group here. After we get all this talk of going public out of the way, we can sit down and talk battle scenarios. You’ve been through one, so you kind of get the idea,” I replied, taking a seat at the table.
“Yeah, next time I’d like to be more useful. I think doing the simulations with your warriors will be a big help.”
“So did they take care of you while I was out? They did get you your own room set up, right?” I asked. I assumed Nate made sure things were in order, but with me out for the count, I didn’t doubt some things got overlooked.
“They did. I think they were afraid of your wrath. They actually gave me a room upstairs with you guys. After touring this place, I was sure I’d be down in the rooms set up for the trainees,” he said.
“Good. You’re part of the family, Elan. The trainees will be people we’re close to as well, but they aren’t part of our core group. Our core has an even bigger responsibility than the rest of the uniques. We’ll be making decisions that affect us all and we need to make sure the right people are in place for that job,” I said. “After seeing you in action, I think we have an even greater use for you.”
“That’s perfect, Avery,” Nate said, picking up where my mind was going.
“Please, do tell,” Elan said, waiting for my latest idea. He clearly didn’t know me well enough, most people groaned when they heard I had an idea.
“You’re the perfect spy. Think about it, you can take the form of anyone. When we find more camps of warlocks, we can snatch one of them and send you back in his place. You can get us access to what the big plans are, and we can adjust to try to thwart those plans,” I told him. “I know you have an issue with being used, and I really don’t want you to think we’re treating you poorly. We all have our talents and we’re just figuring out how we can use them to our advantage.”
He was grinning from ear-to-ear. “You aren’t using me, you’re giving me a job to do. It’s not like you’re going to take what I give you and somehow use it against me later. I’m just grateful to finally have a place to belong.”
“Good. When things calm down a little bit, we’ll have to make a weekend trip into the city so you can show me what fun your illusions can really be. I don’t want you to get too bored just working on battle simulations. I like to keep everyone in the house as happy as I can,” I said.
“You might want to make sure you don’t get hit by any more spells, then. The house was a tad depressing with you out for the count,” Rick said, coming in with Charles.
“Vinnie is already working on that. Have you seen the new suit he made me or any of the new gadgets?” I asked.
“I saw them when you did,” Nate said. “And I can’t wait to see you try on the suit. I’m not sure I’m going to let you out on a battlefield in it though. Maybe you can play cat burglar in the bedroom, but other than that, I’ll have to think about it.” It was the kind of response I expected from him, so I just gave him a little wink.
“Speaking of cats, where are my puppies? I haven’t seen them around this morning,” I said.
“Miranda and Joseph decided to take them for a walk down by the beach. They were getting a little worked up with all the people in the house,” Nate said.
“If they aren’t back soon, I’m going to go looking for them. How are the sleeping arrangements working out with all the leaders?” It was going to take me days to get caught up with everything.
“Most people are staying in the city and using private jets to fly in. The leaders from Alaska, that you recently met, and Jimmy are the only ones actually staying in the house. Oh, and the panther leader. Since his son will probably be hanging around with us, he thought he’d stay close. They don’t get to visit that often,” Rick informed me.
“His son?” I asked.
“Gary,” Nate responded. “He and Frannie are due back tomorrow.”
“Oh, so I’ve met the panther leader,” I said.
“Yup, we worked it so only people you knew were close by. We didn’t want any awkward meetings until we announced to everyone about your memory issue,” Nate said.
“You guys are so smart,” I said with a smile. “So training went well today. I managed to freak my mom out by turning her hair a different color.”
“I saw,” Rick said. “Brunette was kind of boring. You should have totally gone for purple.”
“Noted, but I was thinking pink. Next time I’ll go for the real shock factor.”
“So you know how to protect yourself now?” Nate asked. “That was what I was most worried about.”
“Evidently a glass of tea a day will do it. Granted it is special tea that I’m going to have to order online, but it should get the job done.”
“Great, and the headaches will be solved to?” he asked.
“A couple drops of blood fixes that problem. This magic stuff isn’t all that tough, you just have to get the right instruction manual before you get crazy with it. Nadine has agreed to be my mentor and help me grow as a sorceress,” I said.
“Yeah, as long as you don’t change in front of her. Word to the wise, she’s a little gaga over the phoenix thing,” Charles added.
“Apparently we’re a big deal to her and those she associates with. I really hope the leaders agree to the reveal, because she may not be able to hold that in forever. If it comes to it, I’ll probably have to say a spell to make sure she can’t tell anyone,” I said, shrugging.
“You could make it funny, and if she tried to tell anyone, a funny saying would come out of her mouth,” Rick suggested.
“I’ll take that into consideration,” I told him as I heard little feet pitter pattering on the wood floor. “Babies!”
Romeo and Juliet came running in the room to greet me. I got down on the ground to pet them and they immediately rolled over for belly rubs. When they got enough of them, they stood back up and started giving me kisses.
“Looks like somebody missed you,” Miranda said, walking into the room.
“Nah, I probably just missed some of the syrup from my French toast this morning,” I replied. “How did things go while we were away?”
“They were perfect angels, as usual. I think they were getting used to the house being so full though, because they’d often run around trying to find you or the guys,” she responded.
“Well, Mommy’s home to play with them now, and hopefully we can keep the house full enough so they never want for tummy rubs,” I said, working my way off the ground. The dogs ran off to find someone else to pay attention to them.
“You know, there’s this rumor I started to hear circulate this morning that you woke up delusional and somehow let Nate bond with you,” Miranda said.
“My little friend Fate had something to do with that. She better hope she stays hidden for a little while. I don’t imagine it’s a good idea to go around smacking the person who dictates when new life starts, and happens to be related to people who can end life.”
“Oh, so it was a romantic affair, I see,” she responded with a laugh.
“You know how romantic I usually am, take that to about a negative ten and you’ll have my general mood at the
time.”
“You know it wasn’t that bad,” Nate interjected.
“You’re just happy that it wasn’t you who had to coerce me into doing it. I still don’t know why she couldn’t have waited a few weeks for our wedding. It would’ve been so much better to do it then,” I said.
“Yeah, well, it’s done and you guys make the perfect couple as usual,” Charles said. “To have someone as awesome as me for a kid, you know you guys are blessed in some way.”
“Hey there, buddy, I remember what you were like as a kid now, so you might want to rethink that statement just a little,” I told him. Everyone laughed.
“I still think I turned out pretty well,” he said with a grin.
“No question there,” Nate said. “All of our children are a blessing to us and all of you have done some amazing things over the years.”
The rest of the day ended up being really boring. Everyone worked hard to keep me calm and relaxed. Usually making me lounge around while people came and went around me. After having my magic training, I was surprised they were still treating me with kid gloves.
I thought since Nate allowed the training just after I woke up, that meant everyone got the message I was okay. Evidently that memo never made it out, and he just wanted the training in case there was a sneak warlock attack. I knew he was aware of how I felt about things, but he kept giving me a look that said he’d break out the shackles, so I didn’t push things.
By suppertime, I was thankfully allowed to get back in the kitchen and do some cooking. Miranda, Mom and I ended up making a mess of enchiladas for everyone staying in the house. When we finished eating we sat around watching a marathon of Sons of Anarchy. Watching the guys at the table reminded me of what it was going to be like the next day with the leaders. I really hoped we’d end up with a positive vote.
Before it got too late, Nate carried me up to bed. Protesting would just be a waste of energy, so I allowed it. I grabbed some PJs and headed to the bathroom to change. I had my memories of Nate back, but he still had to wait for the wedding before unwrapping his present.
“Really?” I heard him whine from the bedroom.
“Yes, just because we’re bonded now doesn’t give you any special privileges,” I replied as I came back out to go to sleep. He was standing by the bed with his back to me. I saw the large phoenix tattoo and walked over to trace it with my fingers. “This is new isn’t it? I remember the names, but unless you got it in the month that’s still missing, I don’t remember seeing it before.”
He turned around to pull me in for a hug. “Yes, it’s new. It was to be a reminder of what I am. When I changed back from a phoenix after all those years and found you still weren’t back, I vowed not to change again.”
“But that would’ve eventually killed you according to the myths. We have to change eventually. Within the next couple hundred years you have to change and proceed into the fire or you’ll go too far over a thousand,” I replied.
“Honey, I know it’s cliché, but life without you was not worth living. I was probably going to go mad waiting for those centuries to pass,” he said as he maneuvered us into bed. He positioned us so his arms were still around me and kissed my forehead. “I know you’ve promised it before, but please don’t ever do that to me again, or at least give me some kind of warning.”
“I’ll do everything I can to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Now, let’s get some sleep so we’re ready for our big meeting,” I said, giving him a delicate kiss.
“Aye, aye Captain,” he said and we slowly fell asleep.
CHAPTER 26
How to explain me? Let's see crazy, delusional and altogether nutty