Chapter Eight #2
Hannah blinked. “Of course they can. Geez! They will help the balance get away from the sausage fest it is turning into. Sure, some of the agents have girlfriends and a few are married, but aside from the dancers, we aren’t going to have a lot of ladies at the event. Even my family is full of dudes.”
Elida laughed. “Well, I will have to find something appropriate. Vaia is on break, I think.”
“Yeah, she just got married Saturday. Her assistant is still manning the shop, I think.”
“I will swing by there and see what they can scrounge up for me. I’m a tricky fit.” She smiled. “Now, do you need anything? Is your dress sorted?”
“It is. Thankfully, I am a fairly standard fit.”
“Do you need a place to stay the night before? I have a few empty houses that we could take over. No chickens.”
Hannah smiled. “I will let you know by Wednesday. Why do you have so many empty houses?”
“Oh, I wanted to have chickens, and it is a neighbourhood decision, so I bought the neighbourhood. Yes, I have more money than sense.” She smiled.
The young women were all telling Neekil what they had been up to... at the same time.
“Why did you take them out of Redbird?”
Elida paused and beckoned for Hannah to follow her. “I am going to be very blunt because there is no shame in our house, but do you know what sex trafficking is?”
“Yes, of course.”
“These young ladies were all snagged around the age of twelve as breeders. Two of them had children who have been adopted out. If they want to know their mothers, they will, but that will be their choice, far down the line.”
Hannah was ill. “All of them?”
“Yup. When I got them to the hospital, I was in rough shape. They stayed with me, tried to keep me from bleeding out while the staff tried to put me together again. I had been hit by just about every magical projectile they could manage, but the girls helped keep me alive, all the dark fae in the XIA came to donate blood, including the wonder weasel that you are marrying.”
Hannah chuckled as they sat in the gazebo. “There is something about you.” She leaned forward. “Are you pregnant?”
Elida paused. “Wow. You are insightful. Yes. I am.”
Neekil was there in a moment. “You are what?”
“Pregnant.”
“You are too young.”
“You are an idiot.” Elida poured lemonade. “Girls, is lunch coming?”
Miika laughed. “Yes, Mom.”
Elida looked out at her daughters. “Which of you took time off work for this?”
All four arms shot into the air.
Elida looked at Neekil. “Consider that a compliment. They normally put earning money over hanging around the old homestead.”
Miika laughed. “Mom, we are all grown now and trying to start our own lives.”
“Yes, pet. I know. Did you get spring rolls?”
“Yes, we did.”
Elida grinned.
Neekil asked, “So, who’s the father? Let me know so I can break his knees.”
Winnie chuckled. “She used a donor. As she puts it, no fuss, no muss.”
Elida laughed. “Thanks for that, Win.”
Hannah blinked. “A donor?”
“Yup. More or less.”
Four girls whipped their heads toward her. “What?”
“Well, remember when I was feeling twitchy, so I went to the club?”
Miika stared. “Yes.”
“I brought home a souvenir.” She patted her belly. “It wasn’t supposed to happen, but I guess the enchantment slipped.”
Neekil blinked. “I will break every joint in his body.”
“Dude, you used to fool around like other folks eat chips.”
“How far along are you?”
Miika laughed. “Three months. It was literally the last time you went to the club before we headed home to Redbird.”
Hannah got a rueful smile from Elida. “Sorry. This is the side effect of five women and one house. We are always on the lookout for signs of the crimson tide.”
“I had brothers, so this is eye-opening.” Hannah whispered, “Do they do the dishes?”
“And laundry, and we have a line full of bras twice a week.”
“Wow. It’s like Shangri-la.”
The ladies all laughed. Neekil beamed as if delighted that the women in his life were getting along.
Hannah frowned. “I just have one question. Why didn’t Neekil or any of the XIA mention you?”
“Oh, since I had to take the girls and run, I cast a spell over any thought of us. It simply faded as soon as it happened. When we returned, the spell was off, and we just needed someone to see us and speak our names again. Then all of our friends and family would remember.”
Hannah frowned. “But, Neekil, who called you?”
“Krys.”
Miika grinned. “She saw me setting up the boardroom, and conversation got around to Mom, and I walked her to your place on the retirement wall. Then, I told her about the link to Neekil, and she asked if we were coming to the wedding, and I said we weren’t invited, and she called Neekil, and then I took the afternoon off for family stuff. ”
Winnie smiled. “I work with Krys a bit, and she’s really into just hammering out details.”
Hannah chuckled. “My parents are nervous, but I showed them pictures from Vaia’s wedding, and they calmed right down.”
Winnie grinned. “It’s funny how over half of those guests are going to be at your wedding as well, but with more agents. I am waiting for Nylora’s little one. He’s adorable.”
Elida snorted. “You are really good with babies, Winnie.”
“I know. I am warming up for my sibling.”
Elida sighed.
Kori and Akra headed to the front of the house as the food arrived.
Hannah said softly, “You really have no interest in the father of the baby?”
Miika asked, “Can I tell them?”
“Sure.”
Miika said slowly, “His identity is so heavily warded, she can’t find him.
Akra tried a draw spell. Nothing. The enchantments at the club block knowledge of the identity of your partner, and there is no way to pin down who did what with whom unless you go and ask the kitsune who runs things.
He made the spells and the club, but we couldn’t get a call through. ”
Neekil’s expression softened. “So, you do want to know.”
“If it has dwarf blood, we will need to know; if she is sensitive to cold iron, she will... oops.”
Neekil grinned. “Another little girl?”
“Yup. Sorry. Someone is going to kick your butt at football... again.”
Hannah laughed. “That’s true. Why does he always lose?”
“Are you wearing a V-neck tee?”
“Yeah, usually.”
“That’s why. He’s a boob guy.” Elida laughed.
Hannah quickly sent Krys a message. Neekil did the same. He looked at her, and she looked at him, and they both grinned as the ladies returned with bags of food from three restaurants. Their family had just gotten a little bigger.
The ladies had taken off for a shopping trip for the wedding, and Neekil and Hannah were beaming as they drove off to the mansion.
Hannah said, “Why do I feel so good? So happy?”
“Kori. She’s a broadcasting empath. She’s happy, so you are happy.” Neekil sighed. “I missed them, but now they are back, and if one of the other agents makes a move, I am going to break fingers.”
“You know my brothers felt the same about you.”
“Yes, but your dad loved me on sight.”
She snorted.
He lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed the knuckle next to his ring. “And I loved you from the moment you tried to shower in the dark.”
She snorted, and they continued on their way. She suddenly realized, “Do your brothers have attachment to them?”
“No. They weren’t out in the world yet. They knew of them but had not met them.”
“You might want to warn them so they don’t swarm them. Those elf-crosses are hot.”
Neekil’s eyes widened, and the steering wheel creaked. “Good point. I will warn the elders as well.”
“Great. I will have the hammers on standby. Those girls have been through enough.”
He nodded. “I still remember the day we got them out of there. When I fight in my sleep, it was that night.”
Hannah asked. “Can you tell me about it?”
“I can, but you don’t need to carry it.” He paused. “I will ask Elida to sing a song about it. She’s an excellent songstress and can show folks what she is envisioning via projection.”
“That’s interesting.”
“It is, very.”
“Why are we going to the mansion?”
“To talk to Dia about the wedding photos, to talk to Krys about the ladies, and where we want them seated, even though Winnie is going to be up with the babies.”
“Right. Why does she like babies so much?”
“They have simple minds. She finds them calming.”
“Oh, right.”
“She’s a telepath.”
“Oh. Okay. That makes more sense.”
Neekil turned, and they continued their path to the mansion. “I am bothered by the lack of knowledge of the father. There can be issues if it isn’t known. Just the race or species would help.”
“Are there tests?”
“Anything elf-related tests as elf, even if there are dwarf or other genes at play.” He sighed. “Elida resists magic. She can wield it, but it has trouble penetrating her skin. Enchanted bullets, though, they slide right in.”
She shivered. “Damn.”
“Yeah. That’s why I fight to wake.” He drove them toward the gate that opened at their approach.
Hannah blinked. “That’s new.”
“I know. I am guessing Krys.”
They parked in the guest areal and got out, walking toward the building that had nearly taken their lives and had hosted one of the warmest unions they had ever seen. The mansion was on the turn. Hate and hunger were giving way to joy and hope.
A grinning Azreen greeted them at the door. “I had better get used to being social.”
He led them into the kitchen, where a smiling Vaia was getting coffee for Krys, who was furiously typing as she rattled off numbers to the person on the other end.
She put the phone down and smiled. “Whew. There are a lot of carnivores on your guest list. So, I added the ladies. Where do you want them?”
“Move the elders from my community and my parents and the uncles.” Neekil grinned. “The girls are more important.”
Krys cleared her throat. “Did you get a text or email from Matthias or Reynal?”
“No. Why?”
“They have an investor in town, and they want him to see the mansion to see if he wants to invest in Redbird and Hannah’s efforts to revive and renovate our haunted buildings.”