Chapter Two #2
She screamed and arched against his mouth a few seconds later, and he kept the slow licking until she slumped back on the stone. He moved over her and grinned. “You are overdressed for this particular exercise.”
He opened her blouse and kissed her breasts in turn. He lifted his head and chuckled. “Centre clasp. How forward-thinking of you.”
“I couldn’t wait for you to get the hang of not cutting them off for a quickie.”
His fingers manipulated the clasp, and then he made a happy sound, which included some snorting, and she just had to hang on.
His hard thigh pressed between hers and began to move against her. Hannah held his head and spoke his name softly. He was easing into her a moment later, and then their kiss took over as their bodies moved.
She smiled and looked at him, imagining hundreds of years with this man. Elf. Whatever. It wasn’t a bad thing.
He kissed her, and his hips circled as he slid into her. Her next orgasm was around the corner, and when she bucked and moaned under him, he kept going.
They thoroughly tested the soundproofing before they rested. Nocturnal elves for the win.
Hannah pulled up at the house as Izzy was removing the plywood from the door. “Do you need a hand with anything?”
Izzy said softly, “No. Thank you. I will be out in five hours. I don’t know how long the cameras will work, but this will be interesting. Please record the data. I never get to see myself work.”
“Do you need anything?”
“A solid barrier around the home. I don’t want anyone touching the energy field I will be producing. I will have a ward up, but folks tend to cozy up to it.”
Hannah nodded. “We will keep folks back. You won’t be disturbed.”
Izzy smiled. “Great. See you in five hours. Have the inspector here when I am done. The structure will be sound.”
Izzy walked through the broken door and closed it behind her. Power massed and a ward formed.
Oory was sitting at the edge of the property, at a desk with screens. “Come here. She’s starting already.”
There was a tent canopy to shield the computer from the sun, and the divided screens showed that Izzy was walking through the house until she found the centre. She flicked her hands, and something small rolled up against the outside walls. Izzy stood and was motionless while the screens got blurry.
Hannah asked, “Oh, she’s taking in the smoke?”
Oory watched. “Wow. She’s meticulous.”
They watched as Izzy absorbed the smoke, and then she grew saplings that sistered against the framework, and as Izzy stood there, the trees and burned wood became one.
Four hours later, Izzy was floating above the floor, and the saplings began to take the place of the damaged wood.
They absorbed it, and new, clean wood was soon in place.
Hannah got excited. “If this passes inspection, I have barns, old sheds, haunted homes, and a bajillion other projects for her to work on.”
Oory said, “She was certain to mention that it was only the framework. No sheathing or cladding.”
Jennel pulled up and got out. “She’s still going?”
Hannah nodded. “Yeah. She said five hours, and she’s nearly done.”
Jennel stared at Izzy. “Dark fae?”
“At least half, but yeah, she said she leans dark.”
“What is the combination?” Jennel stared at the video of Izzy. “Dark elf?”
“No. It’s dryad and something blue-black with a shadow fae overlay.”
“Oh, Reymark said that could happen. I suppose she’s living proof.”
Hannah said, “She doesn’t know what she is either, and she’s a foundling, so do you know anyone who can do genetics? It is out of my client roster.”
Jennel smiled. “I think I know someone. A friend of a friend of the family. They are a genealogist who uses blood to determine origins. If she is interested, it will be my tip. It looks amazing in there.”
Izzy’s voice came to them, “Okay, get the inspector here. I am done, and the wood has been disconnected from my life force. It is solid and will take a pounding. No magical residue.”
She lowered herself to the floor and walked out, slowly and carefully.
The ward disappeared, and the hatch of her car opened up. Izzy sat in the hatch and grabbed her bag with shaking hands, opening a carafe and drinking the liquid directly from the bottle. She looked in the bag and grimaced. “Damn it.”
Hannah walked over. “What’s wrong?”
“Forgot to put an ice pack in my cooler. It was tuna. In a hot car. I will have to grab something on my way home.” She grabbed a clipboard and scribbled something on it.
She handed it to Jennel. “Here. It is a warranty for my work with all of my guild registration numbers. The frame is good for standard wear and tear for fifty years.”
Jennel smiled. “Thank you. Wow, you are quick with the glamour.”
“Stranger danger. Hannah and Neekil caught me at home, so they got the ninety percent me.”
Hannah blinked. “There’s more?”
Jennel nodded. “Her style of dark fae uses glyphs to bind and focus their energy. It is a personal thing. If I weren’t part orc, no one would see mine.”
Jennel let her glamour down, exposing her marks. “Thank you so much for doing this so quickly.”
“No problem. The timing was good.”
“Uh, we haven’t been introduced, but Hannah says you don’t know your origins?”
Izzy smiled. “No. I don’t. I can read Neekil back to his parents fucking, but I don’t know who made me.”
“May I offer you a chance to learn? I have an acquaintance who studies genealogy and loves a challenge. I think he would have a great time with you.”
Izzy shrugged. “Sure. I do need to learn eventually, even if just to select burial rites.”
Jennel looked at her. “You aren’t thinking of doing anything, are you?”
“I am just looking for reasons to keep going and not finding much. I fought for my life once; that was enough.”
Jennel smiled. “That is where we differ. I didn’t fight like I should have once, so now I am making up for it.”
Izzy smiled and drank from her flask again. “Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.”
Jennel grinned. “I will call my acquaintance, and we can meet him today if you like. He just needs a writ to let him access your records and a blood sample, and he will do the rest.”
“Thank you for making the offer.”
There was a buzz on Jennel’s phone. She smiled and looked at Izzy. “How do you feel about tacos?”
The inspector pulled up, and Oory waved them off as she took him into the house for his assessment.
Hannah smiled. “I should stick around for a few minutes, but I can meet you guys there. All that staring made me hungry.”
Jennel smiled at Izzy. “Do you know where Taco! Taco! Taco! is?”
“Yes. I am familiar with it.”
Jennel smiled. “Meet you there. Dr. Ganger is going to show up in the next half hour. He rarely comes into the city, so he’s excited by the description that Hannah gave me.”
Izzy nodded and swayed. “We should go then. I will follow you. It has been a while since I was at the shop. I am also not currently at my best.”
Jennel nodded. “Grab your bag. I will drive you there and bring you back here.”
Izzy paused and said, “Okay.”
Hannah watched as they drove off a moment later.
She followed the inspector in as he exclaimed in admiration at the complete restoration and repair of the walls and roof.
Even the floorboards were fixed and new.
Izzy’s work was complete and suitable for the rebuild.
Hannah would talk to Oory and get the orc crew to start immediately.
Her family was backlogged with work, which wasn’t a bad thing to be.
* * * *
Jennel looked at the pile of nachos that Izzy was eating. “How did you order that?”
“The same way you ordered the tacos.”
Dem-rah came out and looked at Izzy. “Isocar. I am so sorry.”
Izzy got up and went to the four-armed goblin for a hug. “Thanks, Dem-rah. She was a glorious woman, then a glorious ghost, and now, she has left her crystal and is at peace. Her soul stone is in the repository, but I just can’t go talk to her right now.”
Jennel blinked. “So, you obviously know each other.”
Dem-rah chuckled. “I have known her longer than I have known you. Her grandmother brought her here regularly to practice her goblin. She could soon curse me under the table.”
Izzy smiled. “It was fun.”
Jennel blinked. “Well, that is interesting.”
Dem-rah grinned. “Her first words were in dark fae; her second were goblin. After that, her tone was filled with mage script.”
Izzy blushed. “I forgot about that.”
Jennel frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“You could see her speech. She said it and made it visible. She is better at goblin than I am.” Dem-rah gave a grating chuckle. “Do you still do that, Izzy?”
“When I forget. The doctors said it was a type of synesthesia.”
Dem-rah smiled. “It was beautiful. She spoke the scripts into being, and they hung in the air for minutes before they turned into glittering dust that faded away.”
A deep voice said, “And when she cursed in demon, the air literally turned blue.”
Izzy knew that voice. She turned and saw the debonair educator. “Mr. Emile. It is so good to see you out and about.”
The silver-haired man in the impeccable suit had his wife at his side.
“Ms. Ganger. It is good to see you again.”
Lenora and Harcourt had been family friends of her grandmother’s. They both opened their arms and hugged her.
Jennel stared. “Holy shit. She knows them.”
Dem-rah nodded. “Very well. To hear Lenora say it, it was Izzy’s blended blood and bright happiness that inspired her urge for her own daughter, and you have met Benny. She’s everything they hoped for.”
Jennel blinked. “So, she’s not new in town.”
“No, daughter. That is you.”
Izzy was finally released, and Lenora smiled and cupped Izzy’s jaw. “Isocar, you are finally ready to learn what you are?”
“Yes, ma’am. Grandma’s dead, so what we find can’t hurt her.”
Lenora made a small sound and hugged Izzy to her again. Dr. Emile just watched with a sad expression.
Emile said, “When you are ready, we will hold a memorial. Perhaps her other children will come.”