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I stared at her, bemused by the bizarre turn in conversation. “I’m dead, Camille. You really think I’m all that sanitary to be around?”
“I dunno. Aren’t you?” She frowned. “Actually, I never think about it anymore. Dead to me means rotting and in the dirt, or covered with blood from a fight you’re not walking away from. Since you don’t fit either category, I’ve taken you out of the Dead Zone and stuck you somewhere in the Creatures of the Night category.”
I let out a laugh. “That is the most whacked-out thing you’ve said today.” I glanced at the stairs. “You think Delilah’s going to be back down here soon?”
“I don’t know. Depends on whether she got distracted.”
“Eh, well.” I motioned for her to follow me. “Let’s head upstairs. So you said the man who was following Sabele was named Harold?” I’d been wondering if maybe Sabele’s boyfriend had been up to no good, but his name was Harish.
Camille followed me up the stairs, turning off the light at the top. We slipped out from behind the bookcase that covered the secret entrance to my lair, into the kitchen, only to find Iris, sitting on a short stool, leaning over Maggie with a frustrated look on her face.
“Please, little one, eat your dinner—” She glanced up as we entered the kitchen. “I’m so glad you’re here. Maybe you can get her to eat.”
“What’s wrong?” I leaned over Maggie just in time for the baby gargoyle to screw up her face and let out a series of angst-ridden moophs. I held out my arms, but Maggie, who usually came lurching my way the minute she saw me, just sat there, sniffling.
“She doesn’t want to eat her dinner. She wants her cream drink. But she has to eat some solid food. We’re supposed to wean her soon.” Iris sighed, pushing the dish of ground lamb and vegetables toward Maggie again, who promptly shoved it away, pouting.
We were weaning her off the cream, sugar, cinnamon, and sage drink that had made up the bulk of her diet until recently. The book on woodland gargoyles said she was ready for her secondary food stage—ground meat with herbs and vegetables twice a day, and the drink—which simulated mother gargoyle milk—once a day. Eventually, we’d bring her mice to hunt and teach her how to fend for herself.
Iris offered Maggie the lamb again. This time, the calico fuzzball scooped up a handful of the ground meat mixture but instead of eating it, she sent it sailing my direction, hitting me square in the face.
“Thank you,” I said, grimacing as Iris handed me a towel. I wiped the meat off my face. “Trolls on a stick, why don’t we just give her the bowl of cream? We can’t let her go hungry, and it’s obvious she’s not going to eat her dinner tonight.”
“No,” Camille broke in. “She’ll be perfectly fine if she misses one meal, and she has to learn how to eat meat. She needs it to support those growing bones and wings. She can just go without her dinner tonight.”
Iris sighed. “You’re right. I’m going to take her into my bedroom and put her down for the night.”
As Iris left the room with the wailing Maggie, Camille and I sat down at the kitchen table. “Where were we?” she asked.
“You were going to tell me about this Harold fellow mentioned in the diary. Do you think he had anything to do with the elf boyfriend?”
“Oh, that’s right! No, not in any way, shape, or form. Harish, her boyfriend, is apparently over here on a long-term assignment for Queen Asteria. He’s a technomage learning all he can about Earthside technology so he can take the information home and find a way to make it mesh with the elfin magic.”
“You think he’s still around?” I leaned my elbows on the table and reached out to play with one of the toothpicks sitting in a crystal container.
“I can find out.” Delilah poked her head into the kitchen from the hallway. She slipped in and opened the refrigerator, pouring herself a glass of milk and slicing off a piece of apple pie. “Sorry about that back there,” she said with a grin. “Your head’s just a whirlwind of temptation to a cat, you know.”
Camille pulled out a chair for her. “Yeah, we know.”
“As I said, Tim and I can comb the Supe Community rolls and see if we find any mention of a male elf named Harish. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes using the search function.”
“Good idea,” Camille said. “If that fails, we’ll ask Morgaine if she knows of any. The Triple Threat keep an active eye on the local OW elf and Fae population.”
Delilah let out a snort so loud that milk sprayed out of her nose. “One of these days they’re going to whip your butt for that. And you’re not gonna be able to grovel low enough or fast enough.”
Some time back, Camille had begun referring to the three Queens of Earthside Fae as the Triple Threat. So far, Titania, Aeval, and Morgaine hadn’t caught wind of it.
“Eh, if they do, Camille can just send a lightning bolt their way using the horn of the Black Unicorn. That’ll fry them,” I said, slapping the table. “Come on, time’s wasting. I don’t have long during the summer, so let’s get busy.”
Just then, Iris reappeared. “She’s down for the night. I hope.” She glanced at the clock. “I’ve got a date tonight, so I won’t be home to watch her.”
“Bruce?” Camille asked.
“Oh yes, he’ll be here in an hour or so.”
I cleared my throat. “You really like Bruce, don’t you?”
She blushed. “Yes, I do. He might be a leprechaun, but he’s a good soul. Even if he does have too much blarney in him. We’re celebrating tonight.”
