Page 57 of The Flame Game

“I’m sorry, Samuel. I know you dislike when you must deal with him.”

“Do you know what happened the last time I had to talk to him?”

“I believe he asked if you would work his brothel for a few weeks, to overcome the grief of your divorce from that woman. He sent you flowers and a succubus, although he did not request the succubus seduce you, from my understanding of the situation.”

“She hugged me, because Ernesto is convinced there are no circumstances in which I would strike a woman, so I had to deal with accepting his affection. The succubus loved tormenting me. She left without doing anything nefarious beyond insisting she hug me every other damned minute. Making up for my ex-wife’s lack of affection, in her words.”

I burst into laughter, as I could easily imagine my husband being grumpy a succubus was attempting to comfort him. “Sam? At a brothel? He’d die of mortification before he made it through the door. He’s an angel, Thomas. A real one. He’s just a little naughty sometimes. And anyway, his snakes get nippy, so they’d have a lot of bodies at the brothel, and that wouldn’t work well at all.”

“A little naughty?” the gorgon asked, his tone a mixture of amused and astonished.

“It’s the black wings. They suit him. He’s shy, so he doesn’t pose as often as I’d like. But those snakes of his are nippy, randy little bastards.”

“She processes their toxin in a unique and fully beneficial—for her—fashion,” my husband muttered.

If Thomas kept laughing so hard, I worried the gorgon would perish. Even his snakes joined in, hissing a storm.

“Let me guess. They are a stimulant for her.”

“Of a variety,” my husband replied in his most dignified tone. “Saven is really the vampire?”

“He is. Do you think other vampires would be so willing to take in such a danger?”

Quinn heaved a sigh. “No. You’re right. I’ll call him. I have his number unless he changed it on me again.”

“I will leave you to that, and I will begin calling around other hives for more information, especially in terms of seeking out others who were infected with gorgon dust. Hautlin is the only known propagator, although she is not the only victim.”

“Talk to my grandfather about the victims. It will help him feel useful in his retirement, and it’s an effort he can get behind. I’ll deal with Saven and see about integrating that poor woman with some hives and at least have her be able to visit with others.”

“On it.” Thomas hung up.

Quinn grunted. “Call Ernesto Saven.”

The phone rang three times before an amused voice answered, “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Police Chief Quinn. It has been a long time since you have graced me with your company.”

My husband rolled his eyes. “Mrs. Police Chief Quinn is with me, and you’re on speaker phone.”

“I had heard you acquired a treasure. A good day to you, Mrs. Chief Quinn.”

“I thought vampires slept during the day.”

“I am old, and the sun no longer bothers me as it once did. Has she been bitten yet to check her resistance, Samuel?”

My husband muttered curses. “Not yet, but if you were to bring the gorgon lady in your care to my residence, I’d permit you to see how Bailey reacts to vampires, but not until after the birth of our twins.”

I narrowed my eyes, wondering what my husband was up to.

“I see congratulations are in store. Excellent. However, I had not mentioned my lady to you. How did you learn of her?”

“We are investigating the production of gorgon dust and the utilization of rabies as a weapon. We stumbled upon her son, and the NYPD records stated his mother had disappeared. I inquired with a gorgon, who directed me to you, mentioning your lady is cloistered. As my wife cannot be infected with gorgon dust, she can do no harm to me, and our children should inherit the same abilities as my wife and I, it might be prudent to arrange visitations so she can socialize. Her children would likewise be welcome.”

“I have tried to suggest she mingle with the established hives, but she is frightened. She thinks they will blame her for another’s sins.”

“Well, I’m hoping to make that problem disappear completely. I’m tired of fetching my wife out of dumpsters to rescue rabid animals. It costs me a fortune in treatments. Add in that two of our children, who are gorgon whelps that we adopted, lost their entire hive to this mess…”

Silence fell, save for the steady clicking of a pen. Ernesto sighed. “I loathe when the machinations of men make the young suffer.”

“As do I.”