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Lindsey lowered her gaze to the floor. Director of the Green Goddess Women's Shelter, she did a lot of outreach for a lot of women who needed self-empowerment and a fresh start in life. She could be a little on the dippy side, but she also had a stubborn streak a mile wide, and she was a staunch advocate for women's rights and social programs.
"Well… yes, I did. In a way."
My jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding. You can't be… he's not a Were, you know—"
"What?" She reared back. "You think I meant it that way? You have to be joking!"
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, calm down. Now, tell me exactly what you said. English isn't his first language." While Feddrah-Dahns spoke the language perfectly, it didn't mean he had a large vocabulary.
Lindsey blushed. "He really didn't think I wanted… oh no!"
I touched her arm and she let out a long sigh. "Okay, okay. I read in a book on mythology somewhere that touching a unicorn's horn will help a barren woman conceive. And I've been trying…" She paused, biting her lip as her wide hazel eyes welled up with unshed tears. I could feel her pain seep out, crackling like repressed lightning. "We've been trying for so long…"
"Wait a moment." I rested one hand on her shoulder and then glanced at the crowd. "Everything's fine. Nothing happened. Look folks, I know you're thrilled to meet a unicorn, but I need to close up shop." I leaned over and whispered in Lindsey's ear, "Wait here—and keep your hands to yourself, babe."
As I herded the disappointed throng outside, I caught sight of Sharah and Mallen as they drove away with the remains of the bugbear and the dynamite. Better them than me.
I reassured everybody that I'd do my best to encourage Feddrah-Dahns to return for another visit, then locked the door behind them and leaned against it. Letting out a long sigh, I rested the back of my head on the cool window as I closed my eyes. Sometimes being around my mother's people left me feeling on edge, almost abraded by their emotions. I liked my customers, but their thrill over seeing Feddrah-Dahns had translated to a blast of chattering energy that had battered against my shields.
After a few moments, I shook off the static of emotion and returned to the counter. Chase was propped against it, frowning. As I brushed past him, he caught my arm and in a low voice, said, "You going to be long?"
I darted a sideways glance in Lindsey's direction. "Why? You have somewhere urgent you need to be? Look, I just got robbed, a goblin and some demented Sawberry Fae are on a unicorn hunt, and now…" I gave him a shake of the head. "Why don't you go see what you can find out in my office while I take care of Lindsey? She really needs to talk to me."
Without another word, Chase disappeared into the back.
Lindsey dabbed at her eyes as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and led her to the folding card table where I always sat and drank my morning latte while leafing through my magazines or whatever current book I was absorbed in. I liked my caffeine sweet and cold, and my literature in ink and paper, not computer pixels.
As she sat down I joined her, taking her hands in mine. Besides running the shelter, Lindsey had been instrumental in helping my friend Erin Mathews. Erin, owner of the Scarlet Harlot, had recently undergone a major transformation at the hands of my sister Menolly. Even though it was in order to save her life, in a fashion, now Erin was stuck learning how to cope with being a vampire. Lindsey was one of the few who knew that Erin had been turned.
For now, we were spreading it around that Erin was on a long vacation, and Erin helped out by calling friends, purporting to be overseas. Lindsey had taken over as president of the Faerie Watchers Club, and the women's shelter provided a source of temporary help for Erin's store. There were always women staying at the Green Goddess who needed to pick up a few extra bucks to help them get back on their feet. So I owed Lindsey more than just a routine favor.
"Tell me what's wrong." I lowered my masks and turned on the glamour so she wouldn't feel so awkward talking to me. Being half-Fae had its perks, and being able to win friends and influence people were two of the best. I tried to be good and keep myself from abusing it, but it still amazed me at how much power our natural charms held for FBHs.
She swallowed her tears and gave me a weak smile. "Ron and I've been trying to get pregnant for three years, but it looks like for all our trying, it's futile. The odds are that I should have been pregnant at least twenty times over, but nothing. And we can't afford infertility treatments. We were going to adopt, but because of his disability, the agencies aren't interested in giving us a baby." Her voice cracked again.
I sat back, thinking. A lot of people had babies on the brains lately. First our friend Siobhan Morgan, a selkie, had been having trouble getting pregnant. Thanks to Sharah and the OIA medics, we'd discovered the source of her problem—easily fixed—and she and her boyfriend Mitch had just broken the good news to us a week ago. Now here was Lindsey, a human who worked with FBH magic, having problems. Had some god decided to smack a divine moratorium on magical babies lately?
"They actually told you they won't consider you because of his disability? Can't you fight them in court? I thought discrimination was supposed to be a thing of the past, at least for humans." Apparently, I was wrong.
"They didn't come out and say it directly, but I've got a friend in the secretarial pool there, and she snuck a peek at our file. They moved us to the bottom of the list, and the social worker noted on our record that we were a high-risk couple because of Ron's condition and because I work with women who've been battered." Lindsey frowned. "If we had the money, we could take them to court, but even then, it might be years before we won our case."
"Well, that sucks." Lindsey and Ron would make great parents. Ron might be paralyzed from the waist down, but he never let a little thing like his wheelchair get in his way. And Lindsey was a black belt in judo. She could handle any irate attackers without blinking. But this also explained why she was so desperate to get pregnant that she'd chance grabbing a unicorn's horn without permission.
"I hate to burst your bubble, but the old wives' tales are wrong. Rubbing a unicorn's horn won't make you more fertile. It might get you killed, but it won't strengthen your baby-making equipment."
She gripped the arms of her chair. "Is there anything you can do, Camille? I wouldn't ask, but since the subject's come up…"
Oh man, she had to be kidding. I tried to repress the peal of laughter that threatened to bubble over, but lost. I collapsed back in my chair, my eyes watering.
"Oh, honey, trust me. You do not want me messing around with your plumbing!" I wiped my eyes on my sleeve. "First off, I'm not a healer. Second, with the mayhem that creeps in from my bloodline, my magic could make anything happen. Hell, you might end up pregnant from an ogre… or worse… if my spell backfired."
The melancholy look on her face vanished, and she gave me a sideways grin. "That bad, huh?"
"Yeah, seriously, it could be. Let me think for a moment." It wasn't wise for the Fae to play around with human lives on a magical level but sometimes we were able to rationalize an exception. "Tell you what. Let me ask around and see what I can find out."
Brightening, Lindsey straightened her shoulders. "Would you really?"
"I can't promise anything," I warned her. "So don't get your hopes up. But I'll ask. Did your doctor tell you exactly what your problem is?" Before letting her get too excited, I'd better find out up front if it was something that no one but the gods could fix.
