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Hester let out what sounded like a snort. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get hold of Daniel, but I can meet you. There’s a Starbucks on Fiftieth and Lexington. I’ll be wearing a chartreuse shirt. Can you be there in an hour?”
I glanced at the clock. It was six thirty now. “Yes, we’ll meet you in an hour. And Hester . . . thank you. ” I handed Camille back the phone. “It’s set. She knows my name so we’d better go through with this. ”
We stared at one another for the next minute, then, in a flurry, we beat a rush to make ourselves presentable.
• • •
An hour later we walked into the coffee shop, not sure what to expect. Camille was decked out in her usual—a black bustier over a warm plum skirt and ankle boots with mile-high heels. Menolly was in clean jeans, a turtleneck, and knee-high brown leather boots. And I’d changed into a pair of pair of cargo jeans, a pale green sweater, and a black denim jacket. We were about as good as we were going to get, given the circumstances.
On the way over, Menolly had gotten a call from Derrick that hadn’t helped any. The salvage operations for the Wayfarer had yielded very little. It was going to be a complete rebuild from the foundation up. And he dropped the bomb that a lawyer had come sniffing around but had been close-mouthed.
We were all worn out, and when Camille had suggested going dreglin-hunting after our meeting here, neither Menolly nor I were much in the mood. It was too soon after what had happened.
The coffee shop was buzzing with wired java-junkie Seattleites. We didn’t have coffee back in Otherworld but since we’d come over here, Camille had gotten hooked but good on it, and she drank enough to bring a grown man to his knees. The smell of freshly baked cookies filled the air, and the warm lights and hustle of chatter felt like a welcome retreat.
I glanced around, looking for someone we might recognize. Hester Lou had said she’d be wearing a bright green shirt, and within seconds, my gaze landed on the only chartreuse-ensconced woman in the place.
We knew she was someplace in her forties, but she looked fit. Skinny as a rail, with blond hair like mine tied back in a ponytail, she didn’t have a speck of makeup on that I could see, and she was sitting next to a red-headed woman, also lean and athletic, who had her hand on Hester’s arm. I had the feeling they were more than good friends.
We headed over toward them, and Hester looked up.
“Hi, I’m Delilah, your cousin. ” I smiled at her, trying to sound natural.
Her eyes widened as she stood, and she let out a little noise that sounded all-too catlike.
“You have to be kidding. You can’t be . . . I thought you said we were related. If you expect me to believe we’re cousins, forget it. None of my aunts are young enough to have girls your age. ”
I glanced at the others as we sat down. “This is going to take some explanation. ” We introduced ourselves. Hester’s friend was Sue Ann, and as I’d thought, they were married.
After an awkward pause, Camille spoke up. “Our mother, Maria D’Artigo, was Theresa D’Artigo’s daughter. She was born in 1921, when Theresa was fifteen, and adopted out to a couple because your grandmother was a teenaged unwed mother, and that didn’t go over so well. ”
“You are telling me that your mother was seventeen years younger than my mother? You expect me to believe that?” And then Hester stopped, tilting her head as she examined our faces. “Who are you? What do you want? You’re not fully human. ”
“You’re right on that count. Our mother, Maria, fell in love with a man named Sephreh ob Tanu . . . ” As I said Father’s name, I choked, and bit my lip, trying to keep my composure.
“Our father was from Otherworld. He’s one of the Fae. He took Mother home with him and she had the three of us. She was half sister to your mother, Tansy. So that makes us cousins. We’re all over sixty Earthside years old. ” Camille gave her a long look, open but not bringing up her glamour. We didn’t want to charm our way into a relationship with Hester Lou. It had to happen naturally.
After a moment, Hester let out a long breath. “So the rumors were right. Grandmother had a baby when she was young. My mother did some genealogical research and something led her to that conclusion. I don’t know what because I never took much of an interest in the subject. But she always maintained that she had a half sister or brother somewhere. Mother didn’t find out until after Grandma died and couldn’t ever confirm her suspicion. ”
Sue Ann leaned forward. “Hester, they are of your blood. I can sense it. I can see it—there’s a connection. ” She leaned toward me. “You . . . you have the strongest bond with your mother’s spirit. ” Shaking her head, she sat back. Sue Ann wore snug jeans and a tank top, and her motorcycle boots caught my eye. Her hair was pretty much the same cut as mine, though she looked older. But she was also FBH, so her years would wear far more on her than ours on us.
Hester glanced at her, then back at us. “Sue Ann is psychic. She’s seldom wrong, and knows her stuff. Let me put in another call to Daniel—he was out when I called earlier. ” This time, she got ahold of Daniel. “He’ll be down in twenty minutes. Why don’t we get something to eat? When he gets here you can tell us about your life, and your mother. ”
Her demeanor was cautious, but she believed us. We bustled around, found a bigger table, and got food and drinks. At one point, Hester Lou came over to me. She was about my height, and she looked tough, but not worn out. She reached up and brushed my hair out of my eyes.
“It’s so hard to believe that you three are all older than I am. Than Daniel is. We’re close in age, you know. My brother is . . . well . . . he’s trouble at times but I love him. ” With a glance over at the table where Menolly sat waiting, she added, “She’s a vampire isn’t she?”
I nodded. “She went through hell on earth. Or Otherworld, as it was. She’s been a vampire for close to fifteen years. Camille’s a witch and priestess. And I’m a werecat. I had a twin, Arial, but she died at birth. ” I didn’t know how much to tell her, but figured that it was a safe bet she would find out about our abilities eventually.
“It must be something, having powers like that. Of course, like everybody else, I know about Otherworld and vamps and Weres but . . . ” She paused and wiped her eyes. “To know that we have blood kin on the other side of the veil. Your mother and my mother were half sisters and they never knew about one another, and that makes me sad. My mother was so sure there was someone out there. She said she just had a feeling. She looked and looked but could never find concrete evidence, and by then Grandma was dead. ”
I let out a soft mew. “You have other cousins, right? That’s what our informant told us. ”
Hester nodded. “Most of them we haven’t met. My aunts live scattered around. For some reason, they weren’t close. My mother told me that there were family issues at play, but she wouldn’t talk about them. ”
Camille let out a little laugh. “We know all about family issues. Trust me, in Otherworld? Being half-human? Not such a good thing. ”
Sue Ann bit into her scone. “I guess prejudice is everywhere. ”
Hester nodded. “Sadly, I think that’s true. My mother wasn’t happy that I’m gay, but she finally accepted it. But I doubt my other aunts would. ”
“I’m bi, and married to a woman. ” Menolly finally decided to join the conversation. “I’m also a vampire. My father couldn’t accept the latter. ” She lowered her eyes. “You’ll have to forgive us. We just received word today that our father is probably dead. We’re a bit shell-shocked. ”
I was glad Menolly brought it up. I wasn’t sure I could handle saying the words out loud without breaking down.
“And you still came to meet us?” Hester looked a little confused.
I cleared my throat. “In our lives, we’ve had to learn how to juggle multiple emotions as well as events. We do not lead a safe life, nor an easy one at this point. We belong to the Otherworld Intelligence Age
ncy, and actually, we run the Earthside Division. ”
Sue Ann broke into a smile. “Government agents, huh? I was a marine up until a few years ago. ” She pulled out a chain from beneath her tank top. Dog tags dangled at the end. “I was discharged due to a combat injury that left me with a weak knee. It gives out without warning, but damn, I did my duty and put in my time for my country. ” She leaned over and planted a kiss on Hester’s cheek. “I keep telling Hester that some of us are made for fighting. And some aren’t. ”
I found myself liking my cousin and her wife. They were open, but not overeager, and neither seemed like they’d take much guff off anybody for anything.
Just then, the door to the shop opened and a rather short, thin man entered. He was around Hester’s age, with a shock of tousled blonde hair that was the same color as mine. He seemed easy in his body, his movements were fluid and graceful, and I had an odd feeling about him as he walked up. Not bad, just odd. His eyes were a piercing blue, shrewd and clever, and a hint of a sarcastic smile played across his lips.
Hester waved him over. “Daniel, you are not going to believe this. Meet our cousins from Otherworld. It seems Mother had a half sister she never knew about. ”
As Daniel cocked his head, giving us a bemused look, Hester launched into what we had told her. When she had caught him up, we took over, telling them both about Maria and Sephreh’s meeting, and how he swept her away to Otherworld, how we came along, and finally, how mother had died, how and why we’d joined the OIA, how Menolly had become a vampire, leading to us being sent over Earthside.
When we finished, we sat back and waited.
Hester let out a long whistle. “This morning when I woke up, I never expected to be here, tonight, listening to all of this. But somehow it feels the most natural thing in the world. ” She glanced over at Daniel, who gave a noncommittal nod. “We know what you do, let us tell you a little about us. I own a coffee shop in Kirkland. We host local artists now and then. It’s called All The Perks. And Daniel is a private buyer. ”
I glanced at him. “What’s that mean?”
He gave a little shrug. “Clients want to procure certain items that are difficult to come by. They hire me, and give me a set price limit. I find it for them for a commission. I make a tidy living. ”
It sounded odd, but a number of stores had personal shoppers so why not private clients? Celebrities had them, and there was nothing to say that someone who had money and was in a time crunch couldn’t do the same.
Daniel winked at me. “I love my work and I’m good at it. I look at it like being a form of personal assistant. Now, tell us more about Otherworld. We’re all ears and I know I’m dying to hear more. ”
Something about him struck me as off, but he was likable, and Camille seemed at ease with him. She was like a litmus test for freaks. So, I chalked up my feelings to all the stress we’d been under and let it go. We talked late into the night, and when we parted, we had exchanged numbers, e-mail addresses, home addresses, and a big round of hugs. As Hester Lou threw her arms around me, I suddenly flashed back to being a little girl, with my mother hugging me. And I knew right then, I could trust this woman.
• • •
As we left the coffee shop, I stared into the night sky. The rain had let up and the stars were shimmering overhead. I should have felt tired, tired from the mess back in Otherworld and from hearing the news about Father, but now I felt wired. It was like I was watching a movie in which I was starring. Maybe it was a coping mechanism, or maybe it was how exhaustion manifested in me, but I was charged up and ready to go.
“I’ve changed my mind. Let’s go get the dreglins. ” I turned to the others. “I know they’re active at night, but I’m ready for a fight. We can swing by home and armor up. Menolly’s here—she obviously can’t go to work tonight. ” As soon as I said it, I bit my tongue. I hadn’t meant to be so thoughtless.
But she just shrugged. “You’re right. And I could use a good ass-shaking. I’m in no mood to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs. ”
Camille let out a small sound. “I’m in. But let me change clothes. I don’t want this outfit messed up. ”
Within ten minutes we were home, and another ten saw us changed and ready. Morio wanted to go, but Camille nixed his offer.
“Listen, you, Shade, and Vanzir have to protect the house and Iris. Shamas will be home soon, but still . . . the elfin guards had to go home to Elqaneve, and Aeval’s new guards aren’t due till tomorrow morning. You can’t come with us. But we’ve fought monsters before without you. We can take on a few by ourselves now. ”
Morio glowered but Camille cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips, and he quieted down. Shade harrumphed but he, too, kept quiet. Vanzir just snorted.
“We’re on our way. We’ll call if we get into trouble. One of you take Nerissa and drop over to make sure Iris and her family are okay. Hanna, take care of Maggie. ” I gave Shade a quick peck on the cheek and we were out the door.
It was only a few minutes’ drive to where we’d encountered the dreglins before, and we parked off the road, on a turnout near where we’d fought them before. Two miles east, Ivana had said.
“I wish I’d been able to go with you,” Menolly said. “I kind of like Ivana. ”
I stared at her. “Are you crazy?”
“Maybe, just a little. But she’s who she is, you’ll have to give her that. Ivana doesn’t change for anybody. ” She laughed. “In fact, I know it sounds nuts but given other circumstances, I bet you Ivana could become a good friend, as long as we could keep her off the topic of baby-eating. ”