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Yes, it means I’ll also be caged, but at least I know my family will come speak to me when I am awake, and I’ll still have my studies. Layden has been showing us all sorts of devices that connect the whole world on computers with little screens. He declares the entire world can be held within the palm of one’s hand. I will have time to study this new world of his.
Order will be restored.
And Remus will be punished. I allow myself a small smile at this and breathe out as I pull out the phone from the library desk on the second floor. The library was an addition Hannah asked for, and we’ve been slowly filling it with tomes and comfortable furniture.
Hannah likes to be in here while Raven plays. It was a bit of a hairy week while they taught Raven not to fly up, rip the books off the shelves, and tear into the books with her sharp little fangs, but Abaddon was patient with his small daughter. I’ve been quite impressed with the transformation of my eldest brother into an understanding father.
I punch in the phone number Abaddon was insistent that I memorize upon his leaving. Did he intuit there would inevitably be an emergency, leaving only me and Remus behind? I promised I could keep my brother in check for their weeklong vacation, but I could not even manage three days.
I lift the phone to my ear and listen to it ring. Perhaps he will not answer. Do I want him to? I am never happy to discuss failure, but we can only begin to fix a problem once everyone knows about it.
It rings and rings. I sigh, about to set it down, when it’s answered with a gruff, “What?”
“Abaddon.”
“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“It’s Remus,” I answer.
A heavy sigh comes across the line. “Of course it is. What’s happened?”
“He’s taken a consort.”
“What?” Abaddon roars. “Why didn’t you stop him?”
“I wasn’t awake in time. You need to come back home. He also made a spectacle in front of some humans.”
“A spectacle—In front—Where?” Abaddon demands.
“I’m not sure. I forgot to ask.”
Then I hear voices in the background and some shuffling. Finally, a couple minutes later, Abaddon comes back on the phone. “Dammit, Layden’s found the video of it already. It’s all over the human’s internet. We’re on our way back.”
“Good.”
* * *
I go back upstairs to tell the woman the good news. Except right when I step on the stairs, my nose lifts and my ears attune. There’s activity in the kitchen. She’s left her room. Hmm. I suppose she does have two legs. I’m just surprised she knows her way around.
I head down the stairs and poke my head into the kitchen. She’s bustling around, her hair pulled back from her lovely face, grabbing ingredients and tossing them into a bowl.
Seeing her, I feel a strange slug in my chest. She’s so beautiful and moves with such sure grace. I can’t help remembering the way fire flashed in her eyes when we sparred upstairs earlier.
As if feeling my eyes on her, she suddenly looks my way. “Oh,” she says with a surprised little puff of air. “You.”
I swallow hard, trying to get my wits about me as I stride into the room. “Me,” I say, glad when my voice comes out normal.
“So I’ve informed my eldest brother of Remus’s latest catastrophe, and you’ll be happy to know that they’re all heading back from vacation early.”
She surprises me again when her eyes light up. “So I’ll get to meet Hannah and the baby?”
I frown. “Uh. Yes. The whole family will be coming.”
She smiles happily and drops her hands into the bowl, beginning to knead. “Excellent. Remus told me so much about them. I can’t wait to meet them. I assume Kharon and Ksenia will be coming, too?”
“Just how much did my brother tell you about our family?” I ask, disconcerted as I walk closer.
Her eyes flash my way quickly. “Everything.” She focuses her attention back on what’s in the bowl. “Well, he didn’t tell me very much about you. So now that you’re here, you might as well fill in the gaps.”
