Chapter 23 Whitney #2
“Next week,” Xolotl says.
I laugh. “Hardly. June.”
“June?” Xolotl groans. “Why’s it so far away?”
“That’s when Flaming Gorge is at its best, and that’s where I want to get married.”
Izzy’s almost to the front now, and Leonid shushes us. I don’t really blame him. It’s a little bit nice that everyone else seems to be afraid of my boyfriend. I’m just petty enough to like being with the scariest of the scaries.
But then the ceremony starts, and it’s about the cutest thing ever.
Or, you know, it probably would be if I had any earthly idea what the priest in the funny, tall white hat was saying.
I get the gist, though, and before you know it, Izzy’s kissing Leonid, and then everyone’s cheering.
And then they’re walking down the aisle.
We’ve barely streamed out after them, all of us eager for the wedding banquet to start, when I notice something strange in the back of the crowd. I grab Xolotl’s arm, and I tug.
“What?” He’s always alert. I love that about him. His eyes scan the crowd, and he spots the intruder immediately. His sharp intake of air doesn’t soothe my concerns, however.
“He looks—” I swallow. “He looks almost familiar to me.”
When he notices Xolotl looking at him, the tall man in all black with long hair flowing down his back raises his hand in a salute.
I want to cry. “Is that—is he who I think he is?”
“I think he’s my replacement,” Xolotl says. “He sure feels like a horseman, anyway.”
“I’m coming with you,” I say.
He shakes his head. “No way.”
I grab his hand and interlace our fingers. “You can’t leave me behind, not anymore. We’re together, forever.”
He sighs. “If I decide it’s unsafe, you will immediately run back to this room.”
“Fine.”
“I mean it,” he says. “I’m not taking you until you agree to listen.”
“Fine,” I say, and this time I’m not lying. Mostly.
He nods.
We both duck out as unobtrusively as possible. I notice Gabe watching us, and I wave him off. His scowl makes me nervous, but I hope he’ll be smart.
Two minutes later, the man in black pops around a corner. “Hey there.” He smiles. “My name’s Necron.”
“No way.” I snort. “You can’t be serious. From Final Fantasy?”
He frowns.
“Sh.” Xolotl glares, then he turns back to Necron. “You’re the new horseman.”
He smiles again. “Yes, and they told me to find you. They said you could train me.” He turns toward me. “But who’s this?”
“This is none-of-your-business,” Xolotl says. “Tell me this. Have you found a champion yet?”
“Oh, yes, I did right off.” He waves his hand, and a short man with steel-grey hair walks around the corner into view. “He’s—”
“I know who he is.” Xolotl frowns. “His soul’s black.”
“They said that was a good way to find a general. Competence, power, intelligence, and a very dark soul. He has all four.”
“That makes me feel a lot better about doing this.” Xolotl grabs the man. “I do apologize, but this is an integral part of his training.” He snaps the evil man’s neck.
My jaw drops.
And Necron wilts like a flower, and then he melts into the ground.
“Have a nice nap, newbie,” Xolotl says. Then he brushes his hands together like he’s clearing them of crumbs. He takes my arm, and he walks me into the ballroom like nothing happened. A moment later, when Leonid walks by, Xolotl grabs his arm.
Leonid looks annoyed at first, but when I hear Xolotl whisper, “My replacement horseman showed up. To put him to sleep, I murdered his evil general. His corpse is in the outside hallway. You might want to dispose of it carefully, as he’s a very recognizable US leader.”
To his credit, my new brother-in-law straightens, nods like there’s nothing out of the ordinary happening at all and calls some of his men over. That’s the last I hear of it.
“At least it happened here in Russia,” I say. “We’d have had to clean that up ourselves back home.”
Xolotl smiles, then. “And now we should have at least your lifetime horseman-free in the United States.”
No sooner has he said that, than Leonid appears at his elbow. “If I had another horseman show up here, could you repeat that little vanishing act?”
I roll my eyes.
“Unfortunately, they’re not all as easy to dispose of as the new little babies.”
Leonid sighs. “Right, right.”
“Sorry,” Xolotl says.
“It’s fine,” Leonid says. “Carry on.”
And we do.
The rest of the wedding celebration’s as normal as it could possibly be, attended as it is by a half dozen mages who can turn into horses, a former death god, and a magical dictator who was born more than a hundred years ago.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way, because the love of my life is by my side, and my family may be spread across two continents now, but we’re stronger than ever.
“What just happened?” Gabe looms where Xolotl and I are sitting.
I sigh, preparing to explain what we just did.
Before I can say a word, Gabe whistles. Then he leans over, and he exhales loudly.
“Whoa. I’d be upset, too, man.” He reaches down, and he grabs part of Xolotl’s head.
Then he plucks out a hair, and he holds it out to me.
“I can’t believe you found a gray hair.”
Xolotl blinks. “What on earth does it mean?”
“It’s normal,” I say. “It happens when you age.”
“No kidding,” Gabe says. “And honestly, I’d say you look pretty good for six thousand, give or take.”
Xolotl slugs him on the shoulder.
Gabe starts to laugh. “Hey, don’t blame the messenger.”
“What’s wrong?” Alexei asks. “Did something happen?”
“Xolotl here just found his first grey hair,” Gabe says.
Alexei Romanov pats him on the back. “Congratulations, my man. Just wait until we start having children. I hear we’re going to get a lot of those showing up then.” He smiles, and I notice for the first time that his wife has a bit of a belly.
“You two are expecting?” I ask.
Alexei beams. “We sure are. We couldn’t be more excited about it.”
That gets me thinking—one day Izzy and I will probably have kids, too. Grey hairs will be the least of our worries, then.
Xolotl drops an arm around my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you want kids?”
He smiles broadly. “Dozens of them.”
“Dozens?” I can’t breathe. “You’re kidding, right?”
He laughs. “I am. But I would like at least one boy and one girl.”
“You can’t choose,” I say.
“But you can keep going until you have one of each.” Abby’s standing behind my chair.
“I approve of that plan.” She drops a hand on my head, and her other hand, she drops on Xolotl’s.
“I’ve been a little nervous about the two of you, but watching you together for almost two months now, I think you’re a very good match.
” She crouches down and whispers, “I approve.”
Xolotl’s beaming wider than he was after getting a job as a translator. After Abigail walks away, he turns to me. “She likes me.”
“She approves of you,” I say. “And that’s even harder.”
“I love you, Whitney Brooks. Thanks for trying to shoot me in the face on that first day I woke.”
“You’re welcome,” I say. “And I’d do it all over again.”
“Except you won’t ever have to.” He drags me closer, and he presses his lips to mine, unconcerned about how many people might see us.
While he kisses me, I wonder if I can make it until June. “Maybe we should aim for May.”
His chuckle’s low and long. He kisses me again, and like it always does, all my resolve melts away. “How about now?”
As long as I’m with him, I don’t care when or how we get married, because I know in my heart that this one’s forever.
**