No new memories awaited me when I regained consciousness the next morning. I really hoped I didn't have to go to all my children's houses to recover memories of each of them. Not that I wouldn't love seeing the kids, I just didn't want to have to fly anywhere. Maybe I'd tell Nate we needed to have a big family reunion.
I got up and threw on a pair of jeans and a top that said I'll get my toolkit?and had a picture of duct tape on it. I wasn't going to try taking a shower with all the people in the house, and more showing up soon for breakfast.
Nate started to stir just as I finished dressing, "I'm going to go down and start breakfast. If you want to sleep a little while longer that's okay."
"No, I need to get up. After breakfast we're having a planning meeting to figure out how things are going to go down today. There's a lot of alpha males in the picture and we need to come to an agreement on who's in charge. I'm afraid that might take most of the day," he said, getting out of bed.
I walked over and gave him a quick kiss before heading downstairs. Nate had tried to hold on to me a little longer, but I reminded him hungry berserkers were on their way and he let me slip away. In the kitchen, Elizabeth was making a pot of coffee.
"Good morning, Tulip. How did you sleep last night?" I asked as I made my way to the cupboards to get out the biscuit ingredients.
"I slept great being back under my own roof. The unicorns are fun to be around, but they don't really cater to humanoid comfort."
"Until you mentioned them, I didn't realize they were real, so I know next to nothing about them. Coming to your little town here has been a very eye-opening experience for someone who barely knew phoenixes existed," I said as I started mixing the flour and butter in a bowl.
"I bet. I'll have to take you to meet them while you're here. We can make a quick daytrip out of it. I'd say we should do a just girls trip with Frannie, you and me, but I doubt Dad will let that fly."
"You'd be correct on that assumption. Mama doesn't get to leave the area where I'm able contact her telepathically, and I prefer her to remain in the same room."
I didn't look up from my work as I heard Nate join us. It was too early in the morning to waste by breath by telling him I could take care of myself.
"That's fine. I'm sure Daddy won't mind going up to Nome with us."
"Don't forget, Avery travels with an entourage now," Rick said, joining us. The kitchen wasn't big enough to take on anymore lollygaggers, so I hoped the rest of my entourage stayed in bed. "You have Nate, myself and Vinnie who are currently always within shouting distance. It seems like Joseph is going to be added to that mix and I wouldn't doubt it if you pick up the berserkers too."
"Pretty soon I'm going to ask you guys to just carry me around everywhere. If you're following me, I might as well put you to work," I said. I finished mixing, so it was on to rolling out the biscuits. "Mali, will you turn the oven on to four-fifty?" I asked as I used a glass to cut out the biscuits.
"I will," Nate answered, making his way to the oven. "You're going to have to tell me why you called me Mali though."
Hmm. I didn't pick up that I'd called him that. "I don't know where it came from; I just thought it sounded good."
"It does sound good. It's been what you've called me since I took my original name. You said you wanted to call me that because," he started before I interrupted.
"Because I always wanted you to remember where you started," I finished. I remembered he'd told me he was originally called Malik, and it made sense that at some point I'd dropped a letter for a nickname. "It's kind of funny. Every once in a while I get a strong urge to say or do something. Little glimpses of past thoughts. I guess this is just the first one I've ever acted on."
"Well, I for one can't wait until you remember everything," Rick said. "Then you'll remember what a jerk Nate is and run off with me."
I happened to glance at Elizabeth and saw the look of horror on her face from the comment.
I laughed at the look and what Rick had said. "Sorry, Freddie, but I'm guessing I'll be remembering just how annoying you really are. Why don't you guys get out of the kitchen and let the women get breakfast on the table."
"Yes ma'am," Nate said, smiling and guiding Rick out the door. "If you need anything just give a holler."
I finished making all my biscuit circles, put them on a cookie sheet and got them in the oven. After that, I grabbed a couple pounds of sausage from the fridge to start it cooking.
"So, where do you want to start filling me in on all the things I've missed in your life? Or am I that interesting to watch?" I asked Elizabeth. It'd been five minutes and she hadn't moved from her spot by the coffee pot. I didn't like the daggers I felt from her gaze.
"Sorry, it's still hard to believe you're actually back. I'm sure there probably wasn't anything major that you missed. You know how life goes. I'm still unattached and moved three times during that time. First to Melbourne, and then to Barcelona."
"And then for some reason you decided Alaska was the place to be?" I asked. The idea of being a phoenix in a cold weather climate still didn't compute, even if we could regulate our heat so we didn't feel the cold.
"There was a demand. A whole community of uniques needs a doctor. When you were shot, you don't think a human doctor stitched you up, do you?" she asked.
"I never even thought the doctor wasn't human. Of course, I didn't know I wasn't either, so I can use that as an excuse."
"We don't usually need doctors. We rarely get sick and we don't get a lot of injuries that don't eventually heal on their own, but there are times when we get injured in front of humans and that tends to mean a visit to the doctor. Thankfully, in most of the big cities there's always a unique doctor available," she explained.
"So what would a human doctor see if they were allowed to examine us?" For some reason I thought the doctors I'd seen were all humans who were trusted and specialized in people like me. I hadn't stopped to wonder if maybe they weren't human.
"It really depends what flavor of unique you are. Some of the stronger shifters can actually heal bullet wounds within minutes. You have nagas, which if you don't know, are snake beings, that are cold blooded. Really, with all the different kinds of things out there, it would probably drive a human doctor mad searching for all the possibilities," she said. It was making me a little insane just thinking about it.
"I need to get my hands on some books. I hear one of your brothers writes about uniques. You don't happen to have any of his books laying around do you?"
"Wayne does, and I do have some copies. I have to clear it with Dad, though. You know how crazy he is about you learning too much, too soon. He's driven that into each of us. I'm surprised he even told us you were alive until you remembered everything. It's been hard not to take an extended leave of absence to verify with my own eyes the stories are true."
"Yes, the dreaded T.M.T.S. I've stopped wasting time even saying the whole thing out loud. I'll convince him it's time and he'll listen to me or I'll find a way to rearrange his internal organs." The sausage was cooked through, so I added some milk, cornstarch, and some seasonings.
"I'm sure he would love that, but I'm pretty sure you don't have that ability, and it's probably for the best that you take things slow."
"You never know. I seem to gain new powers every day. I'm pretty handy at flipping Rick and hanging him by his toes. You missed my demonstration yesterday, by the way." I started getting plates out because the gravy was thickening and it would only be a few seconds before everything was ready.
"You don't happen to be doing encore performances of that show, are you? Seeing Uncle Rick hanging upside down might be fun." The mischief in her eyes was like looking in a mirror.
"No, it wouldn't," Rick yelled from the other room. "If you aren't careful, Elizabeth, you'll find yourself in the same situation. It's the little things that make her turn ornery."
"He's no fun," I said, not mentioning he was right. "So, isn't there anything interesting you can tell me about the ti
me I was gone?"
"I'm pretty sure there was at least one or two decades in there that are better left forgotten. I imagine you've learned most of the historic events, like moon landings and presidential assassinations," she said.
"I was forced to go to school as a kid, so yeah, I'm down with all the boring stuff. What about your brothers and sisters, did anything cool happen in their lives that I should know about?"
"Nice try, but you know I'm forbidden to say anything that might trigger a sudden memory burst. All I can tell you is they're all doing well."
"Darn it." I had to try. Eventually I'd get someone to talk. I remembered Vinnie was collecting some information for me and we hadn't had a chance to discuss it. "Hey, Vinnie, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Avery, I can," he replied in his voice of the day. It was a little deeper than usual and I wasn't sure where he'd picked it up from.
"Could you come here a sec?" I asked.
"On my way," he said, walking through the doorway. "What can I do for you?"
"You were going to collect facts on the ghost orchid for me and I never had a chance to ask what you came up with."
"Oh yes. Judging by the talk of how rare the flower was, I decided they were speaking of the Eurasian ghost orchid. The American version is not quite as rare. The?epipogium aphyllum?is becoming increasingly rare in Europe and Asia where it is from, if you couldn't tell by its name. They are parasites that live off fungal hosts because they lack chlorophyll. There's no research I could find on the effects of metabolizing the plant or introducing it to the blood stream. So I cannot provide further analysis," he reported.
"Thank you, Vinnie. I wonder if we can find a way to counteract what it's doing to the shifters. If it's as rare as you say, I'm hoping the crazy guy doesn't have unlimited quantities. We don't know how much he has to inject either. I'd love to get my hands on his supply, so we can do some hands-on research. "
"I would love to help with that," Elizabeth said. "I'm going to go grab some books from my room. Let me know when it's time to eat."
"The food is basically ready, but I can hold it for a little while if you want," I said. I thought the plates being out were a good indicator that I was ready to start dishing things up.
"Please do," she said, leaving the room.
"I don't like her," Vinnie said, catching me off guard.
"What's wrong with her?" I asked. "She isn't a guy, so there shouldn't be your usual issues."
"I cannot pinpoint the problem, but I just don't like her. When I figure out why that is, you'll be the first to know."
"Sometimes, I don't think you like anyone, Vinnie. Don't worry; we'll be going home soon enough. Then you'll only have to deal with the normal people you don't like."
"You're bringing home a new person, so we're going to have to adjust how things are at the house."
"Not really. I'm sure we'll just stick Joseph in a room and tell him to do whatever he wants. The house is big enough that one extra person isn't going to change anything."
Vinnie hadn't come far into the kitchen, only enough that he wasn't blocking the door. His face was showing mild agitation, which wasn't abnormal for the robot. He worried about everything.
"I think you're trusting these outside people too much. Right now we should be reinforcing your defenses, not adding more people we have to keep an eye on."
"I think adding Joseph to the mix will strengthen us. He acts like he'd be good in a fight and you know that's supposedly where we're heading. We need to start building an army to defeat whatever is coming our way," I explained.
"I know, but can't you get an army of strong ugly soldiers?" he asked.
"So that's the problem, you think I'll be attracted to Joseph. Don't worry, we've already discussed it and he isn't even going to try to get on my dance card."
"I've been around humanoids long enough to know they don't always say what they mean. I know you'll do what's best, though. I really think we should all sit down and discuss any future additions to our army, so the pros and cons are brought to light before decisions are made."
"I think that can be arranged. I imagine Nate would like me to clear things through him as well. I think the food has held for as long as it is going to. Are the guys here yet?" I asked.
"Yes, they're being nice and not just barging in the kitchen, but the smells were starting to get to them the last I saw."
"Great, everyone come and get it." I yelled as I got the biscuits out of the oven and set them on the counter.
CHAPTER 16
Operation Dark Monster