2. Your sacrifice is appreciated.
TWO
Your sacrifice is appreciated.
Compared to my new SUV, my Beetle existed to torture everyone unfortunate enough to ride in it.
We’d lost thirty minutes at Kennwick’s home to my brothers, as they all wanted to sit with me and the back would only fit three.
I’d brought the scuffle to an end by climbing into the back of my Beetle, taking the middle seat, and suggesting that my father just leave the idiots with the friendly brood master, who would surely care for them.
Eugene proved to be the fastest and smartest, leaping over my car and taking the far seat and closing the door behind him, barring his brothers from removing him from the vehicle.
After two minutes and a clearing of our father’s throat, Alisander won a place in the back, leaving Benoit to suffer in the front alone.
I reached up between the seats and patted his shoulder. “Your sacrifice is appreciated.”
As the loser, he got to ride with the head, which Kennwick had packaged so it wouldn’t leak all over my pristine car.
“Thank you, Master Kennwick,” my father called. “I will make sure these children are returned to their homes appropriately.”
The brood master eyed the sky, which still had a few hours of daylight left. “You did that to test my resilience to the sun, didn’t you?”
My father chuckled. “You can blame my daughter. She decided to go hunting during daylight hours. Apparently, she has lines, and she decided daylight hunting is worthwhile when her prey is a rapist and a serial killer. She caught him in his sleep, had herself a big breakfast, and then disposed of his body rather efficiently. Keep an eye out for good branches, would you? She’s going to be itching to carve by the end of the week, especially after draining a vampire that vile. ”
“I’ll keep an eye out. Drive safe, Mr. Francis.”
My father started the engine and eased the car out of the brood master’s driveway. Even in reverse, the vehicle growled and purred. Once on the road, we spent the first few minutes of the drive admiring my acquisition.
“I bought a treasure,” I announced. “I wasn’t here when the previous owner delivered her, and she came in on a truck rather than being driven. I asked that she be ready to drive so I could surprise Emerick with her, but there’s no way I’m able to drive this yet.”
“You’ll be driving her soon enough,” my father replied, and as was his way, he explained how the car worked, what he did to keep her from stalling, and how my beauty differed from modern vehicles.
“Your brothers can all drive her, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to give you lessons once you’re better practiced at driving.
Boys, your sister doesn’t have her proper license yet, so you can earn goodwill with Emerick by offering to take her out on practice drives, especially when he wants her elsewhere so he can work on some surprises. ”
I read between the lines: my traitorous husband had been sneaking talks with my father again, likely during daylight hours. “It’s your fault I don’t have a license yet. I’m that much trouble.”
“She’s telling the truth. Where did you find this car?”
“I bought her from an auto auction—an offensively expensive auto auction. I had to sneak into accounting while Emerick was out to spend my bounty money on the car. It wasn’t until I got into that bid war that I realized how precious his daughter is, and she has broken parts!”
“I reviewed the parts list while we were waiting for your brothers, and she likely still runs, but she runs poorly. How was the paint on her?”
“Awful.”
“Easily fixed. I will steal his daughter and have her repainted.”
“Silver, please,” I requested. “I have a copy of her keys, actually. If she still runs, and he isn’t there to defend her, well, it’s not my problem if you drive her out of the garage.”
My father chuckled. “Perhaps I’ll leave him with his daughter for another night or two, but I’ll take the keys and steal her away when he isn’t looking.
And if I have an opportunity to take her tonight, I shall.
I will return her in good working order.
Benoit? Do you want to go on a scavenger hunt for parts?
If we can’t get original spare parts, I’ll have them machined, but let’s try to keep his daughter pristine.
How much did you spend on this one, Pepper? ”
“A hundred thousand,” I reported. “She’s all original parts, she’s been magically preserved, and even her paint is original.
She was owned by a preternatural who passed away last year.
I bought from his daughter, and the sale price includes yearly maintenance for ten thousand a year, assuming someone in the family is still alive.
I prepaid for the next ten years, and I have the contract to renew the maintenance.
The previous owner offered after I told her that I was buying the twin of Emerick’s baby, who didn’t benefit from such magic.
Once his daughter is feeling better, they’ll do the same work on his for the same price. ”
“That’s a good deal,” Benoit announced. “The standard rate for that work is twenty-five thousand.”
I frowned. “But why would she sell the magic for that cheap?”
“Ethics.” My brother twisted in his seat to grin at me. “You bought the car for over value. Thirty-five thousand is closer to average for a 1938.”
I scowled. “I did not overpay for this beauty. She’s perfect.”
“I’m with the girl,” my father said with laughter in his voice.
“This car has been treated very well. You didn’t overpay for her.
You paid what she’s worth. You don’t see an original like this often, and one by one, this line will gradually go extinct, until the only ones that remain are the ones belonging to you and Emerick, clinging to a past long gone.
Cherish both of them, even if they are only driven around the block once a week to keep them in good shape.
I’ll bring the truck and a trailer to escort her to maintenance, so don’t worry about her.
You’ll get her back as good as new. Just expect your husband to become emotional.
I might have her restored to her original new and then offer to have her wrapped in silver. ”
“I like that idea. He really loves that car.”
“We all have our attachments, and as far as attachments go, his first car is a good one. These brats all have their first cars in their garages, too. Benoit was snooty and held out for the first Rolls-Royce. Alisander fell in love when they first rolled out of the factories, and he has more cars than he has sense. Don’t get me started on Eugene. ”
“I refused to let Dad buy my first car. I did odd jobs and chores to earn enough for my first car. And yes, he’s in my garage, and I love him dearly.”
“What kind of car do you have?”
“I have a Lohner-Porsche,” he announced with great pride.
I blinked. “A what?”
“He has a rectangle with wheels and a complex,” my father grumbled. “It’s one of the ugliest damned cars I’ve seen in my life, but I must respect Porsche’s innovation.”
“Dad,” Eugene complained. “My baby is not ugly.”
“Boy, I cried when you brought that damned thing home. You made me take you to Austria so you could buy that wretched thing. You scraped together every bit of money you could to afford it, and then you expected me to bring it to the United States in a world where transporting cars was not simple. And then you made me babysit your car while you played soldier during World War I.”
“Thank you for babysitting my baby, Dad.”
Our father sighed. “I raised spoiled rotten children.”
How rude. Emerick worked hard to spoil me, but he had not yet succeeded on his mission. “I am not spoiled. I even go out and kill miscreants and drink them to save on my feeding bill.”
That earned me a sigh from everyone in the vehicle.
“We have a long way to go to properly spoil your sister. Boys, you know what to do. If I come around in six months, and she isn’t spoiled…”
I had no idea what my father threatened to do, but my brothers snapped salutes and swore I would be spoiled. “Am I the only sane one in this car?”
“Yes,” they chorused.
Men. I had surrounded myself with men. No matter where I turned, there were men out to vex me. “Father, please explain why I am not napping in the car right now.”
“You’re wired from the hunt, and you resisted sleep for a good reason.
Practice alone isn’t a sufficient reason for you to skip out on your favorite daytime activity.
Even as a child, you loved napping during the day, but we couldn’t allow it often.
The sun cherishes you, much like it does these other brats I produced.
Like you, they rose able to go out into the sunlight without issue, although I managed to convince them to act like it’s an issue.
It’s not. Young Emerick is sufficiently aged and has grown into his strength to walk properly under the sun, although he could use a little more work.
You will find he tires more readily than you.
He will not understand that, so do act like today’s activities exhausted you.
I am sure you will have no problems handling your introduction to being spoiled this evening. ”
“I bet I could get that dastardly husband of mine to come out as a cat for my enjoyment. He keeps withholding his feline self.” I wrinkled my nose. “Are we actually good at shapeshifting?”
“We are, and you will have other shapes to work with. While our line has sufficient alignment with felines, we favor a different species.”
“You can earn a really nice mug if you spill our secrets,” I replied, shooting a glare his way. “I want to surprise him.”