Elyse and I exchanged a smirk before she said, “As a matter of fact, yes. Ego is the fledgling Hecate told us about.”
A loud clatter came from the center of the tables. Booker, the young sorcerer that King and Sky had rescued and the wives had taken in, stood over the tub of saucers, cups, and plates he’d bussed and dropped, wide-eyed and mouth gaping open.
“Close your mouth before you swallow a fly, dear,” I advised.
Other than slamming his mouth shut, he remained unmoving, just staring at our little table. Cassi’s mouth moved, but I shook my head, and we all waited patiently on the young sorcerer. Finally, he said, “So vampires really are real.”
“Of course, they are,” Lysandro said as he strode into the room, dressed as colorfully as the patterns on Elyse’s skirt. He quickly closed his umbrella and made his way to our table. As he sat, he smiled over at Booker. “Come. Sit. Sit. We have much to discuss.”
Elyse looked at me, surprised by his sudden appearance. “I wasn’t sure we’d see you today.”
“There’s much to do. Much to learn.” He smiled at Carli. “The gods and goddesses don’t always have to speak through you when sometimes, all they need is me.”
He gave jazz hands, which was really so delightful for someone so old. Usually, the older beings got cranky. Lysandrowas still full of youthful fun. He turned back to Booker. “Come on, young sorcerer. You need to learn all you can.”
Booker shook himself out of his stupor and stumbled toward us. He looked to his wards. “Is it okay?”
Cassi smiled warmly. “Of course. You’re here to learn all you can.”
Carli pushed out a chair for him next to her with her foot. “Sit.”
He smiled shyly at all of us before focusing back on Lysandro with awe. Lysandro clucked his tongue. “I’m sure we’ve met before when I’ve come in, but let me formally introduce myself. I’m Lysandro, and I’m a vampire.” He held out his hand.
Booker shook it, saying, “I’m Booker, and I’m, uh”—he glanced to the wives for reassurance, which they each gave with a bow of their heads—“sorcerer, I guess.”
Lysandro smiled sweetly. “No guesswork about that. Your aura shines so brightly. You’ll do marvelous things.” Then his gaze swept the table. “Speaking of someone doing extraordinary things…” His smile went mischievous.
“Ego?” Carli asked.
Lysandro shook his head.
“Scotty?” Cassi asked.
Lysandro shook his head no again.
With a certainty that made me proud, Elyse said, “Ego and Scotty together. They’re entwined.” She cocked an eyebrow to allude to her statement being a question, but she knew, as well as Lysandro and I did that Ego was Scotty’s and Scotty was Ego’s. “We were told that Scotty is Ego’s anchor, so tell us what they need,” Elyse said with the tone of a mother lion, ready to tear the world apart for her cubs.
“Support,” Lysandro said. “From all of us, because not only do they have their own stuff to figure out, but something iscoming…I don’t know what yet, and I don’t know from where, but those boys are going to need us.”
“Me, too?” Booker asked, hope ringing in his tone.
“Most definitely you,” I said with a reverence he didn’t understand yet, but he would. Oh, someday, he certainly would.
As Lysandro went on to explain the place of an anchor in a fledgling’s life, which sounded a lot like the tether for a Dreamwalker, I sat back and thanked my goddess, sure that she would bolster us through whatever changes were coming.
Because meccas like Willowhope didn’t happen without storms.
Chapter 19
Scotty
“Holy shit! What are you doing?”I cried as Lysandro calmly picked up a wooden baseball bat and cracked Ego across the back of his head right as he finished drinking the blood from his goblet.
Ego turned with a hiss, elongated teeth out and showing in a way that I knew he wasn’t comfortable with.
Lysandro snorted, spinning the bat in his hand. “What are you going to do, fledgling?”
As I rushed over to check the back of Ego’s head, Lysandro held up a hand toward me. “Wait.”
