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Menolly floated down from the ceiling. “He’s the Lord of Ghosts. We’re going to have a long haul getting rid of him. Not to mention the freak-show cavalcade of spirits he’ll bring with him. Those motherfucking ghosts he trotted out tonight were probably the mere bullies of the party. I can’t wait to see him call up the big boys. ”
I rubbed my temples. I had a raging headache. “There’s nothing we can do about that right now. We have to be satisfied with the fact that we took down Van and his cronies. ”
Yugi knocked at the door, then peeked in.
Chase motioned him in. “What is it, Yugi?”
“Gambit is dead. ” Yugi glanced over at us, looking grim.
“What the fuck happened?” Chase jumped up. “We had him in custody—he was going to stand trial and we were going to put him away. ”
Yugi placed a series of photos on the table. “Here—these are printouts caught by the security camera. This man just…showed up in the cell block. We have wards down there to prevent magic, but somehow he got in. The next shots show him in Gambit’s cell—with it still locked—and then, a blur, and then—Gambit’s dead and the man’s gone. ”
We glanced at the pictures. Trytian.
“Fuck—how did he get past your wards?” I slammed my hand on the table. “I’m not sorry that Gambit’s dead, but what’s this going to do to the hate groups? They’ll martyr him. ”
“No, I don’t think they will,” Chase said. He handed me the evening edition of the Seattle News. The front-page headline read, Three More Women Report Gambit Raped Them.
“So, he really was a serial rapist?” I flipped open the paper. Sure enough, apparently three more women had come to the headquarters during the evening to swear out complaints, stating that Gambit had raped them, too. The Seattle Tattler had withdrawn its support of him, basically throwing him to the wolves.
And Trytian…had shown up and killed him.
“There’s no way to bring him in,” I told Chase. “We can’t arrest a daemon—he’d be out of here so fast that…”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll swear out an arrest warrant on John Doe, but this is one case that will remain unsolved. Once the DNA comes back—providing it proves it was him—the public isn’t going to mourn Gambit’s death. Good riddance, even though I can’t say so in public. At least not until I have the DNA proof in my hands. ” He paused. “So, where does that leave us?”
I just wanted to go home and go to sleep. The past few days had been brutal, and we’d lost a hell of a lot. But we’d also gained allies, and support. And we’d taken out some of the bad guys. And maybe, just maybe, we’d started a movement to squelch the hate crimes that had been building in the city.
Camille laughed. “It leaves us…well…we prepare for the return of Gulakah and Telazhar. With Gulakah being the Lord of Ghosts, and Telazhar being an ancient necromancer, they’re well suited to work together. So…what next?”
I shook off the bone-weariness that had settled in my body. “I supposed…we tell Queen Asteria we lost another spirit seal. We see about getting Wilbur out of the hospital so we can give Martin back to him. We build an alliance with Trytian. We tear down that wall below what remains of the Energy Exchange. We help Marion rebuild her café and help her and Douglas find a new house. Just a simple morning’s work. ”
Snorting, I stood. “At least we got Van and Jaycee off the streets, out of the picture. No more Wolf Briar, at least for now. And Zach…” I told them about Zachary, as hard as it was. “He’s gone out of our lives for good, I think. But it’s his path. It’s what he needs to do. He’s running through the hills of Otherworld by now, free and healed. ”
After a pause, where we all stared at the table, Shade grabbed my hand. “Before we take off for the night, there’s one more thing we have to address. ”
I looked at him, unable to think straight. “If there’s anything else, I’ve lost track of it. ”
“Delilah has conveniently forgotten that I asked her to marry me. And she said yes. Well, she said yes to someday becoming my wife. ” He grinned, and as Camille and Menolly clapped, I blushed. While everyone was talking at once, I moved over to the window, staring out on the squad room. Chase joined me.
“Delilah,” he said softly. “I want you to know…I’m happy for you. Truly. ” He offered me his hand and I took it, squeezing his fingers.
“Thank you. I’m content. It’s right. Shade and I…we fit together. We’re a match, in a fashion I never knew I could have. ”
“I know you are. I can see it. I have some news of my own. ”
“About your family tree?”
He shook his head. “I’m still not ready to talk about that yet. It’s all so new. No, this is something bigger than that. I asked Sharah if I could tell you. ” He scuffed the floor. “Please, don’t tell the others yet. We didn’t plan for this to happen. But sometimes, things just…”
I looked at him, waiting.
He shrugged. “Sharah’s pregnant. I’m the father. She’s keeping the baby. Beyond that, I have no clue what the future has in store for us. But we’ll tell your sisters in a day or so. ”
And then, before I could say a word, Camille and Menolly were hugging me and discussing wedding plans. I suddenly found myself crying. The stress of the past few days had taken its toll. But they were tears of joy as well as sorrow. So much had changed in so little time. And so much was still changing.
Linking arms with my sisters, we sailed out of the room, toward the parking lot, with the men following. Chase raised his hand as we left, and our eyes met. He was smiling at me, and I beamed at him. He was headed toward fatherhood. And, while he would always be our detective, I had the feeling that his path was leading him into so much more than that.
And me? I…I was headed…who knew where? But Shade would be at my side wherever I was going. And one day, when I was ready, I would become his wife. I didn’t believe in happily-ever-after anymore. There was always an “after. ” My rose-colored glasses had been shattered—collateral damage in this war we were fighting. But I could believe in happy for now. And overall, considering what we were facing, that was enough. I was ready to face my future. And our lives were pretty damned good.
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