Chapter 4
Or what will forever be known as,
'Happily Ever After and Maybe a Wedding, too.'
Stepping back and waggling her eyebrows, Maisie whispered, “Damn, Sis, you got a keeper.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“You do remember that everybody here can hear every word you’re sayin’, right?
” Maeve chuckled as she stepped up beside us, pulling Theresa along for the ride.
“Well, we got an addition to the group while you were all tied up…” She winked at Maisie while laughing out loud.
“That was a good one. You gotta admit it. I nailed that one.”
"Yeah, you did," Theresa and I snickered in unison, then I went on with, "Finally, you didn’t mess up the punchline of a joke.”
“Hey,” Maeve giggled. “I resemble that statement.”
“You damned sure do,” Maisie laughed out loud, taking a step backward. “I love you, Maeve, but you couldn’t tell a joke to save your life.”
“I know,” my middle sister laughed right along.
“It skipped right over me. All of the Dellencourts are known for having a great sense of humor, but not me.” Taking a deep breath and shaking off most of the giggles, she pointed to the newest member of our group.
“As I was saying, Maisie, this is Theresa Thomas, our resident White Tigress and 911 operator extraordinaire.”
“Yeah, I know,” Maisie smiled, finger waving at Theresa. “I met her…”
"Yeah, they met when I called 911, and Maisie almost strangled Theresa with the headset cord."
"No, she didn't," Maeve snickered, trying and failing to act shocked and dismayed. "Maisie? You tried to kill someone? Why I never...”
“Oh, shut up,” my little sister giggled, sticking out her tongue.
“No, she didn’t try to kill me,” Theresa spoke up. “It was a misunderstanding, a whole lotta fear for her sister, and an overload of pregnancy hormones all rolled together.” Smiling, she winked. “We’re all good.”
“Fabulous,” Maisie beamed. Holding out her hand, she pulled Theresa in for a quick hug.
“Sorry about the smell. Those goofball Wyvern-lovin’ freaks covered me in this glowing chartreuse gloppy goo to hide my scent from Martha.
I have no clue what it is or where they got it, but it reeks!
” Looking me right in the eye, she asked, “Why did they want to kill you, Martha? More to the point, why did they want to kill you bad enough to kill me to get to you?”
“How the hell do I know? I haven’t left Dragoon Bootay for four-hundred-and-fifty years next Wednesday.
How could I have… Oh, shit!” Panic surged through me, my voice trembling as memories collided and tangled.
Shaking my head, I stammered and stuttered, “But it couldn’t be.
That was… Well, it was… It’s like I said, it was four hundred and fifty years ago.
He can’t be… He’s in the … But didn’t I just… ”
“Breathe, Martha,” Kai’s soothing baritone cleared some of the fog in my brain as Aideen was mentally filling him in on the debacle of that day in the paddock all those years ago with the Wyvern Brothers.
When my Mate had most of the pertinent details, he calmly instructed, “Start from the part where you left the Isle of Skye.”
“Well, it was weeks after... I mean... It wasn’t like.
..” Breathing in and then exhaling, I tried again.
“What Aideen told you is really all there is to it. Barney tried to set me on fire. She took over and captured his crazy ass. His brothers were sorry, and they were found innocent of collusion. Hell, he tried to set the oldest one on fire before he set his sights on me.”
Still looking into my Mate’s eyes, feeling calming Magic wash over me, I nodded and took another breath. I could finally speak without stuttering. “Barney was sent to the Council’s Prison. I finished my training. Then, I came home. That was the last time I thought about it… except… for…”
“Except for what?”
“Except for when Maeve was freaked out and we were flying down the road to save Maisie. But…”
“Oh, shit,” Maisie gasped. “Did you say Barney?”
“Yes,” I stressed the word with a slap of Magic to her backside– just a little goose to let her know I really needed her to pay attention.
“Okay, don’t get testy. I’ve had one helluva day.’
“I’m not getting testy. I just need…”
“Yes, you are getting testy, and I don’t…”
“Time out!” Maeve shouted. “Maisie, you go first.”
Grumbling under my breath about the baby of the family always getting what she wanted, I glared in Maisie’s direction as she recounted, “The leader guy? The one you turned to ash?”
“Yes.”
“He kept saying that they had to complete this mission and report back to Barney Mackrel-Mackel-Frackel-something-or-another. Hell, maybe he said, Macbeth. I don’t remember.
I was trying not to go into labor.” She speared with a look, to which I rolled my eyes and huffed.
Pursing her lips and shaking her head for a split second, she quickly got back on track.
“Then they would receive the details for their next mission.”
Waiting for more. Needing to hear more. My heart pounded with fierce urgency. I made it about one point two ticks of a clock before I blustered, voice nearly shaking, “That was it? They didn’t say anything else? Give you a clue who Barney is? Where he might be?”
“Well, it seems like you know who he is.”
“Yes, but...”
Shoving the palm of her hand in my direction, Maisie kept right on going, “Yes, but nothing, and no, I didn’t hear shit! One of those Wyvern wannabes shoved me in the trunk of an old car and slammed the lid shut.”
“We need more information. Need to...” Anxiety pulsed in my veins, and I was spinning out of control.
The only thing keeping me grounded was the wonderful man, my Mate, the one and only Kai Rí.
Thankfully, he started talking, forcing me to clamp down on my spiraling thoughts before I ended up with both feet in my mouth.
“Okay, my guys are rounding up all the members of the wacky Wyvern Cult. We’ll turn them over to the Police and help with the interrogations.”
Pulling a cellphone from her back pocket, Theresa swiped her thumb across the screen as she said, “I’ll call my brother, Larkin, he’s the Chief of Police. I’ll tell him to expect a load of prisoners and your men.”
“Thank you,” Kai and I said in unison. To which I turned toward him and said, “Jinx, you owe me a Coke.”
No sooner did I speak the words than laughter erupted among us all—except for me.
Maybe it was the relief after such a chaotic day, or maybe it was just the image of a tall, hunky, sexier-than-homemade sin Fae King saying ‘wacky Wyvern Cult.’ Whatever it was, joy rippled through us.
Looking around, I realized how much these people meant to me, so I said, “We are Family with a capital F. Y’all just gotta know that I love you more than coffee and chocolate and would lose a scale off my perfectly round badonkadonk for any or all of you. ”
“Here, Here!” The others all cheered, pumping their fists in the air and grinning from ear to ear.
Then it happened. Just as the beautiful hilarity that can only be shared with the people you genuinely love and respect died down, the one thing I’d been dreading since I inhaled at least a tablespoon of freshly ground, super exclusive coffee beans happened.
The question I’d successfully avoided since dialing 911 was uttered aloud.
It was no surprise at all, at least to me, that it came from the nosiest, need-to-know-everything, could not let anything go, no matter how small, person I'd ever met, Mrs. Maisie May Michelle Dellencourt-Walton, Coroner extraordinaire and one hell of a sister.
Cocking her head to the side and furrowing her brow so tightly that the dried fluorescent glowing lime green goo, blackberry juice turned into finger paint, twigs and dried leaves were crunched into tiny flecks floating to the ground like multi-colored snowflakes as her fist hit her hip and she asked, "What the hell were the Dragon Flame Fireballs you sneezed all the leader dude? Is that how you burnt half of your shop to the ground?”
Once again, everybody– well, not me– laughed so hard most had tears running down their faces— even Maisie, who was sure she knew everything.
(This was also when Aideen decided to impart the little tidbit about the Dellencourt women and our troubles with Fireballs.
Of course, she can’t explain why Maisie didn’t have them when she met her Mate, Jonathan.
Honestly, I think she made the whole thing up, and I’m still trying to come up with the proper payback– one she’ll remember the next time she even thinks about not telling me something important–or making shit up, whatever the case may be.)
Then a most wonderful thing occurred. It was truly fantastic and amazing, making me fall even more in love with the Fairy King the Universe created for me.
Kai Rí quickly changed the subject by asking, “Before the guys and I were sent here, I was given the rundown on the existence of Dragoon Bootay, the Bibbidi Bobbidi Bubble, and the process to get permission and Magic to leave for brief periods of time, but I just gotta ask... What’s the deal with the name? Where the hell did that come from?”
Everybody’s eyes got wide. I looked at Maeve. She looked at Maisie. Maisie looked at Theresa. Then Theresa’s eyes met mine.