33. Sedrick #3
Clearing my throat, I said, “Ray, does this mean what I think it does?”
Instead of Ray, Peaches whirled around and threw his hands into the air. “It means exactly what you think it does. Phil bonded with the house, with your family.” Peaches threw his head back and laughed like someone battling with sanity. “Goddess, most likely Phil didn’t even realize.”
Ray agreed. “I believe Peaches is correct.” Ray’s crimson eyes perused the house.
“It would explain much.” Ray’s lips pulled back, showing teeth.
Hissing, Ray spoke in a language I couldn’t even begin to understand.
Ancient fairy was too complex. No other species had ever been able to understand it, let alone speak it.
“I’ve been a fool,” Ray berated himself.
Fire-filled wings manifested on his back.
Fairy wings looked nothing like pixie wings.
Long and slender, they reflected the fairy they belonged to.
Ray’s wings licked with fire and flared out like a hellacious dragonfly.
Dust didn’t pour from them. Flames did. As quickly as they’d manifested, Ray’s wings disappeared.
My lawyer turned from us. Back ramrod straight, Ray silently stood, collecting himself.
When he turned around again, only the hint of a crimson ring encircled his large, black pupils.
“What does this mean, Ray?” I asked when my lawyer calmed.
Ray ran a hand through the length of hair that wasn’t braided.
It was an oddly nervous gesture. “What this means, Sedrick, is that I’ve played right into Arie Belview’s hands.
But that changes tonight.” I didn’t have time to ask what that meant.
Ray turned to Peaches and asked, “How long can you be away from your orchard?”
Peaches flew closer. I’d seen that look on his face before, and it read pure determination. “It’ll be a few more hours before I start to feel sick.”
Moon Goddess. Phil had been away from the house for days. How much longer could he even survive?
“What do you need me to do?” Peaches asked.
“Is the car you came in still waiting outside?”
“It’s still there,” Dillon answered without looking. We could both hear it idling. Ruthie could most likely hear it too.
“Good.” Ray was all business. “I need you to go to Dusk. Get Phil back to the house. Ideally, we’d have more time to allow him to regenerate, but I’m afraid time is a luxury we don’t have.
Whatever strength he can manage will need to be enough.
” Ray checked his watch and frowned. “The hearing starts at 10 p.m. I need Phil there as soon as he’s able. ”
Peaches flew toward the front door. “Retrieve Phil, drag his ass back here, then get to the courthouse.”
When Ray nodded, Peaches grabbed the door and pulled it open. Before he flew out, he turned and pointed at the pink box he’d brought. “I’ll get Phil to the courthouse, and he’ll be dressed to the pixie nines.”
I stared at the box, realizing what was inside when I heard the door close.
“Uncle Sed, what’s going on?” Dillon sounded as excited as worried. “Is Phil gonna be okay?”
“Phil’s going to be fine,” Ray answered for me.
“We’re all going to be fine.” Ray grabbed his briefcase and opened it with more force than I’d seen in the past. “I should have realized.” Ray shook his head, berating himself.
“Arie Belview’s interest in Phil increased after he saw him.
I assumed it was because he saw something he could use against you, and maybe that was true initially.
But Arie’s intentions toward Phil and his family grew after Hamish McIntyre visited the property. ”
“Hamish figured out what we didn’t.” The pieces of the puzzle fell into place at an alarming rate.
“Precisely.” Ray shuffled through some papers.
“He realized Phil was bonded with the house and the family.” Ray shook his head.
“Normally, that kind of thing takes the homeowner’s permission.
Perhaps the pull was too strong for Phil, or more likely, he didn’t even realize it was happening.
Had happened,” Ray corrected. “Regardless, when Hamish realized Phil had bonded, that he was able to create a field around the home strong enough to keep out a fairy, Hamish realized any claim that Phil was not a true home-and-hearth pixie was moot. And not only that, but the likelihood of Arie’s claim on the children that you are an unfit guardian would also be moot.
No judge could ask for anything better than for a home-and-hearth pixie to bond with children who’ve lost their parents.
Dillon and Ruthie couldn’t possibly be in safer hands anywhere else. ”
“What about the document stating that Kelsie was forced, against her will, to agree to leave Dillon and Ruthie to me?”
Ray and I both believed the document was forged, but it was a damn good forgery and difficult to dispute.
Ray waved a dismissive hand. “With Phil bonded to the house, Dillon, Ruthie, and most likely you, it’s the only thing Arie has going for him, and we have an equally binding will stating that’s not the case.
We also have corroborating character witness testimony from those who knew Kelsie and William, stating your brother was not that kind of dominant mate. That narrows the case.”
Clicking his briefcase closed, Ray stared at me.
The crimson ring around his pupils thickened but didn’t take over.
This time, I thought Ray’s loss of control was due to joyful anticipation.
“And you’re forgetting one crucial detail, Sedrick.
” When I didn’t immediately answer, Ray grinned, a hint of pointed teeth visible.
“To separate Phil from either the home or the children would be a death sentence. No judge would willingly agree to that. It’s against fairy law.
Given that Phil has bonded to both, the best Arie Belview can hope for is visitation rights, and Phil would always need to be near. ”
“Uncle Sed, is that true?” Dillon and Ruthie were still at my side. I hadn’t heard Dillon’s voice that hopeful since Phil walked out the door.
I glanced at Ray before answering Dillon. “It’s good news.”
Dillon and Ruthie grinned so wide it looked painful. Throwing a fist into the air, Dillon whooped loudly.
I let the two of them celebrate. I’d lived long enough to know it was too early to howl at the moon just yet.
“We need to get going.” Ray pulled his briefcase off the counter, shifting it from one hand to the other.
“I need to get the kids to Burt first.”
“Not tonight.”
Dillon quieted, his ears too sharp to miss Ray’s comment.
“I can’t leave them here. It’s not safe, and—”
“You’re right. Leaving them here isn’t an option.
You’ve been taking them to stay with the dwarves since Phil left.
Do you think Arie doesn’t know that?” Ray raised a single, crimson eyebrow.
“It’s a pattern he’s most likely well aware of, and he’ll exploit it tonight if things don’t go the way he wants, and I assure you, the case will definitely not go Arie Belview’s way. ”
I stiffened, suddenly concerned for a whole host of new reasons. “You think he’ll go after Ruthie and Dillon?” I shook my head. “I’d like to see him try to get into dwarf territory and come out on the other end intact.”
Ray cocked his head to the side. “Would you? Would you really? Belview’s reach is far beyond what anyone truly knows.
Burt’s family will go to every length imaginable to keep Dillon and Ruthie safe.
Dwarves are proud folk, and that pride will tolerate nothing less.
How many of them are you willing to sacrifice? ”
“Shit.” The word slipped off my tongue with ease. Hands on my hips, I paced away from Dillon and Ruthie. “We don’t know when Phil’s going to get here, and you told Peaches to bring him to the courthouse so we can’t leave them here.”
“No, we can’t.” Ray headed for the door. “We’re going to take them with us.”
I stiffened. I didn’t want Dillon or Ruthie anywhere near Arie. Besides, if things didn’t go how Ray thought they would, challenging Arie was still on the table. I didn’t want the kids to witness that.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ray.”
“It’s a perfect idea,” Ray answered too lightly for my comfort. With his hand on the doorknob, Ray turned. His black pupils were narrowed to little more than slits while crimson swam through the rest. With a grin that sent chills down my spine, Ray said, “Trust me. Everything’s going to be fine.”