Chapter Eleven
Kiera watched as Meryn did a shimmy dance as she walked into the dining room.
“Are you that excited for tacos?”
Meryn sat down. “I’m always excited for tacos.”
“Thank the gods we’re back in time for dinner,” Nigel said, walking in to sit close to Meryn. Neil sat on his other side.
“How are the kiddos?”
Neil smiled. “Looking so much better after getting food on a regular basis. Genevieve’s recipes have really helped.”
Kendrick entered with Anne on his arm and they sat down.
Genevieve sat down. “Helping the kids has really allowed me to flex my science. The hard part is making it kid friendly.” She inhaled. “Tacos?”
Hunter unfolded his napkin. “Yes.” He looked over at Rory. “You’re passing on Ma’s chicken and dumplings?”
“I’ve always been more of a taco guy,” Rory confessed.
Caiden came in and set a huge platter of soft and hard tacos down in the center of the table. Moments later, Ryuu came in with two separate topping stations. He placed one on either end of the table.
“Meryn, you got some packages while you were out,” Caiden said.
She frowned. “I haven’t ordered anything lately.”
Caiden went to the living room and came back with two boxes and a card. He passed her the card and set the boxes down on the floor between her and Aiden.
She opened the card and her lips pursed. “Magnus is a snitch.”
Kiera thought about what Magnus had said in the SUV. “Did he reach out to your uncle?”
“Yeah. Uncle Bren sent me a present.” Meryn had Aiden lift the box and she opened it. “Dang it.”
“What’d you get?”
Meryn’s cheeks flushed. “He got me jewelry.”
“That doesn’t really seem your speed,” Kiera said.
Meryn sniffled. “He got me Star Wars Pandora charms and a bracelet.”
“What’d the card say?” Kiera asked.
Meryn wiped her nose on her sleeve. “He said, ‘You’ll continue to receive gifts until you no longer feel bad when you get them’.”
“That’s sweet,” Kiera said.
Hunter looked down at the other box. “What is in box number two?”
Aiden helped her open the second one while she twisted her wrist this way and that, admiring her new bracelet.
“Looks like bags,” Aiden said.
Meryn sniffed the air. “Coffee.” She looked down and picked up a folded piece of paper. “Okay, he’s forgiven.”
“Magnus?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, he knew I’d be mad about him telling Uncle Bren what I said, so he sent me some really expensive coffee beans.” She shyly picked up a bag and hugged it.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, right?” Kiera asked.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Aiden was trying to catch a glimpse of her bracelet.
She laughed. “You gonna stock up on Star Wars charms for later?”
“Absolutely. That way I have something on hand in case I make you mad. The charm bracelet I got you is almost full.”
She looked down and realized that tacos were on the table. She dropped the bag of coffee back into the box and held out her plate. “Four soft ones please.”
Ryuu took her plate, picked up a set of tongs and gave her four tacos. He then added cheese, sour cream, salsa, and banana peppers to her plate. “Here you go denka.”
Rory inhaled a taco, swallowed, then sighed. “I wish I could be a fly on the wall at your uncle’s place. I know he put that idiot Jaden up to that bullshit today.”
Neil looked to Meryn who was carefully crafting her first taco. “What bullshit?”
Meryn continued to concentrate on her food. “Douche Jaden. Kiera’s ex. Tried to hurt the Barbie chick. Pip choked him and the nice Councilwoman took him away,” she recapped.
Neil was nodding, until he heard Pip choked someone. “Are you okay Meryn?”
Meryn looked up. “Yeah, why?”
“Pip choked someone? Were you threatened?”
“Nah, just general douchery. I was afraid if Hunter or Aiden stepped in he would have been obliterated on the spot. Pip was more than enough for his ass.”
Nigel and Neil stood and went to either side of Pip, ruffling his hair.
“Look at baby badass!” Neil said.
“We’re so proud of you Pip!” Nigel added.
Around the heads of the twins sparkling lights flew between them.
Pip flexed his arms. “I am not a warrior, but that does not mean I cannot help.” He stuck his tongue out at Neil. “I am not a baby.”
“You’re our baby brother,” Neil corrected him.
“Oh yeah,” Pip conceded.
The boys sat back down and reached for more tacos.
Meryn took a big bite and hummed. “Ryuuu, I nee pie majek.”
“Chew, then swallow, denka,” Ryuu advised.
Meryn quickly swallowed. “I need spy magic.”
Kendrick shook his head. “You don’t need any magic.”
“Yes, I do! I’m blind out here! These damn witches be living like the Flintsones with crystals and scrolls and shit. I can’t do squat.”
Anne put her wine glass down. “Wouldn’t that mean it’s a superior type of communication since it can’t be hacked?”
Meryn shot her an evil look. “I am ignoring logic.”
“Denka, might I suggest contacting Law?” Ryuu suggested.
“That’s right! He owes me dirt on the Witches’ Council.” She picked up her phone, tapped a few times, and put it on speaker on the table.
“Hey Red Queen,” as the one she assumed was Law answered.
“Yo! Dude, where’s my dirt on the Witches’ Council,” she demanded.
“Darling, if there were any, I’d have sent it by now.”
“Nothing?”
“Not even jaywalking. They’re squeaky clean.”
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s what we’re dealing with,” he replied.
Meryn huffed. “It’s like they are the ‘clean’ ledger hiding the crooked books.”
Kendrick, Caiden and Aiden all froze.
Kendrick glared at Meryn. “How do you do it?”
She ignored him. “Deadpool, new target.”
“What’s up?”
“Ellar Sorrel. I need financials or anything that could explain why he would need a large sum of money.”
“TBK?” he asked.
“Yeah, just don’t know when. Probably later,” Meryn said, picking up her second taco.
“Got it. When I have something, I’ll call.”
“Later.”
She hung up the call.
Kiera looked down the table. “TBK?”
Meryn smiled. “To Be Killed.”
Aiden groaned. “Meryn.”
“What? I did say it would be later.”
Kiera added cheese to her taco. “It’s nice having friends.”
“Wor,” Meryn said, once again with a full mouth.
Hunter shook his head, then looked down at Kiera. “How about tomorrow after we win the custody petition, we sit down and hammer out the details of our new house.”
Kiera nodded excitedly. “I’ve never really had my own place. I rented all the time.”
Hunter took a bit of his taco, practically eating the whole thing in one go. He swallowed. “We’ll need extra time to plan all the rooms.”
Kiera frowned. “It will be mostly standard right?”
Hunter shook his head. “We’ll need space for all the kids’ rooms.”
“Keran and Nicol?” Kiera asked, still not seeing the problem.
Rory chuckled. “Kiera, Armstrongs tend to have lots of kids. I’m one of four and Hunter is one of three. As you know, that’s a lot for paranormals.”
“Four?” she asked, feeling faint. “Four, more?”
Hunter shrugged. “We can’t have too many.”
“Oh yes, we can,” she argued.
Meryn rubbed her belly. “Get through one first. This shit is hard.”
Aiden nodded absently. “It really is.”
Kiera poked Hunter in the side. “You’re assuming we’ll win the petition.”
His answering grin was devious. “Let’s just say Ma and Dad are packed and ready to take Keran and Nicol to visit their Great-Aunt Tabitha in Lycaonia tomorrow morning depending on our text.”
“Hunter!” she gasped. “Is that legal?”
He kept eating as he smiled.
Rory answered. “Technically, yes. Kinda. Augustus could explain it better.”
Meryn snorted. “I would love to see what the perimeter around Lycaonia would do with your uncle if he tried to get them back. It might see him as a feral.”
Kendrick tilted his head. “Why would you think he’s feral.”
“Evil douche equals feral,” Meryn explained.
“Not always,” Kendrick pointed out.
Meryn added banana peppers to her third taco. “We need feral detectors.”
Aiden growled. “We used to have a method, until those damn necklaces. You used to be able to smell them a mile away.”
“What about your goggles?” Meryn asked.
“We use those to find the invisible ones,” Aiden said.
Meryn chewed slowly, then swallowed. “I’m curious if ferals register at a lower temperature than normal paranormals, you know from being like kind of rotting.”
Kendrick and every warrior present stared at her.
“Sonofabitch!” Aiden exclaimed, slamming his taco down on his plate.
Meryn continued. “I mean, I don’t think it would help if they put the necklace on right after they turned, but it might find some. Thermal might show more purple than red or whatever.”
Aiden scrubbed his hands over his face. “How come we never thought of that?”
Meryn shrugged. “Y’all need to mate more scientists or STEM chicks.”
“STEM?” Kendrick asked.
“Science. Technology. Engineering and Math,” Kiera answered.
Aiden nodded. “That does sound nice. Thank you, for the new idea baby.”
“No charge.”
Kiera finished her taco and sat back, rubbing her neck.
“You okay?” Hunter asked.
“Better than okay. Usually when I visit, I will have finished off a half a bottle of painkillers by now for headaches. I feel almost normal, just tired,” she said.
Kendrick looked from her to everyone around the table. “Meryn… never mind you’re abnormal.”
“Abnormally awesome,” she rebuffed.
Kendrick then turned to Anne. “How have your headaches been?”
Anne blinked. “Now that you’ve asked, better. When we first got here, it was worse than a sinus pressure headache before a storm. It’s barely there now.” She’ll frown. “Have we acclimated?”
Kendrick will frown. “I’ve lived here centuries and every time I leave and come back it takes me months for the headaches to dissipate.”
Caiden will speak up. “Living this far out, it comes and goes for unit warriors.”
“What does living this far out have to do with allergies?” Kiera asked.
Kendrick will sigh. “It’s not allergies. Myself and others believe that the headaches are a reaction to your psyche fighting the mind control element located in the city.”
Kiera shook her head. “Nope.”
Kendrick paused. “Nope?”
“I’m good.”
“Ahh.” He’ll look down at his plate then over to Caiden. “Good tacos.”
Meryn’s mouth dropped. “Wait… that works?”
Kiera will look at the smaller woman. “What works?”