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Lauren shook her head. “No. I need to know what I can do with this. What it means to me. How am I doing this?”
“You come from an ancient bloodline, dear girl. Any tattoo of a sentient being you put on your body will become that being. You can learn to control it. For now, it’ll be a little fuzzy, while the tattoo heals, but once it does, your hawk will be able to fly off of you and spy for you, or attack, though with a hawk, you’ll obviously want to be careful with that. I’m unclear on whether you’ll see what it sees as it takes in the information, or whether it will impart this information once it merges back with you.”
“It was looking through my shirt earlier and showing me things, right?”
“If you were sensing things you wouldn’t have ordinarily seen, then I believe that would be the case, yes.”
“And this is my secret, right? So it isn’t yours to tell?”
“Ah, my dear, I’m a demi-god, and thus not under the rule of the Concilio. I told you in private because I like you, not because I’m obligated to do so.”
Lauren dug a crop top with spaghetti straps out of her suitcase, put it on, closed her eyes, and imagined herself on fire and in pain. Seconds later, the air pressure in the room changed and she opened her eyes to see Mordecai. She’d long ago learned how to call him, and it pissed him off when she did and she wasn’t in danger, but he always came when she called.
The giant man was too big for the small-ish bedroom, and seemed to tower over her even more. Mordecai crossed his arms and looked from her to Ambrose, back to her, and then focused on the hawk.
“Well, that explains quite a bit. Your ancestral line is quite secretive, but it would seem you have to be activated before anything of note shows up. The enhanced reflexes, and the ability to use magic, however, would be available with the proper training.”
“And genius level intelligence,” Ambrose said.
“And a bent towards drama and the arts,” Mordecai agreed.
“Ambrose won’t promise to keep my secret,” Lauren told Mordecai.
Mordecai turned to Ambrose, who took two steps back, until he was stopped by a cabinet. If the room had been bigger, Lauren was certain he’d have put even more distance between them.
“I merely pointed out I’m not under Concilio rule,” Ambrose told Mordecai. “I’m obligated by honor to tell Gavin, but I will keep her secret otherwise.”
Mordecai turned back to Lauren. “As Master of the City, Gavin will need to know. By supernatural law, he has to give permission for anyone extra-human to live in his territory. Besides that, he’s your lover — not telling him would drive a wedge between the two of you.”
“So, I have to tell whoever’s in charge in a city before I can visit now? It’s a good thing I’m not traveling for my job anymore.”
“And will you tell Nick?”
“I think it’s possible we aren’t an item anymore.”
Mordecai’s brows rose. “I wasn’t aware you were anything beyond friends with benefits.”
Lauren sighed. Mordecai knew everything, and she started to point it out, but then changed her mind. Lauren had told everyone that’s what they were, so arguing Mordecai should’ve known they were more wasn’t where she wanted to go. “I don’t know what we were, but whatever it was, we aren’t anymore. As soon as I find an apartment or cabin to rent, I’ll be moving my things out of his house.”
“I can arrange an RV on the local wolf pack’s land. I’d prefer to keep you under someone’s protection. If you don’t want that to be Nick or Gavin, that’s fine, but I’m not happy with you living alone, especially not in a remote cabin.”
“Are you going to tell mom?”
His voice sounded in her head.I have kept small secrets for you, but this, I cannot keep from her. Please do not ask that of me.
Lauren looked at the floor, but an odd double vision meant she saw both what was in front of her and below her. It took a few seconds for her brain to put it into order, so it was one really tall image.
“Wow, can you see what I’m seeing?” She asked the old god.
“I can. You need to spend time getting to know your Ying in the coming weeks. Once the tattoo is completely healed, we’ll work on freeing him to fly.”
I’m sorry I asked. Of course you have to tell her. I don’t want to cause problems between the two of you.
“I have a feeling you designed the tattoo so it will be hidden under most work-type clothing. You’ll want to find clothes that allow at least the head to be free when you need input from your new familiar.”
Lauren’s heart jumped in her chest again. “You mean like a witch’s familiar?”
“Not exactly, but the word isn’t wrong.”
