“On it,” Gray said. He dove out the window and changed in midair.
Dragos and Rune regarded each other. Bayne and the harpy were excellent warriors. They were a couple of his finest.
But an afternoon could be a very long time in New York with the Fae King at large and intent on mischief.
An afternoon like that could be a very long time indeed.
Pia gave Aryal directions when necessary, but other than that the trip to Brooklyn remained mercifully silent. Soon they arrived at the large Brooklyn Wyr health clinic she had used for the last couple years. The clinic was housed in an unadorned square, concrete-block building in a neighborhood filled with pawn and barber shops, liquor and rent-to-own stores and businesses offering paycheck loans. A fugitive dereliction hovered around the edges of the streets, a sense of something sharp and desperate that huddled in shadowed places waiting to show its teeth after nightfall, but the clinic itself was open during the daytime, and it had a professional, caring staff and a high number of half-breed patients, so it was perennially busy.
Aryal pulled the Porsche to the curb and switched off the engine. Both she and Bayne snapped open their seat belts as they scanned the street.
Pia’s stomach clenched again. “Stay here,” she said.
“Sorry, Pia,” Bayne said. The gryphon moved fast. He was out of the car and standing guard before she could get her car door open. Aryal slid around the front of the Porsche and joined him.
She strangled the impulse to yell at them as she climbed out. She looked from one sentinel to the other. Aryal’s expression was stony, Bayne’s eyes carefully blank. She wondered what they thought of their destination, what kind of telepathic conversation might be going on behind those killer faces.
“Here’s the thing,” she said. She pointed at the building. “Nobody in there knew we were coming. You guys are not going to go in and scare the shit out of anybody who happens to be inside, so just guard the entrances and stay the hell outside.”
Bayne pursed his lips as he considered her. She narrowed her eyes and said, “I could have left without you. I really wanted to, Bayne. Don’t make me regret trying to play by your rules.”
Aryal said suddenly to him, “Take the back exit.”
Bayne scowled. “Fine,” he said. He spun on one booted heel and stalked away.
Pia didn’t wait to hear more. She took off for the front doors. She had almost reached them when Aryal grabbed her by the shirt and shoved her against the side of the building.
“What the hell!” she sputtered. Shock ignited into outrage. Her fists came up to knock the sentinel’s hands away.
With almost contemptuous effortlessness, Aryal held her pinned in place with a forearm across her throat.
“Shut up,” snapped Aryal. “I’m not hurting you. You and I are going to have a talk.”
“Let go!” Pia dug in her heels and tried to yank the harpy’s arm away from her throat. Aryal caught her wrist. Slender steel fingers bit into her flesh.
Aryal gave the street a quick scan with blade-sharp eyes. “You have caused more trouble in the last couple of weeks than a street gang of Wyr-rats running amuck,” the harpy said. “I want to know what the fuck you’re up to now.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is my business if it puts Dragos in danger again.”
Pia tried to shove the knuckles of her free hand into the harpy’s midsection, but Aryal avoided her with a neat twist of her hips. “I’m not hurting anybody. All you need to know is Dragos promised me the afternoon.”
“And you believed him.” Aryal barked a short laugh. “Good one, genius girl.”
Had he lied? That hurt. She turned a look of dismay onto the harpy and felt like a fool. Her eyes burned. She gritted, “Take your hands off me.”
Aryal released her so quickly she almost stumbled, standing too close between her and the street, crowding her. The harpy wore a leather jacket that gaped open as she put her hands on her hips. Pia caught a glimpse of the sentinel’s shoulder holster.
“You know, I could get over that cheerleader ponytail of yours,” Aryal said, giving her a smile that could cut glass. “It would take me a while, but I could. I could get over the gryphons losing their goddamn minds for whatever reason and fawning all over you. What I can’t get over is this: you broke the law. You endangered the life of the Wyr lord, and by doing that, you endangered all of us, and you haven’t been punished for it. So I’ve got to admit, that one pisses me off.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Pia snapped, even as her gut clenched. She rubbed at her burning eyes. She had felt trapped at the time, but could she have done anything differently to avoid what had happened? She felt off balance and stupid and completely at sea.
“What have I got no idea about—that you may or may not be Dragos’s mate?” said Aryal. “Well, cupcake, that’s the intractable problem and why I can’t just kill you.”
Pia’s hands fisted. She said between her teeth, “No, you can’t, can you?” She shot her fist out with such speed she got past the harpy’s guard. She slammed it into Aryal’s shoulder so hard that the sentinel staggered back. “You don’t have to like or approve of me. You don’t have to agree with Dragos’s decisions. You have to do what you’re told. Did he tell you to bring me back to the Tower?”
Aryal glared at her and remained silent.
“No, I thought not. So you have to back the fuck off. You don’t get to question or intimidate me and demand answers like I’m some kind of grunt under your command because I’m not and I never will be.” She strode forward until she was toe to toe with the sentinel, her body combat tense. “And Graydon’s the one who gets to call me cupcake—you don’t. You haven’t earned it. Now I’m going to do what I came here to do. You’re going to do your job or Dragos is going to want to know why you didn’t.”
Surprise flared in Aryal’s stormy gaze, followed by a thoughtful expression.
Pia didn’t wait to see any more. She turned away and pushed through the front doors of the clinic.
Half a dozen people sat around the waiting room. A few were watching All My Children on a TV set high on a wall. She went to the receptionist window. A nurse she recognized gave her a perfunctory smile. “Afternoon. What can I do for you?”
“My name is Pia Giovanni. I need to see a doctor or a nurse practitioner,” Pia said, keeping her voice quiet so other people couldn’t hear. Her face and neck muscles ached with tension. She twisted her hands together. “Dr. Medina knows me. I’m sorry. I don’t have an appointment. I—” Her eyes glittered. “I’m afraid it might be an emergency.”
“Oh, honey,” said the nurse with quick compassion. She handed Pia a Kleenex and motioned her through the doors and into an alcove with a sink, a chair and a weighing scale. “All right, what’s going on? Are you sure you should be here and not in the ER?”
“I don’t know. There’s been so much happening.” She swallowed. “I’m a half-breed Wyr so I have an IUD. You know, the one with copper, not the one with hormones, because of not being quite human. And I’m in this new relationship with a full Wyr, and I managed to change last night—”
“Congratulations!” offered the nurse with a wide smile. RACHEL, her name tag said.
“Thanks.” She tried to smile as she remembered how happy she had been. “But all of a sudden I’ve gotten sick the last couple days. It was really bad this morning, and I’m pretty sure that somehow I got pregnant. I can feel it now that I’ve changed. And the IUD’s still in place.” She focused on the nurse, her expression intense. “I’m in shock. I can’t think straight, but I do already know one thing. I do not want to lose this baby.”
The nurse put her hand on Pia’s abdomen, her gaze going inward. Pia stood still. She felt the tingle of magic as the nurse scanned her. “Oh wow, you’re right, you are pregnant,” said the nurse, her eyes lighting up. “What a sweet little strong spark.”
“Did changing last night hurt
it?” she asked.
“No! Oh no, shifting is the most natural thing in the world. Your nausea does sound a little different, though. And with the IUD, you did the right thing by coming in. We’ll get you in to see a nurse practitioner or doctor. Just go ahead and take a seat right there, and I’ll pull your records. In fact, I’m going to see if I can catch . . .”
Muttering to herself, the nurse rushed off. Pia slumped in the chair and put her head in her hands. Thank God Dragos had stopped roaring in her head, because otherwise she thought she might spin into the air and fly into pieces. She thought his silence was ominous, but she didn’t care as long as she could hear herself think for just a little damn while.
She felt shaky and on the edge of nausea again. She put her hand on her abdomen. Stay in there, peanut.
Luck continued to flow her way, as Dr. Medina was getting ready to go on vacation and had just seen the last of the patients she’d had scheduled for the day. Pia was acquainted with Dr. Medina and comforted by the familiarity. She was a brisk, gray-haired canine Wyr with a no-nonsense attitude and a sense of humor Pia found calming.
After a quick examination and a pulse of Power, the doctor removed the IUD and grinned at her. “Good news. You, my dear, are in excellent shape and it isn’t ectopic, which is one of the major risks when pregnancy occurs with an IUD. That baby is exactly where he’s supposed to be, all snuggled in right and tight in your uterus and not in a fallopian tube or anywhere else. I’m glad you came in so soon though. Women who put this off for too long run a high risk of miscarriage or other serious complications. Now tell me about this nausea you’ve been experiencing.”
Pia sagged with relief. She described the last few days. “I’ve not ever been tempted to put meat in my mouth,” she said with a shudder. “But it’s smelled so good. And that’s so wrong.”
The doctor regarded her over half-glasses. “Are you by any chance with a predator?”
“Yes?” She didn’t mean that as a question. Did she?
“Well, that’s your problem.” The doctor sat back and smiled at her. “Predator/herbivore mixes are much more unusual than homogenous matches, although they do happen, of course, since we Wyr are much more than just our animal natures. I’m not going to lie to you. You’re in for a bumpy ride for the duration, and it may seem at times like your instincts have gone haywire.”
“Will it be a high-risk pregnancy?” Her hand went to her abdomen again.
“I wouldn’t say that. There’s no reason to go there right now. Think protein and calcium. If you can’t force yourself to be omnivorous for the duration of the pregnancy, you’ll need to stock up on protein drinks. Soy is fine. Whey is better. Along with the prenatal vitamins, I’ll prescribe an anti-nausea charm that should help. It won’t block pain, mind you. Pain is too important a messenger. But it should help you keep your food down. Keep it with you everywhere but in the shower. It loses its efficacy if it gets wet too often.”
“Thank you so much, especially for seeing me before you left on vacation,” she replied with heartfelt feeling. The doctor scribbled on a prescription pad and handed her a slip. She said, “One last question, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure, go ahead, as long as it won’t take too long. I’ve got a flight to Cancún this evening and a mate who won’t be happy with me if I miss it.”
She hesitated, not sure how to word things, and plucked at the edge of her examination gown. “The pregnancy is a real shock. I mean, I had the IUD, so I thought it should have prevented things, right? It hasn’t even come up as a topic of conversation with my . . . partner. I was starting to feel nauseated before I changed this morning, so I must have already been pregnant. So it had to have been the father who . . . changed things?”
The doctor’s eyes were shrewd and kind. “No single birth control is a hundred percent foolproof, for either Wyr or human. Yes, all things being equal, the IUD is a very effective method of birth control, for the most part. And yes, Wyr can control their reproduction cycle. For the most part. But I’ve also known Wyr to lose control during the first days of the mating frenzy. Only the two of you can say whether or not he’s just your lover or your mate. If I were you, though, I’d think about going easy on your partner on this one, if he’s your mate. Does that help?”
Her throat worked. She had to swallow hard before she could reply. “Yes. It helps a lot. Dr Medina, thank you so much.”
“My pleasure. I love the babies. Should have been an obstetrician.” The doctor closed her file and stood but paused before stepping out. She regarded Pia curiously. “By the way, you never did tell me what you shifted into?”
Caught off guard, she stammered, “Oh, a . . . a marmoset.”
“Odd,” the doctor murmured, giving her a quizzical look. “I wouldn’t have classified marmosets as herbivores. And your mate?”
“He’s . . . not one.”
The doctor narrowed her eyes on Pia. “You will tell me, won’t you, if it becomes medically relevant?”
“Yes, of course,” she said with a sheepish smile. “I promise.”
The doctor pointed at her. “Take your vitamins. See you next month.”
She changed into her clothes, giddy with both relief and hunger. She could eat a horse if it weren’t somehow cannibalistic. She bent and tied her shoelaces.
Pregnant. Mate. I’m going to have a dragon baby.
Nope, that didn’t get all the way inside. Let’s say it again.
I’m going to have a dragon baby.
She straightened as black stars danced in front of her eyes. Maybe she really was going to spin into the air and fly into pieces anyway, with or without Dragos’s help. She had so many things going on inside, random thoughts and feelings were popping like fireworks at the Fourth of July.
Panic at possibly losing the pregnancy had receded, to be replaced by panic at being pregnant. She was relieved not only that the pregnancy was viable but, even more, that all the evidence said Dragos hadn’t intentionally trapped her with it. It looked like she owed him a big apology.
But of all times for it to happen! She had only just, literally hours ago, decided to stay with Dragos. Then there was the war with Urien, which had only just begun. And who knew how Dragos was going to react when he heard the news. He might spin into the air and fly into pieces too.
She pressed her hand over her abdomen. Oh, peanut, I always had the sneaky hope I might have a child someday, but I have to tell you, this timing sucks.
She ran into an unexpected snag as she started to leave. The nurse checking her out asked, “Still the same insurance and co-pay?”
Same insurance. From Elfie’s. And her with thirty-three dollars in her pocket and no checkbook. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Offering a mental apology to all concerned with a promise to pay the bill for real, she lied, “Yes, thanks.”
She forked over the twenty-five-dollar co-pay, waved away the offer of a receipt and tried to not look shifty about any of it while she continued her internal dialogue with the peanut. What if he hates the idea of the pregnancy? What if he doesn’t want you? He has to want you, that’s all there is to it. Anyway, I want you. I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you. Just one more thing I’ll have to figure out, along with how to live with the rest of the crazy-ass changes going on in my life.
Business concluded, she made her way through the lobby toward the clinic door where she paused. She didn’t think she had the Power to reach Dragos telepathically, but she decided to give it a try anyway. Dragos?
His response was immediate and, thank God, calm. Yes.
I’m done. I’m headed home, she told him. I’ve got some news and I owe you a big apology.
We can talk about whatever it is later, he said. Where are you? I’ll come get you.
You don’t know? She thought for sure Bayne or Aryal would have told him by now. She pushed through the glass door, squinting in the bright sunlight. Where was the harpy? She shaded her eyes as she looked around. See, I went
to my doctor’s—
She stepped on something and shifted her foot as she looked down. She had stepped on—was that a dart?
Sudden pain pricked her neck. She brushed at the pain and saw another dart fall to the sidewalk. Numbness spread through her body at unbelievable speed. The world went sideways and the sidewalk slammed into her.
Bayne. Aryal. She tried to call for them, but her mouth wasn’t working.
Somebody was shouting in another part of her head, but she couldn’t connect with it or understand what they were saying.
Three people walked into view and stared down at her. Two were Dark Fae males with long tilted eyes, high cheekbones, pointed ears and dark hair.
One was a Hispanic woman, with a queenlike beauty and eyes that connected to hers with a snap of Power. The witch Adela, from the Cauldron.
“Oh, it’s you. Again.” Adela’s mouth pursed and she sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
You stupid bitch, she tried to say. I’m so going to kick your ass.
If Dragos doesn’t get to you first . . .
Everything floated away.
EIGHTEEN
A Mephistophelian voice thundered in her head. It called her Name.
Use your Power, damn it. I can feel you’re there. Try hard, the imperious voice demanded. WAKE THE FUCK UP.
Everything whirled around her. It stank like oil and exhaust. She lay on something hard that vibrated, her cheek pressed against a rough carpet. She felt dizzy, sick. She breathed in shallow pants.
Someone was making a thin whining sound. Oh, it was her. Shut up, stupid.
She fought to do as the voice demanded and reached deep inside. Her training instructor would have said she reached for her chi, her energy flow, the seat of her breath.
For a terrible moment she was disoriented and rudderless in the dark. Then she connected. Power flowed up from the base of her spine and flooded her body. It didn’t dissipate all the effects of the drug, but it helped to clear her head some.