Chapter 35
I showed up at the guest suite with a big, stacked tray taking up both hands.
Buster had found me halfway there and was winding around my legs as I knocked on the door.
It opened quickly, revealing a very young version of Veronica, like maybe twelve.
My first thought was that Vesta was making glamours for everyone but then my intent meter pinged and I read the girl as simultaneously shocked and skeptical.
“You the wait staff around here? I ordered chips and dip an hour ago.” Ah, a daughter.
“Sure, every student gets room service here. You’ll love it when you come here.”
“Carmen, let him in,” Veronica yelled from inside. “He’s supposed to have the snacks.”
She backed away, dark eyes watching me with clear and devastating judgement. Inside, I found Vesta, the two Sutton couples, Erika, Gina, and Toni, along with a dark-haired boy about the same age as Veronica’s mini-me daughter.
I set the tray down on the coffee table and started unpacking. On the top was a bag which I tossed to Judgy McJudge girl. “Chips and onion dip. Be warned: Flinders already doesn’t like you,” I said to Carmen. “Now, here’s the veggie stuff with artichoke dip and fresh baguette bread.”
“Quit messing around and get to the good stuff,” Vesta said. “What’s the score on the charcuterie? Oh, and that’ll be fifty please,” she said to her uncle.
“Beemster, local Vermont cheddar, Brie, and Manchego,” I said. “On the meat side, we went heavy. Prosciutto, Calabrese, Chorizo, and Capicola. Then there’s the olives, grapes, apricot spread, and crackers to go with the baguette. Two boards.”
“You must have put out for all this?” Veronica asked with a sly smile.
“Aunt Ronnie!” Vesta protested, but she was laughing. “Did you?” she asked me.
“No. We talked about her daughter, the one getting divorced.”
“Oh, she’s still trying to hook you up with that one?”
“Hope springs eternal,” I said. “Hi, I’m Craig,” I said to the werewolf kid who looked at me with Jetta’s eyes.
He shook my hand and started to squeeze.
I foresaw it, so I had jammed my hand in tight.
“We doing this, are we?” I asked him. He sneered and glanced at Carmen.
She was watching with anticipation. I glanced at Jetta and Matthew, but they were just watching.
Then I looked at Vesta and she gave me just a small smile and a tiny nod.
So I squeezed back. A lot. His expression shifted to blank and then to pain.
“I see we are under some misconceptions about Craig. He was raised among the werewolves of Greenacres. He has been Challenged many times—formally. He does not back down and according to Mr. Jenks, he tests as strong as most Earth werewolves.”
That had been a surprise—but between what Mom did to me and the gravity of Greenacres, it was true.
“Wait. You’re going to hurt him,” Jetta said to me.
“One, it was fine when you thought your son was going to pulverize my hand, and two, I’m not bearing down that hard,” I said, but I let go and stepped back.
“Okay,” Vesta said. “Perhaps some ground rules or something.”
“Good idea, Vee,” Erika said, glancing at Gina, who nodded. “Everyone who has met Craig has struggled with placing him against the backdrop of male witches. That comparison is extremely inaccurate and potentially very, very dangerous.”
“Soooo, a warlock like Declan?” Mack asked, brows up.
“If Declan was version 1.0, then Craig is at least 3.0 or higher.”
“Higher,” Toni said. “Five or six.”
I sat back next to Vesta and let the grownups have it.
“You’re joking?” Jetta asked.
“They don’t seem to be,” Veronica said.
“We are not,” Gina replied.
“Declan did a pretty good job of tattooing himself in the warlock tradition. But Craig’s mother created a whole new approach when Craig was a baby,” Erika said.
“We could talk about the differences for hours but suffice to say he is stronger, faster, and his magic is focused almost entirely on weaponization.”
“That’s annoyingly vague,” Matthew said.
“Just take my word for it,” Erika said.
The famous four stared back at their former classmate and paused to sip their drinks. Mack and Veronica were drinking whiskey while Jetta and Matthew had vodka tonics based on the two bottles displayed.
“You’re seriously not going to explain… what the hell is that?” Mack asked as Buster jumped from behind me to my shoulder.
“My cat. Buster.”
“You let them bring pets now?” he asked Gina.
“Buster is helping us with important research while simultaneously reducing the rat problem on campus,” Gina said. “Also, no one has the balls to try to make her leave.”
“Cat? I thought it was a long-haired cougar,” Mack complained.
“She kills centipedes, Uncle Mack,” Vesta said.
“By herself?” he asked, astonished.
“Like a pro.”
“That’s a good cat,” her aunt Ronnie said as Buster crawled down onto first my lap, then Vesta’s.
“So you, my dear, need to get talking,” Jetta said, her gaze jumping from the cat to me and back to Vesta.
“Apparently you made a splash when you landed here,” Matthew said to me, awkward yet earnestly trying to salvage the conversation.
I snorted. “Splash of crap, you mean,” I said.
Erika laughed. “You should have seen him stepping out of the portal. Wearing his best lizardskin Sunday clothes.”
“Erika, and I can call you that ’cause it ain’t class time, you are without a doubt my favorite teacher, but you have a serious mean streak,” I said.
“Oh, come on. You had bush clothes on and a lizardskin vest, for goddess’s sake.”
I took one of Buster’s paws in my hand and spread it out, displaying her claws. “This is why I wear lizardskin, teach.”
“Anyway, he pops out and instantly there’s a problem.
Planetary government trying to get him returned.
But he was slated for Arcane, so I wasn’t having that.
Plus, I wanted to see the fun when he was plunked down in the middle of all these witches.
I had no idea that little Vesta here was going to pounce on him instantly. ”
“I did no such thing. Word in the halls was that he was a load of trouble and basically a moron who cleaned out lizard caves.”
“All of which has proven true,” I said.
“No. it has not. Anyway, after watching him for a time, I took a chance and spoke to him. He was nothing like the rumors.”
“I kinda am,” I said. “Clearly trouble and I definitely spent too much time in lizard tunnels.”
“Excuse me if I misspeak here, but aren’t there usually lizards in lizard tunnels?” Mack asked. “Like, big, toothy ones?”
“Yes,” I said. “Thank you for making my point about the moron part.”
“What did you do about the lizards, Craig?” Jetta asked.
“Well, for three to four years, I mostly killed them. But then we learned how to manage them, and we stopped having to harvest them.”
“And how old are you?” Veronica asked.
“Seventeen. Eighteen in early summer.”
“You were fourteen when you were killing them?” she asked.
“Twelve to fifteen. The last two years, we mostly learned to move them in and out of their dens.”
“And you killed some yourself?”
“Quite a few. I was glad when we figured out better management methods.”
“So you were lizard… managers?” Jetta asked.
“Predator managers. Axeheads are way more common and much more aggressive. Those, we haven’t figured out how to manage, so we have to put down the flocks that attack farms and homesteads.”
“I see,” Jetta said, looking at the other three adults.
“What kind of witch are you, Craig?” Veronica asked. “Element style, I mean.”
“A pretty hopeless one, ma’am. Mom was an Air witch and Dad descended from Earth witches. I seem to have a smattering of Air skills mixed with a few Earth traits.”
“That doesn’t seem…” Veronica petered off.
“Like I should be at Arcane? Fair point.”
“Hush up, freshman,” Erika said. “I’m your teacher and she’s your director, so we get to say whether you should be here or not. You need to be here.”
“Yup,” Gina said, sipping her vodka. I wasn’t sure if there was any tonic in it at all.
“Roger that,” Toni agreed.
“So you have a few strong Air movement skills?” Veronica pressed.
“Goddess no. I mean, I can move a breeze, but I can also light a candle, pull a small amount of water, and I’m pretty decent at finding things, particularly minerals.”
“I don’t understand,” Veronica said, looking from Gina to Erika to Toni.
“The kid has the strongest Intent skill we’ve ever measured, and his Finding ability not only helps with lost keys but allows him to target brains and hearts with absolute accuracy,” Erika said.
“And then he has a third protocol which frankly scares the bejesus out of the most dangerous people we know.”
“Which is great for making friends,” I said, leaning over and snagging a piece of prosciutto and Beemster.
“Vesta, how do your folks feel about him?” Mack asked.
“It took a moment, but you know after he’d saved my life a couple times, they warmed right up,” Vesta said, taking her own combination of meat and cheese and putting it on a little cracker thing.
“Then he kept them from getting shot and wham zoom, he’s aces.
Cora had a bit of dislike for him right up until he killed all the vampires that came to Arcane to assassinate her and Wulf. Now she talks to him and everything.”
“Smooth, Vesta,” Erika scoffed. The famous foursome was basically sputtering and asking Gina if any of that was true.
“There was a recent incident,” Gina said, glaring at Vesta. Then she turned to the young ones. “Cody and Carmen, you need to tell me right now if you can keep a real secret.”
I could have told her that there was no way either kid was going to answer negative, but in their favor was the fact that I could feel that they truly meant to stay silent.
“Earlier this week, a splinter contingent of the greater Coven sent an eight-person kill team to assault the school and kill Wulf and Cora Demidova-Gordon. They penetrated the security with embarrassing ease but were killed to a man before they could get to the twins.”
“You killed them?” Mack asked me.
“Yes, but I thought it might be a dream. Boy, was I glad it was real,” I said.
Vesta smacked my arm. “Don’t be snarky with my uncle.”
“The sentiment was honest. It was the delivery that was a bit flippant,” I said. “See, I’ve never woken up from a dead sleep and found myself killing anyone. That kind of thing is jarring.”
“How were they killed?” Matthew asked.
“Quickly,” Erika said. “So quick. Twelve seconds.”
“What?” Matthew asked. “You’re joking.”
“Not,” Erika said. “Craig is making smart-assed comments because he was very worried that his abilities had gotten out of control. But in fact, his abilities are so fine-tuned that even unconscious, he identified deadly intent and acted as he rose from his bed. They were all dead before you got to the stairwell, right?”
I didn’t answer right away, instead grabbing Chorizo and cheddar. “It’s foggy, but that’s what Omega’s video shows. I just needed to get to the sixth floor and make sure… you know. That I hadn’t killed my classmates.”
“Can I ask again how they died?” Matthew pressed.
“The manner of their demise can best be described as sudden and complete decapitation wherever they were in the building,” Erika said.
That was met with silence until Toni suddenly jumped up. “Oh hey, I have to go. I have a date,” she said with a self-conscious smile.
“Good luck,” I said.
“Yeah, thanks. He seems nice but we’ll see,” she said, heading out. She hugged everyone including the kids, her mother, the four famous adventurers, Erika, Vesta, and surprise… even me. “Go easy on them, pal, okay?”
“That was the first rumor about me, Toni… that I’m very easy.”
She snorted but grinned and left.
“So, in a futile and blatant attempt to change topics, where are you guys headed next?” I asked.
“We have a speaking bit in Washington DC,” Mack said. “However, don’t think that ploy will work. It’s my duty to ask what your intentions are for my niece.”
“Um, to hope she never sees the error of her judgement,” I said. “Or to hang in there as long as I can. She likes mysteries and I’m about fully solved… so.”
“Hah! You’re not even half solved. Plus, my wolf has called game and match for the space barbarian,” Vesta said.
“She has this thing about me being from space, but really I just stepped through Erika’s portal and never even saw space.”
“Well, it’s not Erika’s portal,” Mack said. “I mean it’s the planet’s.”
“Nope,” Erika said. “It’s mine, Mack… at least when I’m on duty.”
And the fight was on.
Matthew moved up on my side, his son just behind him. “You were raised among the werewolves of Golf Alpha?”
“Ever heard of the Chiasson Pack?”
“Who hasn’t?” his son sputtered out.
“They’re my surrogate family.”
“Is that Hannah hot?” little Cody asked.
“Um, she’s nineteen and my sister.”
“But is she hot?” he asked.
“I guess,” I said.
Vesta, Veronica, and Jetta were all clustered, talking quietly. Carmen drifted into their group chat and her mother shifted sideways to share her chair. Girl talk.
“I know, I know, you’ve said it a thousand times… you helped set up the Greenacres portal,” Mack said. “But you’re really just a technician at this point.”
“Hah, those idiots wouldn’t know what to do without me,” Erika said. “Craig, you saw, right?”
“Kinda true, Mr. Sutton. They seemed pretty helpless until she stepped in.”
“Kid’s biased,” Mack said.
“I am now, but I wasn’t at the time,” I said.
“See.”
“Her title is Senior Portal Officer, Mack,” Gina added.
I sat back and just took it all in. The verbal sparring reminded me of home at the pack headquarters, and the huddle of ladies was just like Hannah and her crew. All in all, it seemed like a pretty good way to spend a Friday evening. Plus, there was prosciutto.